Lavin Era Begins With Madness

There has been a buzz swirling around St. John’s campus all week about Midnight Madness. An hour prior to the scheduled release of tickets today, students were already wrapped around Carnesecca Arena ensuring their attendance to the event. Only 90 minutes past before 1,200 tickets were distributed which surpassed the total amount of people at last year’s event.

Once the doors opened students, alumni, and fans alike poured into the arena with an energy it hasn’t seen in quite some time. John Anderson of ESPN’s Sportscenter and ABC’s Wipeout kicked off the event thanking fans for helping him avoid a boring night of covering Nascar and Brett Farve. DJ S&S got the beats pumping soon after while the St. John’s Women’s team put on a dance performance before their scrimmage.

The party really didn’t start until “Big Lav,” as John Anderson likes to call him, came out. The crowd erupted and rose to its feet for the first time (without there being a T-shirt tossing).

“We’re going to need all hands on deck if we’re going to make a climb in the rugged Big East,” Lavin urged to the fans in attendance.

St. John’s certainly had all hands on deck tonight and DJ Kennedy agrees. “This is probably the biggest turnout since I’ve been here and this is just the Tip-Off,” Kennedy stressed the importance of the upcoming season. “We have to take care of the fans this season and make the tournament.”

DJ also expressed that this offseason was like no other. “The way we pushed ourselves and worked hard I feel we already have an advantage on a lot of teams. We worked on a lot of individual moves, these coaches come from the next level so they have an advantage. They just have more stuff.”

Something St. John’s fans were treated to was their first live glimpse of freshman Dwayne Polee. Polee wooed the crowd with his effortless leaping ability and he wasn’t afraid to flash some range either connecting on a few outside shots. Polee, the Hollis Hall resident was excited about his debut, “We had a nice turnout. All the students were into the midnight madness and atmosphere was real good.” Despite the cold weather, Polee said that he’s loving New York, everyone is treating him well, and he’s enjoying his classes.

ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb is very familiar with Dwayne Polee. “My dad coached against him a ton in AAU ball and my dad loved him. He’s always been a freak athlete.” Gottlieb sees the potential with Polee; however, he still thinks he has a long way to go. “With a team like this where he can come in and be a freshman. Get tipped dunk here. A blocked shot there. It actually might be a really good set up for him so that next year he can come in and be a big contributor.”

Also on hand for the event were 2011 commits Maurice Harkless, JaKarr Sampson, and D’Angelo Harrison. They were joined by uncommitted recruits Nurideen Lindsey, Kelvin Amayo, and Jevon Thomas, and others.

Lindsey really got fans scared when he tweeted he was having a terrible day but that was only due to his flight being delayed. He later tweeted that he “loved it” when referring to the time he had at the St. John’s Tip-Off. His sentiment of the event was echoed by all as St. John’s really put on a first class event.

Tip Off Awards

Dunk Contest: Paris Horne
Best Entrance Music: Kevin Clark (Pretty Fly for White Guy- Offspring)
2nd Place: Justin Burrell (What is Love- Haddaway)
Best Entrance: Maurice Hicks
Best Prop: #coachdunlapsbat
Worst Entrance + Music: Matt Berstein and Derrick Wrobel (tie)
Best Super Model: Erin the Fila Girl
MVP: The Fans!

Additional Notes: The men had a tough practice prior to the pep rally working on individual moves and finishing with contact. Coach Mike Dunlap worked with the big men while Coach Rico Hines worked with the guards. As a result of practice Justin Burrell injured his left wrist. It was wrapped in a soft cast and the severity or the cause of the injury is unknown at this time. More details will become available after the weekend.