Rumble In The Garden - All Posts

Schedule update: Bucknell and Monmouth on the Johnnies' schedule

2013-05-22T14:53:52Z

Thanks to the diligent work of the White and Blue Review (covering Creighton) and Jaden of Daly Dose of Hoops, we know that the St. John's Red Storm have two more dates scheduled for their non-conference season.

The Red Storm will welcome Pennsylvania's Bucknell Bison to Carnesecca Arena on November 19th. The Bison, out of the academically-focused Patriot League, went 28-6 on the season and 12-2 in conference, winning the Patriot League regular season and tournament titles. Coached by Dave Paulsen, Bucknell was talented team behind NBA prospect Mike Muscala, and made the NCAA Tournament. The Bison fell to Butler in their first game (second round) of the Tourney.

The Bison lose three of their top players but return wing Cameron Ayers.

St. John's also has Jersey's Monmouth Hawks coming to town, as part of the Barclays Center Classic in November. The Classic - which features Penn State, Ole Miss, and Georgia Tech - will have on-campus games like many of the other early-season tournaments.

The Monmouth squad went 10-21, 5-13 in the Northeast Conference, in King Rice's second year. Monmouth will join the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) this summer along with Quinnipiac.

So we know the Johnnies have two games in Madison Square Garden, three in Barclays Center, and a non-conference road challenge in South Dakota. That's eight games; the Storm could add up to five more, judging by the 2011-12 schedule

For a team with NCAA aspirations, is this schedule strong enough? What would you like to see added (besides the usual answer, Duke, which isn't happening as far as we know)? Do the Johnnies need a few more "work out the kinks" cupcakes for the home crowd?

Date	Team	Tournament	Location
11/05/2013	Humboldt State		Carnesecca
11/08/2013	Wisconsin		South Dakota
TBD	Monmouth	Barclays Classic	Carnesecca
TBD	[Other game]	Barclays Classic	Carnesecca
11/29/2013	Penn State/ Ole Miss/ Georgia Tech	Barclays Classic	Barclays Center
11/30/2013	Penn State/ Ole Miss/ Georgia Tech	Barclays Classic	Barclays Center
12/07/2013	Fordham	Holiday Festival?	Madison Square Garden
12/15/2013	Syracuse		Madison Square Garden
12/28/2013	Columbia	Brooklyn Hoops Festival	Barclays Center

The Hooper and the hype: pumping Max Hooper

2013-05-21T14:56:06Z

For those who follow the offseason on Twitter or the Rumble, you know that sophomore transfer Max Hooper has been tweeting about his shooting exploits in practice. And they are impressive - hitting 85% of his shots on many occasions per the photographs, not leaving the gym until he's hit 500 shots (per the New York Post's solid profile of Max Hooper).

In these workouts - and in his high school highlight reel - he looks like a deadeye shooter. I mean, watch this.

Hard work in lonely offseason gym sessions will hopefully pay off for the Red Storm, who need the help.

You probably know this, but St. John's didn't shoot the ball well last year, connecting on 27% of their threes on the season (343rd in the nation out of 347 teams) and taking threes on 22% of their attempted field goals (341st in the nation).

The Johnnies were last in Big East play in three point shooting percentage (25%) and in three-pointers attempted (25%), and had the second-worst offense in the league.

So having the three-point weapon on the bench could only help, right?

The Johnnies had a three-point weapon in Marc-Antoine Bourgault. They still do. But Bourgault struggled in limited minutes and perhaps with confidence. He saw real minutes (and starts) in the early February period where D`Angelo Harrison started to falter on the court and off, saw a lot of the bench, and saw more minutes against Marquette in the regular-season finale, when Steve Lavin was running out of players to play (and brought out walk-on David Lipscomb).

The Johnnies had a three-point weapon in D`Angelo Harrison, who shot 37% from outside the arc his freshman year. But he has had well-publicized issues being a good member of the team and was booted. The NY Post updates us that he is on his way back, but it's important to note that on what should have been a better St. John's team, he shot below 32% on his treys.

There's more to three-point shooting than in-practice ability. And some of that has to do with the team being willing and able to find shooters at the right time and with the right pass to take advantage of a quick trigger.

Will that quick trigger of Max Hooper be able to find the right spots on the floor? Will Hooper be able to find the right spots if the rest of the offense doesn't improve? Will the screen-and-jump shot offense of the guards be conducive to locating a talented shooter?

The hype for Hooper is there and it is catching. But it takes a team to activate a shooting weapon on the wing.

