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Red Storm Go Down Tobacco Road After Statement Win

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In a contest that was a must-win game for both sides, St. John’s emerged the victor; defeating West Virginia on a night where the Mountaineers could not make a shot through most of the first half, allowing the Red Storm to capitalize on an unusually high amount of mistakes. It only gets harder from here, though; as next up is a Duke team that still has pieces from their 2010 national championship unit, as well as players that remember last year’s 93-78 defeat at the hands of the Red Storm a year ago inside Madison Square Garden.

St. John’s remains the last non-ACC team to defeat Duke in North Carolina, and JohnnyJungle.com will give you the background information on the matchup in which the Red Storm look to make lightning strike twice.

Date: Saturday, January 28, 2012
Location: Cameron Indoor Stadium; Durham, North Carolina
Time: 12:00 PM EST
TV: ESPN (Brent Musburger, Dick Vitale)
Radio: WBBR 1130 AM (John Minko, Tim O’Toole)

St. John’s Red Storm (9-11)
Head Coach: Steve Lavin* (2nd season at STJ; 30-23, 175-101 overall)
*- Assistant coach Mike Dunlap will serve as interim coach while Lavin recovers from offseason prostate cancer surgery

Projected Starting Lineup:
G Phil Greene (6-2 Fr., 6.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 34% FG, 75% FT, 2.9 APG, 1.1 SPG)
G D’Angelo Harrison (6-3 Fr., 15.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 37% FG, 34% 3pt, 81% FT, 1.9 APG, 1.6 SPG)
F Amir Garrett (6-6 Fr., 5.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 41% FG, 55% FT, 1.0 APG, 1.3 SPG)
F Sir’Dominic Pointer (6-5 Fr., 6.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 43% FG, 53% FT, 1.5 APG, 1.1 BPG, 1.5 SPG)
F Moe Harkless (6-8 Fr., 16.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 46% FG, 66% FT, 1.4 APG, 1.9 BPG, 1.6 SPG)

Key Reserves:
F God’sgift Achiuwa (6-8 Jr., 10.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 53% FG, 71% FT, 1.0 BPG)
G Malik Stith (5-11 Jr., 2.9 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 39% FG, 80% [12/15] FT, 1.1 APG)

Keys To Victory:
– Last year was no fluke. Mostly all the players from last season’s 93-78 victory are gone, but the game plan remains the same. Just as St. John’s was able to take advantage of West Virginia miscues in the opening minutes Wednesday night, they will need to do the same against a far more talented Duke team that can match the Red Storm shot for shot as well as get multiple stops on a single possession defensively.

– Get in the zone. A year ago, Duke started the game missing 20 of their first 21 attempts from three-point range. St. John’s has not been as adept at closing to the arc this year, which will give the Blue Devils open looks that need to be minimized with the matchup zone defense that several teams have been unable to solve both last season and this season.

– Greene light. Phil Greene had arguably his best game of the season Wednesday night, committing just one turnover while going for eleven points and eight assists against West Virginia and fellow freshman Jabarie Hinds. Greene will be matched up with another rookie on Saturday in highly touted recruit Austin Rivers, who will look to set the tone in the backcourt and force Greene to play catch-up from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

St. John’s next opponent is the eighth ranked team they will face this season, and this one is guided by the winningest coach in Division I history.

No. 6 Duke Blue Devils (17-3)
Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski (32nd season at Duke; 844-228, 917-287 overall)

Projected Starting Lineup:
G Austin Rivers (6-4 Fr., 14.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 44% FG, 38% 3pt, 69% FT, 1.9 APG)
G Seth Curry (6-2 Jr., 12.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 44% FG, 37% 3pt, 87% FT, 2.7 APG, 1.6 SPG)
G Andre Dawkins (6-4 Jr., 10.0 PPG, 44% FG, 41% 3pt, 76% FT)
F Mason Plumlee (6-10 Jr., 11.8 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 62% FG, 47% FT, 2.2 APG, 1.6 BPG)
F Ryan Kelly (6-11 Jr., 12.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 49% FG, 47% 3pt, 80% FT, 1.2 APG, 1.1 BPG)

