http://www.ballinisahabit.net/2011/10/only-conference-preview-you-need-to_25.htmlThey have us at 13th
13. St. John's: It didn't take long for Steve Lavin to get the Johnnies back to the NCAA Tournament. Coaching a team that was made up of virtually all seniors, Lavin's team put together one of the most impressive runs in the Big East last year. After a couple of embarrassing non-conference losses -- to St. Bonaventure and Fordham -- and a 1-5 stretch at the start Big East play, St. John's used a blowout win over Duke at the Garden to spark a seven game Big East winning streak. It was enough to earn the Johnnies an at-large bid to the tournament. They lost their opening game, but that was partly due to DJ Kennedy blowing out his knee in the Big East Tournament.
The problem? St. John's literally loses their entire team. Nine seniors graduated from last year's team and Dwayne Polee transferred out of the program and into San Diego State. And while Lavin brought in one of the deepest and most talented recruiting classes in the country, he lost three of those freshmen -- Amir Garrett, JaKarr Sampson, and Norvel Pelle -- when they couldn't get through the NCAA's Clearinghouse. What that means is that St. John's is left with a roster that consists of just eight scholarship players, only one of whom was a member of last season's team.
There is some talent on the roster, however. Junior returner Malik Boothe will team with high-scoring JuCo transfer Nurideen Lindsay to share the ball-handling duties while D'Angelo Harrison and Phil Greene will share minutes at the shooting guard spot. Sir'Dominic Pointer and Moe Harkless, who are probably the two most talented recruits that Lavin brought in, will man the forward spots while God's Gift Achiuwa will be the team's interior presence. With that much inexperience on the roster, its difficult to expect much out of St. John's this year. But how much could we have expected out of this group if all nine newcomers were eligible? This was going to be a rebuilding year for St. John's regardless of who is on the roster. The guys that did get cleared will be gaining experience while Lavin continues to flex his muscles on the recruiting trail. The future is still bright in Queens even if the chances of making noise this season are significantly slimmer.
All-Freshmen Team:
- G: Myles Mack, Rutgers
- G: Jabarie Hinds, West Virginia
- F: Sir'Dominic Pointer, St. John's
- F: Moe Harkless, St. John's
- C: Andre Drummond, UConn