Big East men's basketball NCAA Championship odds for 2014

2013-05-15T21:50:04Z

As we spend the offseason speculating on basketball, let's keep in mind what kind of bets you can lay down as of today. Bovada.lv has published today's odds of winning the NCAA Championship. The Big East doesn't have a team in the odds top-ten (though two Big East defectors are there). The Big East teams with the best odds of winning it all next season:

2013-14 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - contenders	Odds to Win	Conf
Creighton	50/1	BE
Georgetown	50/1	BE
Marquette	50/1	BE
Butler	66/1	BE
St. John's	66/1	BE
Villanova	66/1	BE
Xavier	200/1	BE

The former Big East teams on the list (and the new foes of the former Big East teams):

2013-14 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - contenders	Odds to Win	Conf
Louisville	17/2	AAC
North Carolina	16/1	ACC
Syracuse	25/1	ACC
Connecticut	33/1	AAC
Memphis	33/1	AAC
Pittsburgh	50/1	ACC
Notre Dame	75/1	ACC
Cincinnati	100/1	AAC
Temple	150/1	AAC
Maryland	200/1	ACC
Clemson	250/1	ACC
Boston College	500/1	ACC

That's five teams (and UNC) with better or similar preseason odds in what was (or could have been) the Big East, for those with reminiscences.

Which of these odds seems like a good bet? Which look like tossing your money into the maw of a volcano? Is the new ACC really a tougher hoops conference?

Schedule update: St. John's vs Wisconsin in South Dakota in November

2013-05-14T01:59:04Z

Thanks to our friends at Bucky's 5th Quarter, we know that Steve Lavin and his young Red Storm will play a November 8th matchup against Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers.

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

"“Playing a Bo Ryan-coached Badger team gives us an early-season test and an opportunity to get a report card following an offseason that will include a European tour,” said Steve Lavin.

"The relationship Coach [Bo] Ryan has with Coach (Steve) Lavin also made it a more appealing game," Wisconsin associate head coach Greg Gard added. "They have had a long-standing relationship and with the game featuring Midwest and East Coast programs, it brings some flavor to the schedule."

The Wisconsin Badgers, 23-12 last season, lost in the first round to Ole MIss in the NCAA Tournament. The talented Badgers return forwards Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky, along with guard Ben Brust. Wisconsin last faced St. John's in the NCAA Tournament in 2002, winning 80-70 in the first round of the tourney.

The game will serve as a home game for the Wisconsin team, but will be rightfully considered a neutral site matchup for RPI purposes. TV station and time is yet to be determined, but according to the release, the game will be a nationally televised matchup to showcase the new Sanford Pentagon Sports Complex and the Complex' heritage court.

The main "heritage" court, which seats 3,250, is designed to be an intimate experience.

The Pentagon...will be a 160,000-square-foot facility that will include nine basketball courts: six high school regulation, two professional/college practice courts and the "heritage" court. The heritage court will be located in the center of the facility and will be a premium professional/college-size court with design elements reminiscent of 1950s-60s basketball. The Pentagon will be the epicenter of the Sanford Sports Complex.

Matt Warnke, Daktronics Sales Representative, said "this system offers a unique design and gives you a ‘Hoosiers’ feel. We look forward to the first event in this great new facility."

Admit it, you've always wanted to travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Now you have your chance.

And the Johnnies have another marquee, nationally-televised game to start the season - similar to playing in ESPN's 24-hour tip-off in 2012 and 2012. These games are great for exposure, and the Johnnies want to start what should be a good season off on the right foot.

Coach Lavin enters his fourth year with the Red Storm with expectations following a 17-16 season and a second-round NIT loss to Virginia. The Red Storm lose only Amir Garrett leaving.

Scoring star JaKarr Sampson will come back for his sophomore season, and D`Angelo Harrison, who was removed from the roster for conduct detrimental to the team, should return. Chris Obekpa, who anchored the defense will also be back, along with guard Phil Greene IV and wing Sir`Dominic Pointer.

The Johnnies also return redshirted forward God`sgift Achiuwa along with newcomers sidelined this year - the talented Orlando Sanchez (reinstated late in the season by the NCAA for age-related issues), and sharpshooter Max Hooper.

The Red Storm also welcome in Rysheed Jordan, the highest-rated recruit of Steve Lavin's tenure and a point guard who can create off of the dribble.

The squad will take a summer trip to France and Italy, likely in mid-August; the trip will allow them to to get in an extra ten days of practice and game time to work on their game planning.

Bonus: an animated look at the arena.

St. John's alumni honor Joe Lapchick, working to fund statue on campus

2013-05-10T13:43:11Z

It was only a matter of time until St. John's properly honored perhaps its greatest legend.

A group of university alumni are actively seeking to raise the funds to erect a statue honoring legendary basketball coach Joe Lapchick on the St. John's campus.