Key Reserves:
F Miles Plumlee (6-10 Sr., 6.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 67% FG, 64% FT, 1.2 BPG)
G Quinn Cook (6-0 Fr., 5.2 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 47% FG, 32% 3pt, 83% FT, 2.1 APG)
G Tyler Thornton (6-1 So., 3.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 46% FG, 45% 3pt, 70% FT, 2.2 APG)

Keys To Victory:
– Crazy house. Duke has not lost a nonconference home game in nearly twelve years, and the “Cameron Crazies” are a big reason why. One of the most intense crowds in the country, the Duke fans can turn a close game into a hometown runaway just by showing up. Google “Krzyzewskiville” if you don’t believe us, and you’ll find out about the fans who camp out for days on end leading up to big games such as the one the Blue Devils will be playing Saturday afternoon.

– Family affair. The brothers Plumlee will represent something the Red Storm has never seen this season: A duo of big men that can score, rebound and shoot exceptionally well. Miles (the senior) comes off the bench and infuses a fresh set of legs and height into Mike Krzyzewski’s lineup, while Mason (the junior) is the starting power forward that will go up against Moe Harkless in a matchup where both players could end up with double-doubles at the end of the night. Harkless will need to use his midrange jumper at times in order to beat the bigger Duke front line.

– Just shoot me. Duke was defeated by their inability to hit the three-point shot last season against the Red Storm, but Mike Krzyzewski’s team comes into this game shooting a combined 40 percent from beyond the arc. Guards Andre Dawkins and Tyler Thornton (the latter is a guard who conjures up memories of former Duke star J.J. Redick) shoot above that average, as does 6-11 big man Ryan Kelly. In addition, Austin Rivers, Seth Curry and Quinn Cook all shoot well enough from long range to give Duke a multitude of weapons against a young team that has had difficulty defending the trifecta.

So, Who Wins?
The last time Duke played at home, they lost to Florida State on a buzzer-beating three from Michael Snaer, so the Cameron Crazies will be out in even greater force than they normally are. The Red Storm have a road game against DePaul after this one that is no longer a guarantee given how much the Blue Demons have improved. St. John’s usually plays Duke to the limit, though; and Saturday will be no exception, even if the Blue Devils are more talented. Duke gets the win, but it will be far from convincing.

Final Score: Duke 76, St. John’s 71

St. John’s to Play Arizona in 2K Sports Classic, Duke in January

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The 2011-12 schedule will not become official for another month, but, indications are, Steve Lavin is continuing to challenge his St. John’s squad.

After leading a group of ten seniors to the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002, Lavin will carry the youngest team in the school’s 104-year history onto the court this season, and the ledger that the Red Storm will play is anything but a cupcake.

Steve Lavin will lead his young St. John's squad through a rigorous non-conference schedule. (Photo: Icon/SMI Select)
After taking the bold step to face Kentucky on the road at Rupp Arena on December 1st and taking on the University of Detroit in a game sure to remind fans of last year’s season opener against St. Mary’s, the Johnnies will face Arizona in their Madison Square Garden opener.

The Wildcats, under head coach Sean Miller, return three starters and reserve guard Kevin Parrom from last year’s team that came within a basket of the Final Four.

“Our matchup with defending Pac-12 champion University of Arizona will provide our young squad with a valuable test.” said Lavin in a press release. “The youngest team in St Johns history will benefit from being tested with one of the toughest schedules in the country.”

Despite losing guard Lamont (Momo) Jones to Iona and No. 2 overall NBA draft pick Derrick Williams to the Minnesota Timberwolves, they have added a strong recruiting class that includes some players with connections to this young St. John’s team.

Findlay Prep guard Nick Johnson, a former teammate of Red Storm freshman Amir Garrett, is an incredibly athletic guard who could make an immediate impact.

And the headliner of the class, Josiah Turner, is a former teammate of Sir’Dominic Pointer at Quality Education. At 6’3″, he has good size for a point guard and his tight handle will prove to be a better fit than Lamont Jones.

Texas A&M squares off against Mississippi State in the opener at the “World’s Most Famous Arena,” with the winners to face off for the tournament championship at 7pm the following night. The Red Storm finished this past season with an 8-2 record at the Garden that included resounding upset wins against then-No. 3 Duke, former No. 4-ranked Pittsburgh, and eventual national champion Connecticut.

