2011 St. John’s Basketball Predictions

Written by James Zerfoss - Google +

2010-11 Results:

Overall: 21-12 (Home 12-3 Road 5-7 Neutral 4-2 Post Season 1-2)
Big East: 12-6
Conference Tournament: Lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.
Postseason: Lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Steve Lavin guided St. John’s to a 21-12 record and into the NCAA Tournament last year. The Red Storm tied for third in the Big East conference and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. They will miss star Dwight Hardy and seven of their top scorers from last year. Some junior college transfers and freshman will need to step up and fill the void.

The Red Storm ranked 132nd in the nation in scoring last year with 70.1 points per game. St. John’s only average 32.8 rebounds per game last year which is a figure they will look to improve upon. Last season they achieved their goal of making the NCAA tournament but with all the issues surrounding this year’s team returning to the tournament this year may prove to be a challenge for Lavin.

Roster
Returning Starters
none

Other Returning Players
Malik Stith
Jamal White

Newcomers
God’s gift Aciuwa
Amir Garrett
Phil Greene
Maurice Harkless
D’Angelo Harrison
Nurideen Lindsey
Norvel Pelle
Sir’ Dominic Pointer

Head Coach
Steve Lavin

Key Losses

Gone are the Red Storm’s top seven scorers from last season. Dwight Hardy led St. John’s to an NCAA tournament berth averaging 18.3 points per game along with 1.9 assists per game. Justin Browlee was the team’s second leading scorer (12.3 ppg) and added an inside force with 5.6 boards per game. The other top scorers that have moved on are D.J. Kennedy, Paris Horne, Justin Burrell, and Dwayne Polee.

Schedule

Date	Opponent / Event
24-Sep	Dribble For The Cure
14-Oct	2011 Red Storm Tip-Off
25-Oct	vs. C.W. Post
1-Nov	vs. St Mary’s (MD)
4-Nov	St. John’s Media Day
2K Sports Classic – Opening Rounds
7-Nov	vs. William & Mary
9-Nov	vs. Lehigh
13-Nov	vs. UMBC
2K Sports Classic – Championship Round
17-Nov	vs. Arizona
18-Nov	Consolation/Championship
22-Nov	vs. St. Francis (N.Y.)
26-Nov	vs. Northeastern
SEC-BIG EAST Challenge
1-Dec	@ Kentucky
Regular Season
5-Dec	@ Detroit
17-Dec	vs. Fordham
21-Dec	vs. Texas-Pan American
27-Dec	vs. Providence *
31-Dec	@ Connecticut *
3-Jan	vs. Louisville *
7-Jan	@ Cincinnati *
11-Jan	@ Marquette *
15-Jan	vs. Georgetown *
18-Jan	@ USF *
21-Jan	vs. Villanova *
25-Jan	vs. West Virginia *
1/28/2012	@ Duke
2/1/2012	@ DePaul *
2/4/2012	vs. Syracuse *
2/8/2012	vs. Cincinnati *
2/12/2012	@ Georgetown *
2/14/2012	@ Seton Hall *
2/18/2012	vs. UCLA
2/20/2012	vs. DePaul *
2/25/2012	vs. Notre Dame *
2/29/2012	@ Pitt *
3/3/2012	@ Rutgers *
*Conference Game

2011-12 Preview

Coach Lavin knew that the 2011-2012 season would prove to be a challenge with only two players returning from last year’s squad but didn’t expect it to be as turbulent as it has been. From recovering from prostate cancer to three players being academically ineligible this season looks to be a trying one for Lavin. The Red Storm are down to eight scholarship players with only one of them seeing significant playing time last year. So it’s time for Lavin to show if he can work his magic with this young team.

Backcourt

With all of their starters from last year gone, St. John’s will turn to freshman and inexperienced players to fill the gap. One of the players that St. John’s will look to contribute is point guard Nurideen Lindsey. He already has one year of college ball experience having transferred to St. John’s. Lindsey is an excellent shooter and should be one of Lavin’s go to guys that he will count upon to provide leadership. He is 6 foot 4 and could provide the Red Storm with the perfect floor general.

Phil Greene will come off the beach to start the season. He is a 6 foot 2 shooting guard and will look to earn more playing time as the season progresses.

Frontcourt

The Red Storm are deep at forward and will likely go with the freshman combination of Dom Pointer and Queens native Maurice Harkless. Harkless was ranked as the 39th best incoming freshman and should prove to be an excellent recruit for St. John’s.

He is tall with great speed and is a finisher. His one weakness is his strength and he really needs to hit the gym and build it up in the offseason. Dom Pinter is a better defender than Harkess but lacks his scoring touch. Lavin hopes that Amir Garrett will be eligible for the second semester and will provide the team with a spark.

Junior College transfer God’s Gift Achiuwa will look to replace some of the scoring lost with Dwight Hardy’s departure. Achiuwa is big at 240 pounds and will look to be a force in the paint. At Erie Community College in Buffalo he averaged 22.3 points and 10 rebounds per game.

More Big East Basketball Predictions

Syracuse Orange	Marquette Golden Eagles	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Georgetown Hoyas
Cincinnati Bearcats	South Florida Bulls	Louisville Cardinals	West Virginia Mountaineers
Seton Hall Pirates	Connecticut Huskies	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	St. Johns Red Storm
Pittsburgh Panthers	Villanova Wildcats	Providence Friars	DePaul Blue Demons

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