more fluff
http://redstormsports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/111008aad.html2008-09 St. John's Men's Basketball Season Outlook
The Red Storm opens its season Friday at 9 p.m. vs. LIU on SportsNet New York TV.
Nov. 10, 2008
2008-09 Men's Basketball Roster and Bios
2008-09 Men's Basketball Schedule
QUEENS, N.Y. - A year ago, St. John's head coach Norm Roberts guided the youngest team in all of collegiate basketball through the nation's most demanding and diverse conference. Loaded with talent but short on experience, the Red Storm squad - which featured nine scholarship underclassmen and sometimes had five freshmen out on the floor - suffered its share of bumps and bruises through an unforgiving BIG EAST slate, but was able to test its mettle against the country's best competition.
Headed into the 2008-09 campaign, New York City's team is bursting with potential and the "media capital of the world" is buzzing about the squad's possibilities. The Red Storm's young core now has a season's worth of experience under its belt, and with the return of a healthy senior leader in All-BIG EAST honorable mention selection Anthony Mason Jr. and the arrival of three skilled newcomers, the proud St. John's basketball program is poised to make an upward climb in the league standings.
"This team is probably the most talented that we've had, from top-to-bottom. I think we have all BIG EAST-level players here, players with great potential that will be able to make strides every day," said Roberts. "We have great chemistry; everyone wants to perform well and get better. This is a really good group."
The improving Red Storm squad will play a challenging schedule featuring 18 home games with matchups against some of the elite teams in the conference. St. John's boasts a strong, 10-game home slate at Madison Square Garden, and will play eight games at the newly-renovated Carnesecca Arena. The on-campus home to STJ basketball since 1961 received a $5-million facelift in the offseason, with more improvements marked for the next three summers.
With the most skilled St. John's roster of the Roberts Era, a much-improved on-campus home, a marquee schedule and ever-increasing attention from New York City's elite basketball prospects, there is much to be excited about at the intersection of Union Turnpike and Utopia Parkway in Queens. But Roberts knows it will be consistent performances from his team's leaders that will dictate how the squad finishes in March.
"Our best players need to be our best players. They need to bring it every single night and we need to have consistent output from them," said Roberts. "Then our other guys need to step into their roles, fill them, and make plays when we have those opportunities. We're not young anymore, and when we have the opportunity to make those plays we're going to have to make them. This league is so good, so if our players are up-and-down, our season is up-and-down too."
Backcourt
The Red Storm backcourt takes on a different look with the graduation of four-year starting point guard Eugene Lawrence, who finished with 520 career assists - good enough for third all-time in the history of the program.
But with the change - and the emergence of speedy playmaking sophomore Malik Boothe into the full-time starter at that position - Roberts expects to see a different pace of play on both ends of the floor.
"We want to concentrate on pushing the ball, playing faster, and being in a more aggressive mode offensively," said Roberts. "Also I want to be able to extend our defense, cause some havoc and score off our `D' more."
Lightning-quick and relentless on the defensive end, Boothe is the type of floor general that can help the Red Storm do just that. He was St. John's second-leading assist man as a freshman last season with 2.5 per game, a number that rose to 3.0 in league contests and 5.3 across the last three games of the season. Boothe spent his entire offseason on campus - working on his jumpshot and bonding with his teammates - and is ready to take on the mantle of leadership.
"Malik is ready to be our lead point guard," said Roberts. "He is ready to run our team and is looking forward to that responsibility. He wants that and is going to have a very good year."
Newcomers Quincy Roberts and TyShwan Edmondson should also push for playing time at the point guard position. All-state standouts from Pennsylvania and Kentucky, respectively, the freshmen duo both possess adept ballhandling and playmaking skills.
The 6-5, 190-pound Roberts has outstanding size for a lead guard, and averaged 18.5 points and 5.0 assists as a senior at Harrisburg High School (Pa.). He brings noteworthy leadership skills to the Red Storm backcourt, having also played quarterback on the Cougars' gridiron squad.