St. John’s will also travel to Cameron Indoor on January 28, 2012 to face four-time national champion Duke for the first time since their shocking 93-78 victory over the Blue Devils seven months ago.,Jeff Goodman announced the date in his ACC off-season report.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will no doubt be the NCAA’s all-time winningest coach by the time he welcomes St. John’s to Durham, as he is only three wins away from surpassing Bobby Knight for the most all-time victories at the Division I level. It’s worth noting that St. John’s remains the most recent non-ACC team to defeat Duke in front of the “Cameron Crazies,” getting the better of the Blue Devils back in 2000.

The Dukes of Midtown

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St. John’s had been waiting for a marquee win since the end of the Mike Jarvis era.  Two coaches and nearly eight years later, the program finally has one.

With suffocating defense and five players scoring in double figures, the Johnnies (12-8) fed off a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden to shock the world with a 93-78 upset win over third-ranked reigning national champion Duke. (19-2)  The Red Storm played solid, fundamentally sound basketball through the first half; and did not rest on their laurels after taking a 21-point cushion into the intermission.  In fact, the Johnnies came on stronger than ever despite being outscored 53-47 over the final stanza.  The sellout and win over Duke were accomplishments last seen prior to today on March 2, 2003; when Marcus Hatten made a game-winning free throw with no time left on the clock to give St. John’s a one-point win at the “World’s Most Famous Arena.”

Sean Evans contributed his best effort of the season having a perfect shooting night 5-5 for 10 points off the bench. (Redstormsports.com)
“I thought our team from the outset executed with great precision,” said a visibly overjoyed Steve Lavin after the game.  “We’re always making progress, but you don’t always see that because there are losses.”  While Lavin can be forgiven for exulting in his team’s biggest win of the season; his players adhered to the pragmatic values imparted by the coaching staff at the start of the season.  “It helps out a lot confidence-wise; but at the end of the day, it only counts as one win,” said Justin Burrell; who contributed eight points and five rebounds off the bench.  Dwight Hardy led the Storm with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Justin Brownlee added 20 points and nine rebounds.  However, in the opposing locker room, the coach who will eventually become the winningest of all time offered his own insight on the team from the corner of Union and Utopia.

“They had a great game plan,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “They have had outstanding games this season, and this was one of them.  In order to beat them today, we would have had to show up and be ready to compete at the level we normally compete at.”  Duke did get 32 points from Nolan Smith to lead all scorers, as well as 20 from fellow senior Kyle Singler; but the Blue Devils were done in by their inefficiency from beyond the arc, ending the game 5-for-26 from three-point range after missing all but one of their first 21 trifecta attempts. On the contrary, St. John’s only attempted five triples, making three; and stunningly, the Red Storm did not attempt a single three in the second half. Buoyed by a 58 percent (32-for-55) effort from the field and scoring 28 points off 17 Duke turnovers, the Johnnies improved to 7-0 on the season when at least four players score ten or more points.

St. John’s finishes their eight-game run against Top 25 opponents with a 3-5 record, and plays two more games this week; their next one coming Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena against a Rutgers team that nearly upset No. 2 Pittsburgh Saturday night in Piscataway before hitting the road to face UCLA in Steve Lavin’s much-anticipated homecoming.

After a big win like this, it’s not easy to find a starting point to analyze it; but after such an emotional high, there will definitely be enough lasting impressions to go around the Queens campus for the next few days.