Various alumni, former St. John's and New York Knicks players, athletics representatives, media members, and general Red Storm supporters gathered at the city's luxurious 21 Club on Thursday evening to honor Lapchick and to raise money to move the project closer to its fruition.

The process has been in the works for years, and is now gaining steam.

Gus Alfieri's "Lapchick"

Ever since Gus Alfieri released his tirelessly researched biography, Lapchick, in 2006 and St. John's basketball celebrated its 100th year in 2008, attention has redirected toward the tremendous accomplishments Joe Lapchick accumulated in a life of basketball that ranged from 1923 until his death from a heart attack in 1970.

When you think of the history of St. John's basketball, you may be initially drawn to the years of Lou Carnesecca's reign - notably the 1985 run that found the Redmen in the Final Four. They have even renamed the venerable Alumni Hall as Carnesecca Arena within the last decade.

But the supposed "glory days" would never have been possible without the foundation set by Lapchick in the years preceding Carnesecca. In those days, four National Invitational Tournament (NIT) titles - a record - spoke for themselves.

Heck, those days were really the "glory days" of St. John's basketball.

"[Joe Lapchick] is one of the coaching greats. He was a guy who had a lot of foresight about the game," Hall of Famer and Knick legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier mentioned at the event on Thursday. "He was a pioneer."

The proposed statue is slated to sit on the St. John's Queens campus, likely in front of Carnesecca Arena, as a reminder of the legacy Lapchick has left behind and has carried on for almost fifty years after the last game he ever coached, an upset win over Villanova in the 1965 NIT championship.

"[Lapchick] was not only a coach, but he was a man - a gentleman and a father figure to everyone," stated Jack Kaiser, who played under Lapchick at St. John's before eventually serving as the school's athletic director and a founding father of the Big East Conference as AD. "He was not a college graduate, but he was noted for his ability to get the best out of everyone."

Lapchick is widely remembered for his success as a coach both at St. John's and with the Knicks, yet it may not have been his greatest impact on the game. He is credited for his heavy contribution to the breaking of the racial barrier in professional basketball, something that has undoubtedly shaped how the game has evolved until today.

The event included a dinner, a question and answer session and speeches given by the author of Lapchick, Gus Alfieri, and two of Lapchick's children - Barbara and Dr. Richard Lapchick.

"I learned all of my values about diversity and ethics from my father. He was obviously a great coach and player, but he was even better as a dad and person," Richard, a human rights activist and racial equality pioneer in his own right, reflected to a group of over a hundred supporters. "For him it was not about a basketball game, but about a vision for what America could someday become."

The alumni group heading the project estimate that the statue will cost anywhere between $100,000 and $120,000, of which only about $60,000 had been collected before Thursday.

Notable guests at the event included Steve Lavin, Gene Keady, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, John Starks, and Kiki Vandeweghe, along with Frazier, Kaiser and Dr. Lapchick.

Afternoon Rumble: continuing rivalries, waiting for a Big East Commissioner

2013-05-09T16:59:38Z

The Big East Commissioner search has moved on from Jamie Zaninovich and Dave Gavitt to someone likely on the business side of Major League Baseball or the National Basketball Association.

Drunken Tiger Woods for no good reason, y'all!

That's considered outside the box, but the league search is focused on managers with marketing/ business experience to help build the brand of the Big East. A commissioner is helpful for crafting early-season attention-grabbing series like the Big East/ SEC challenge, which will not be played this year - the contract expired. (h/t @UnderTheEl)

Around the Big East

New commit for Hoyas! The grey-clad Georgetowners received a verbal commitment from 2014 guard Tre Campbell. He was considered a mid-major prospect but a hot year playing at St. John's College HS in D.C. piqued the interest of the Hoyas, Maryland, and others; he should start next year as a top-100 prospect.

Xavier's Chris Mack is not averse to looking at transfers.

You know what they’ve done in college basketball. No matter how talented freshmen are, there’s still that unknown of how they’ll adjust to the speed of the game, the quickness of the game, the coaching. But you know that when you get a transfer, they’ve gone through scouting reports. They’ve lifted in a college program. They’ve competed every day in long, grueling practices. That’s a huge benefit, knowing that they’re going to bring those experiences. And at the same time you can also see how they’ve responded on the floor and again, what their resume tells you who they are as a player.

Seton Hall and Rutgers will continue series, per Jerry Carino.

Hall coach Kevin Willard said the programs are targeting the first full weekend in December for the non-conference clash between the former Big East foes. It will take place either Friday, Dec. 6 or Sunday, Dec. 8. Rutgers football plays South Florida at home on Dec. 7.

The rivalry game will be held at Rutgers this year, with Seton Hall hosting the following season in what will be an alternating home-and-home pattern.