Edmondson is a 6-4, 175-pound dynamic athlete who earned first team honors from the "Bluegrass State" as a senior. He averaged 18.4 points and 4.3 assists in leading Hopkinsville High School to the Kentucky small school state title.
Both rookies are also expected to contribute at the shooting guard position, as is sophomore game-changer Paris Horne.
Horne played in all 30 contests as a freshman in 2007-08, coming off the bench to average 5.1 points per outing. The Wilmington, Del., native exploded down the home stretch last season, contributing 7.1 points over the last eight games, firing at a 51.4 percent clip (19-for-37) from the field and hitting at a 64.3 percent mark from long range (9-for-14).
"Paris has done a great job working on his shot, and has really improved his perimeter shooting and ball handling," said Roberts. "Paris played really well for us at the end of last year, and is really looking forward to the season and taking his game to another level."
Mason Jr. and sophomore swingman D.J. Kennedy will also see time at the off-guard position in certain lineup configurations.
Small Forward
Major contributions are expected from the St. John's small forward position, particularly from senior Mason Jr. Completely recovered from a nagging ankle injury that caused him to miss eight games as a junior, the Red Storm's returning scoring leader looks to benefit from his first full healthy offseason of training and fulfill the mission he first embarked upon four seasons ago - turning St. John's into a BIG EAST contender once again.
A healthy Anthony Mason Jr. returns for the Red Storm in 2008-09, after averaging 15.7 points in BIG EAST games last season.
"Mason knows he needs to be very consistent, and a `go-to guy' for us. He knows that and looks forward to it," said Roberts. "He had one of the few summers that he's been here where he has been injury free, so he's been able to work on his strength and his body a lot. He is really looking forward to having a great senior year."
Mason Jr. averaged a team-best 14.0 ppg in 22 contests a season ago, and stepped up his production in BIG EAST contests by scoring 15.7 ppg. His leadership and ability to fill up the stat sheet did not go unnoticed, as he earned honorable mention All-BIG EAST honors and first team All-Met accolades from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA). The versatile scorer displayed his prolific offensive prowess with back-to-back 29-point efforts against Pitt (Jan. 23) and at Louisville (Jan. 26), and he enters his senior season ranked eighth on the St. John's all-time 3-point shooting chart (106 career 3-point field goals).
A consistent contributor on both ends of the floor, Kennedy averaged 7.8 points per game as a freshman and was the squad's second-leading rebounder with 5.8 boards per outing. A slashing scorer with an improving long and mid-range jumper, Kennedy reached double-figures in 11 contests, including contributing 10.2 ppg across the last five games of the season.
"D.J. has gotten stronger and is up to 210 pounds, and he has also worked on his ball handling and shooting on the perimeter," explained Roberts. "He is more creative in scoring the basketball right now. He gave us a great freshman year and just needs to continue to grow and get better."
Frontcourt
St. John's youth of 2007-08 was most noticeable in its frontcourt, where several skilled athletes were somewhat outweighed by inexperience. However, one year later, the transformed unit looks to capitalize on an outstanding offseason of conditioning and the knowledge that can only be gained by banging down low with the heavyweights in the BIG EAST Conference.
Sophomore forward Justin Burrell leads a deep crop of returnees, coming off an outstanding freshman campaign in which he averaged 10.8 ppg and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds. His efforts were good enough to earn BIG EAST All-Rookie honors and a spot on the NABC All-District second team, and he will be looked upon to contribute profoundly in the post this season.
Justin Burrell was a BIG EAST All-Rookie selection as a freshman, averaging 10.8 points and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds per outing.
"Justin had a good year as a freshman and I think this year he will take it to the next level. The rigors of the BIG EAST season, with all the ups and downs that happen, have prepared him for an even better year this year," said Roberts.
Sophomore center Dele Coker is still a tremendous 6-10 presence inside, but dropped close to 20 pounds in the offseason and will look to log heavy minutes in the post. The slimmed-down, 260-pound version of the Nigerian big man is playing with better quickness, and more importantly, more confidence.