Lasting Impressions

  • St. John’s unleashed its transition game once again, and once again it was a monster on the court.  The Johnnies outscored Duke 50-30 in the paint while also scoring 28 points off the Blue Devils’ 17 turnovers.  A great deal of the transition success was fueled by bench scoring, a category St. John’s picked up a victory in by the count of 22-14.
  • Paris Horne.  The guard that Steve Lavin has referred to as the “Energizer bunny” was exactly that today, scoring 15 points and facilitating numerous plays that won’t show up in the box score.
  • The Red Storm players have recognized their inability to effectively close to the three-point line throughout the season, a negative they were able to hold at bay for forty minutes at the Garden this afternoon.  Duke was consistently flustered beyond the arc and could not get a triple to fall until late in the second half.  The reigning national champions made four of their last five long-range shots, but missed 20 of their first 21.
  • After the Georgetown game, it looked like Dwight Hardy had started to cool off after his 4-for-16 effort in the loss to the Hoyas.  After today, Hardy looks to have found his hot streak again.  A 9-for-13 effort from the field coupled with a perfect 6-of-6 day at the free throw line can only mean that the senior became reacquainted with his shooting touch over the weekend.
  • The turning point of this game came early in the first half when Steve Lavin decided to bring Sean Evans into the game to compete against Duke’s oversized frontcourt of Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee.  Evans only played 11 minutes, but scored 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting.  Duke was unable to find an answer for Evans to the point where they played the majority of the game with a three-guard lineup, frequently using Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins in their rotation.  Said Justin Burrell of Evans’ play: “We were really excited about him coming out and playing the way he did today, and he really lifted our team.”

This game also marked my Big East Volvo Weekend. I was able to fly in my best friend and roommate from St. John’s, Eddie, in from Miami where he is attending Law school to see the game with me. Volvo put us up in a nice little hotel in Tribeca right by head coach Steve Lavin.

I had to drive up from the Jersey Shore to New York which gave me plenty of quality time with the car. The VolvoS60 drives perfectly smooth and amazingly quiet. The HD radio was great to listen to WFAN660 Sport Radio to Hot97 Rap and R&B. I really enjoyed the navigation system which was voice activated and traffic updates via satellite. This is perfect for driving up to the city because pick your poison Lincoln Tunnel or George Washington Bridge. My traffic was minimal thanks to the reroute from Volvo. The blind spot cameras for changing lanes was also very helpful in city driving.

The day before the game we took the Volvo into queens because I had 5 things I wanted to do back at campus. We were able to eat at the Sly Flox and see a bunch of old faces in the same places. It was great to be back and see what we remembered and the new improvements to facilities on St. John’s beautiful campus.

The game itself was just incredible. The crowd was bigger and better than I’ve ever seen and you just got goosebumps when Garden erupted with applause. Unfortunately I couldn’t send out any tweets in game because the reception in Madison Square Garden is terrible. I’d get no texts then 20 would pour in at once. After the game I had 93 text messages which is nothing compared to Steve Lavin’s 450.

After the game most of the Red Storm faithful went to Stout bar which is owned by a St. John’s alumnus and it was fantastic atmosphere in the program’s biggest win in nearly a decade. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Thanks Volvo!

Devil in the Gotham City

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On one level, the reasons for hope for the Johnnies against the Duke Blue Devils are slim. The defending national champion Duke Blue Devils are rolling through their schedule with 1 ACC loss – their only loss overall. As Norm Roberts said last season (and divulged recently), “Do you see the size of these dudes? They are gigantic.”

And they’re still big. Still tough. And filled with talent.

St. John’s has reason for hope. The last 2 years, the Red Storm have played the Blue Devils tough. One could say that without Justin Burrell’s injury, maybe St. John’s could have come back to knock them off last year. And the year before, Paris Horne’s foul trouble helped derail the Red Storm. Additionally, St. John’s coach Steve Lavin has a history of strange mid-season turnarounds from his time with UCLA, and of knocking off top-five teams when his team’s chances seemed slim.

Upsets are built on seemingly improbable occurrences, on overachieving play, and on surprisingly good game plans. For the St. John’s seniors, this is the final chance to knock off Kyle Singler and his Duke teammates. This is a chance for a high-profile win. This is a marquee opponent, the kind of game they came to St. John’s to play. And the new staff may have some tricks up their sleeve to beat Duke.

The eyes of the nation will once again be on the Red Storm. Can they deliver an upset?

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Duke Blue Devils (19-1, 6-1 ACC)

It’s hard to get a true gauge of how good the Blue Devils are. The ACC is a fairly weak league this season, and many of Duke’s marquee opponents have proven to be middling teams. Michigan State seemed like such a good win. So did Kansas State and Butler. All three of those teams have had some struggles, and an argument can be made that the Blue Devils’ best competition this year has been Maryland and Florida State.

