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2008 St. John’s Basketball Predictions & Season Preview

Written October 21, 2008 by Jack Jones

It seems like the St. John’s basketball program has been struggling now for quite some time. Norm Roberts is trying to get the program turned around, and some thought he did when leading the team to a 16-15 record in 2006-07. However, last year’s group took a step back and struggled to a 11-19 mark and a 5-13 record in Big East play. That isn’t going to get it done, but Roberts is confident this group will get back on track with seven sophomores suiting up who had the chance to gain some experience a year ago. There were flashes of talent out of this group a year ago, so if they can learn some consistency then may sneak up on some people. BetUS has St. John’s listed at 50-to-1 to win the Big East.

Anthony Mason is the real deal when healthy. The senior struggled during his junior campaign largely due to an ankle injury slowing him down. You could tell how much he was missed when out of the lineup for eight games because he’s the team leader and provides the scoring with his 14 points per. He should be ready for a big year now that he’s back at full strength. Down low he’s helped out by sophomore Justin Burrell. After a freshman season that saw Burrell averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, the team is hoping for a big follow up. DJ Kennedy is another sophomore who will be asked to carry more of a load. He was a productive freshman in averaging 7.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. Sophomores Rob Thomas and Sean Evans will back these guys up. At center there are three options, but none of them are going to scare opponents. Last year it was Dele Coke and Tomas Jasiulionis, but neither were really impressive. Phil Wait comes in as a late signee and has some outside touch, but isn’t really big enough to handle the bruising of the big boys in the Big East.

The Red Storm’s backcourt is kind of bare after losing both Eugene Lawrence and Larry Wright. That means a couple of recruits in TyShwan Edmondson and Quincy Roberts better be ready to jump in and learn under fire. Both of them are athletically gifted and are scorers. Their backups will be Malik Boothe at the point and Paris Horne at the off-guard spot.

Final Analysis

This team should be more experienced with all of those freshman last year getting a year of collegiate play under their belts, but they have problems turning the ball over and scoring. We don’t think this Red Storm team is good enough on offense to keep up with the rest of the league, even if Mason is completely healthy. A trip to the NIT would be a success as BetUS is listing the odds for St. John’s to win the national title at 250-to-1.

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