Rob Thomas, now a redshirt sophomore after joining the Red Storm in uniform midway through the 2007-08 season, is also much-improved physically and is playing at the 226-pound weight that earned him credibility in and around New York City as a high-school talent.
"This is the first time Rob has been able to go through an entire summer's worth of conditioning and working out every day, and he has done a great job on his body," said Roberts. "Rob has lost almost 20 pounds and has gotten quicker and more confident. He is getting back to the form that he was in high school, and we knew that would take time. But he has really worked hard on his body, and in school."
Fourth-year center Tomas Jasiulionis will provide experience in the middle after starting 17 games as a junior and playing in 28. The 6-11 Lithuanian big man is back to full strength after grinding through most of the 2007-08 season with a quadriceps injury.
Sean Evans, who steadily improved all season long as a freshman and drew starts in six contests, had an outstanding offseason working on his strength, quickness and mid-range shooting. With his combination of size and athleticism, Evans will continue to push for minutes and has the chance to grow into an elite post player.
Newcomer Phil Wait, a 7-1 center from Manchester, England, who was granted sophomore status by the NCAA, arrived in Queens in the summer months and continues to add strength and size to his frame. He has overcome a knee injury that slowed him somewhat in the late summer, but has continued to impress the coaching staff with his maturity and big man skills.
The Schedule
An appearance in the 2008 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off, as many as 12 regular season games in "The World's Most Famous Arena" including contests against ACC foes Duke and Miami, and 13 potential matchups against opponents that reached the postseason last year highlight the 2008-09 St. John's men's basketball schedule.
"Once again we're excited to be playing a highly-competitive schedule. Besides the challenges that come with playing in a great league like the BIG EAST, we are excited to be taking on non-conference opponents like Duke and Miami. We look forward to playing in the Preseason NIT, and also in the Holiday Festival with Virginia Tech, Marist and Columbia," said fifth-year head coach Roberts. "Our schedule features high-caliber opponents, and we're excited about the opportunities they provide and look forward to a very competitive year."
The new-look Carnesecca Arena debuts on Friday, Nov. 14 (9 p.m., SportsNet New York), when local squad LIU crosses borough lines to visit Queens. Soon after, St. John's will head to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to the Conte Forum at Boston College for the opening rounds of the 2008 Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off (Nov. 17 and 18). The Red Storm, which heads into the 16-team tournament seeded at No. 8, will take on ninth-seeded Cornell in its first round game. No. 4 seed and host school Boston College meets Loyola (Md.) in the East Regional opening game, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
Sophomore big man Dele Coker has dropped 20 pounds in the offseason and is looking to be a consistent factor in the Red Storm frontcourt.
After heading back to Queens for a Nov. 22 matchup against Howard (2 p.m.), it's on to the next round of the Preseason NIT. If the Red Storm wins two at Boston College, the squad moves on to Madison Square Garden over the Thanksgiving holiday for the semifinal and championship doubleheaders Nov. 26 and 28.
If the Red Storm does not advance, the team joins the remaining 12 squads for third and fourth round games on Nov. 24 and 25. These consolation contents will be played on the home campus sites of the three highest remaining seeds. Participating teams will not play any team twice and third and fourth rounds will be assigned to the most geographically compatible site possible.
Following the NIT, the Red Storm has a three-game homestand in Queens that spans three weeks. St. Francis (N.Y.) comes to Carnesecca Arena on Dec. 1 (7:30 p.m.), followed by matchups with NJIT on Dec. 8 (7:30 p.m.) and Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14 (4 p.m.).
St. John's looks to recapture the Aéropostale Holiday Festival crown in a pre-Christmas version of the classic event at Madison Square Garden, from Dec. 20-21. The Red Storm meets Marist on Dec. 20 (4:30 p.m., MSG Network), following a matchup between ACC foe Virginia Tech and local squad Columbia. St. John's, which has claimed two of the last four titles, looks to hoist the trophy on Dec. 21.