With all of that said: Duke is very good once again. Despite the loss of freshman phenom point guard Kyrie Irving from New Jersey to a foot injury, Mike Krzyzewski’s squad is humming along just fine. They are an elite jump shooting team with a lot of height. That height helps them defend the paint extremely well, while their guards and wings can light up the scoreboard. They also defend without fouling, and protect the ball well, despite an often fast and demoralizing pace.

In Irving’s place at guard, senior Nolan Smith has become one of the nation’s best all-around guards. He averages 5.7 assists, 20.5 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, and is very effective driving inside the arc, drawing fouls and converting drives. He is also the team’s ace defender; he powers the Blue Devils. Stephen Curry’s little brother Seth transfered to Duke and has provided a nice second scorer in the backcourt. He does little else besides score. Sweet-shooting sophomore guard Andre Dawkins can provide some outside punch, but has enjoyed a lot of time next to the assistant coaches recently.

On the wing, Kyle “Shampoo” Singler has been a Blue Devil for the past 3.5 years. Perhaps because he’s tall and doesn’t slap the floor, he doesn’t get made fun of as some of his fellow 4-year Duke stars, JJ Redick and Greg Paulus. It helps that he neither writes bad poetry (Redick) or can’t play very well (Paulus), though Singler’s art projects should draw more snickering and mockery. Singler is a very good Duke wing, with a nice release and some ability on the offensive glass. He’s not the greatest scorer inside the arc, but has done well in ACC conference play, shooting just under 50% on 2-pointers; he doesn’t draw many fouls and seemed bothered on defense last year by former St. John’s guard Omari Lawrence’s strength.

Up front, the Dukies have some difference-makers. Mason and Miles Plumlee see a lot of time in the paint. Mason has a little more range and has been a better post player – he’s pretty dominant at cleaning the glass on both ends and blocking shots. Both have had some trouble with turnovers. Behind them is Ryan Kelly, who gets a lot of open shots (and hits them from outside). He’s rounding into his own, and has been on a hot scoring streak; he even blocked some shots for good measure.

Keys to the Game

Go All Out. St. John’s has to give the best effort of the year in this game, attacking the Blue Devils with everything they have. This has been helpful in the past against Duke; there have been stretches in every meeting in the last 4 years where the Red Storm were really playing up to the competition. But the energy level is needed, especially against a Duke team with a day less to prepare for the road trip to Madison Square Garden.

Slash to the Inside. The Blue Devils have height in the paint, but the Red Storm have to find ways of getting points close to the basket. It’s where they are most effective; the Johnnies’ jump shooting has been poor in recent games.

Force Mistakes and Don’t Give Those Mistakes Back. The Red Storm’s defense has been active and pesky against many teams, forcing turnovers and miscues. But St. John’s has punted any advantage their defense gives them by giving the ball back – the errant passes, poor shot selection on occasion, and simply not protecting the ball against the other teams’ hands. If St. John’s can force Duke into mistakes and play mistake-free, they have a chance to make this game much tighter – and slower – than expected.

Fight on the Glass. Duke will have a height and rebounding advantage coming in; but the Red Storm’s bigs can be potent rebounding forces in their own right.

Hardy and Kennedy. Someone needs to hit some jump shots so the Blue Devils don’t just pack the paint in the halfcourt. Dwight Hardy has been cold, and Kennedy has been a non-factor; Buckets and Big Play need to come on the court and etch their name in the record books against Duke.

Prediction: St. John’s shows some fight, but still loses. Duke 79, St. John’s 66

The Perfect Storm Rages On

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St. John’s finally takes the court for the first time in the 2010-11 season thirteen days from now when they tip off against St. Mary’s to officially commence the Steve Lavin era. However, as only its New York City locale can do, the hoopla surrounding the Johnnies and the first seven months of the Lavin administration continues to reach crescendos that had been unknown by the program since its 1999 Elite Eight appearance. The most honorable aspect of this additional media attention, you might ask? Lavin and his young charges have refused to let the publicity go to their heads for the most part, and their 46-year-old head man credits the pragmatic approach employed by world-renowned UCLA coach John Wooden and newly minted special assistant Gene Keady as the primary reason why he and his team has remained so humble.

Jaden Daly gets quotes from Coach Steve Lavin at Big East Media Day. (JohnnyJungle.com)
“We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made,” gushed Lavin during our interview two weeks ago at Big East media day inside Madison Square Garden, an event where Lavin was the center of attention for over two hours. Lavin and his staff have approached their maiden voyage at the helm of the Johnnies as one where they are taking the baton from predecessor Norm Roberts and continuing along on their climb to the top of the Big East, a journey Lavin talks about in a spiritual context.

Game number one, which comes against a St. Mary’s team that reached the Sweet 16 a year ago and returns four of their five starters from last season (only center Omar Samhan has left) will go a long way in determining just how far the Johnnies have come this offseason. “I thought it was vital that we play a tough road game before we step into the Big East,” Lavin remarked, adding that leading a team relatively untested into conference play, “would be considered a mistake in our preparation.” St. John’s also matches up with reigning national champion Duke at the Garden, and heads to Pauley Pavilion on February 5th for the much-anticipated Lavin homecoming at Westwood against UCLA, but Lavin and his players are still preparing for their exhibition game Saturday night against Westmont College, whose head coach John Moore is Lavin’s brother-in-law, married to Steve’s sister, Rachel.

When I asked Lavin about the daunting task the schedule appears to be on the surface, he was brutally honest with me, and indirectly admitted that although he takes it one game at a time, the Red Storm’s ledger this season might be a little ambitious for a younger team. “This will be the most difficult schedule that I’ve ever prepared a team for in my career,” said Lavin. “I wouldn’t want to play this schedule next year when we have eight freshmen and ten new players coming into the fold.” Having ten seniors is no typical cup of coffee in college basketball, and Lavin has already been encouraged by what he has seen in practice from his fourth-year players, who are, according to their coach, “so galvanized in their pursuit of trying to finish on a high note.”

Dwight Hardy is expected to play a lot of PG this upcoming season. Can he be an effective scorer with the ball in his hands? (Icon SMI)
While Lavin is still undecided about who will ultimately be part of his starting five, he was quick to rattle off the names of players who have really impressed him thus far. Not surprisingly, team leader D.J. Kennedy was the first name dropped by the coach. Although the size and skill of Kennedy has elicited praise from Lavin, the coach and his staff would like to amplify his contributions at the defensive end of the floor. Lavin also compared sharpshooter Dwight Hardy to Jason Kapono who Lavin coached at UCLA and eventually sent to the NBA. Lavin described Kapono, the former NBA 3 point champion, as having Reggie Miller like range. Lavin admitted that Dwight might not have the same range as Kapono but he is just as good of a shooter who is much more versatile of a scorer with his play off the bounce.

To use one of Lavin’s favorite words, the coach remained pragmatic when addressing the fact that most, if not all of his team, needs to have a career year to make the Johnnies’ dream of climbing the ladder into a reality.  While Lavin insisted more than one player needs to be at his personal best all season, he singled out Justin Brownlee as a player capable of having a breakout season. Lavin’s testimonial didn’t stop there, as he lauded the former junior college standout as being one of the more gifted players on the squad; adding that Brownlee and promising freshman Dwayne Polee as being able to play four positions on the hardwood.

Not only does Lavin need his players to have career years, he needs the revitalized St. John’s fan base to step its game up as well. “Any program that starts to make a move up the ladder to become more competitive needs the energy and support of their fan base,” said Lavin at St. John’s media day this past Tuesday. “It puts the wind at your back and it makes young people feel appreciated. That’s important when you’re 18-22 years old. So we want our fan base energized. We talk about needing all hands on deck and that includes all the constituencies of the St. John’s fan base.”

At Big East media day, Marquette coach Buzz Williams appropriately described Lavin’s arrival in Queens as a “perfect storm.” Only two weeks following that quote, the storm is as intense as ever; and appears to be gathering steam with each passing day.

ATTENTION RED STORM FANS: Vote for Dave Krupinski on Volvo’s Big East Contest help make him and St. John’s #1