Miami (Fla.) of the ACC makes the return trip of a home-and-home series when the Hurricanes head to The Garden just after Christmas. The former BIG EAST program will spend part of the holiday season in New York City for the meeting on Dec. 27 (noon, ESPNU).
BIG EAST conference play gets underway on New Year's Eve, and opens when the Red Storm heads north to Providence for a tilt with the Friars at the new Dunkin' Donuts Center (Dec. 31, 4 p.m., SNY). St. John's plays host to Notre Dame at The Garden on Saturday, Jan. 3 (2 p.m., ESPNU), for the first of two meetings with the Fighting Irish. Road trips to Pitt (Jan. 11, noon, SNY) and Villanova (Jan. 18, noon, SNY) sandwich a nationally-televised contest at The Garden against UConn (Jan. 15, ESPN/ESPN2, 7 p.m.).
Three out of the next four contests will be at one of the Red Storm's home venues. Cincinnati makes a trip to Queens on Thursday, Jan. 22 (9 p.m., ESPNU), before a quick St. John's turnaround to face Rutgers at The Garden on Saturday, Jan. 24 (7 p.m., MSG Plus). The Red Storm makes the long trip to Morgantown for a battle with West Virginia on Jan. 28 (7 p.m., SNY) before returning home to Carnesecca Arena to meet USF on Feb. 1 (2 p.m., ESPNU).
St. John's visits Seton Hall's Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., for the first time ever on Feb. 5 for the first of two meetings with the Pirates - this one a nationally-televised 9 p.m. contest on ESPN/ESPN2. Louisville comes to Madison Square Garden on Feb. 8 (1:30 p.m., MSG Network), before the Red Storm hits the road for the return trip to Cincinnati (Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m., ESPN 360) and a visit to Marquette's Bradley Center (Feb. 14, 9 p.m., SNY) for the first time since 2006.
D.J. Kennedy, one of St. John's most consistent players last season, returns to play a key role on the wing as a sophomore in 2008-09.
Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils head north to The World's Most Famous Arena on Thursday, Feb. 19, to face St. John's in the Aéropostale Classic. ESPN/ESPN2 will televise the 7 p.m. meeting, which marks the 11th-straight season in which the two squads have met.
Seton Hall makes the trip to Carnesecca Arena for the second-straight season on Feb. 22 (5 p.m., SNY), before the Syracuse Orange return to The Garden to meet St. John's on Feb. 24 (7:30 p.m., MSG Network). Late road trips to DePaul (Feb. 28, noon, SNY) and Notre Dame's Joyce Convocation Center (March 6, 7 p.m., MSG Network) are wrapped around the Red Storm's final regular-season home game against Georgetown at The Garden on March 3 (7:30 p.m., MSG Network).
The expanded, 16-team BIG EAST Championship Tournament takes place at the World's Most Famous Arena from Tuesday, March 10, to Saturday, March 14. In all, St. John's could play 13 regular-season games against teams that participated in postseason tournaments in 2007-08 (NCAA - Duke, UConn, Louisville, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Miami, West Virginia, Villanova and potential NIT Tip-Off opponents Arizona, Oklahoma, Georgia, Purdue, Drake and Cinderella-squad Davidson; NIT - Syracuse and Virginia Tech).
The Buzz Is Back For New York's Team
The pieces are in place and the foundation is set for Roberts and the Red Storm, who aim for continued progress and a steady ascent in what is once again a loaded BIG EAST Conference. With the most talented roster in years, St. John's looks to make some waves in 2008-09, and the city that calls the game of basketball its own is eager with anticipation.
Summing up his outlook on the season, Roberts commented, "I'm looking forward to working with these guys. This is the best group that we've had. I've loved the teams that we've had before, but this group is energetic and enthusiastic. They have put in the hours and want to work. I think we have good chemistry and a good passion about ourselves, and I look forward to watching this group grow and get better."