~~The greatest rivalry that no one knows about~~ - I mean, the greatest rivalry in all of New Jersey continues, with a completely different Rutgers team and a Seton Hall team that will be trying hard to wipe the stink of an injury-filled down year off the books.

Villanova and Syracuse will continue series, playing a home-and-home and then a neutral court game in Madison Square Garden in 2015-16 that could be part of a college basketball doubleheader.

One forgets sometimes that the Garden is not only for the Johnnies... conversely, the Johnnies are not only for the Garden, right? More from our Syracuse pals and our Villanova homies.

...is there a particularly interesting Villanova/ Syracuse game you remember? I can think of awesome Syracuse/ Georgetown games... but maybe I have blinders on when it comes to Villanova things.

Bonus!

The best Twitter account of the week: @FloridaMan

For the uninitiated, some crazy [mess] happens in the state of Florida, a creative mess of petty crime, drunkenness, drug use, poverty, and straight-up bizarre behavior.

Florida Man Arrested For Leaving Dead Opossum On Ex-Girlfriend's Doorstep | buff.ly/13gxkov
— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) May 8, 2013

For example.

Best retro 90s video

Esthero - "That Girl". Supposedly she is streaming a new album on YouTube, but it ain't up yet... so this is what you get. From 1998, this was one of my jams. (It was apparently in the soundtrack of "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer". I'm more of a "Final Destination" guy, myself.)

Baseball vs Notre Dame, Joe Tartamella to speak at Villa 7 panel

2013-05-09T16:58:13Z

The baseball team is still alive for the Big East baseball tournament despite a tough year; the top eight teams make the Big East Tournament.

The Johnnies are in eighth place with a 7-11 conference record (20-30 overall) with six games left against Notre Dame (8-10 in the Big East) and Seton Hall (13-5 in the Big East).

Those are a pair of tough series for the Red Storm to take; the Johnnies lost a three-game set at Miami last weekend.

All of the St. John's/ Notre Dame games will be available on ESPN 3. So if you're done with finals or otherwise just relaxing, enjoy some college baseball at 12:00 PM on Saturday or the second game of the doubleheader at 3:00 PM on Saturday - or at 1:00 PM on Sunday.

Women's coach Joe Tartamella, fresh off of an NCAA berth and having two of his players drafted, will be a panelist at the prestigious Villa 7 Consortium on May 10-11. The program is self-described as a program to put athletic directors and top assistant coaches together to prepare the next generation of leaders.

Or, from the press release: "In 2012, 14 assistant coaches who have been a part of the Villa 7 Consortium were hired as head coaches. Tartamella was one of those 14." Obviously, Tartamella has benefited, and will pass on what he learned to another group of assistant coaches.

Amir Garrett transfers to Cal State-Northridge

2013-05-08T17:24:44Z

Amir Garrett, who announced that he was leaving the St. John's Red Storm hoops program last month, tweeted that he has chosen a location on the west coast, joining the Big West's Cal State-Northridge Matadors, on the north side of LA*.

I'm coming home I'm coming home tell the world I'm coming home #Matadors
— amir garrett (@Amir_Garrett) May 8, 2013

Garrett, the 6'6" Los Angeles native (who also attended Findlay Prep in Nevada) Garrett averaged 5.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 20 minutes per game in 2012-13. He scored a career-high points against DePaul in 2012, and in 2013 had a season high of 5 points three times - against Detroit, against South Carolina, and against Villanova. A hard-nosed player, Garrett was one of the new players willing to mix it up on offense in the paint.

He will be remembered for sticking with his commitment after being deemed ineligible for the Johnnies, working at prep school to get he required grades and joining a six-man Red Storm in December of 2011.

More: Amir Garrett and St. John's churn

Garrett is currently in Arizona, working with the Reds farm system on his baseball, where his prospect star has risen. He's been good enough to consider pitching full time, and has even been mentioned as a piece in a possible trade for a major league player.

The talented wing will attempt to continue his career on the hardwood for the Cal State Northridge team, under new coach Reggie Theus - famous for his playing career and stints on the NBC Saturday morning show "Hang Time". Theus also had a solid two years as head coach of the New Mexico State Aggies, played under Jerry Tarkanian and coached under Rick Pitino. So of course, his style is aggressive.

"Our goal is to be the hardest playing team in the conference," Theus said in his opening press conference. "Our identity is going to be paramount. We're going to get after it with a full court pressure defense, and we're going to run. We want to win, compete for the Big West championship and eventually go deep into the NCAA Tournament."

The defensively-capable, fast, and athletic Amir Garrett would fit right in with that aggressive style.

Last year's CSUN team was 14-17, 5-13 in the Big West.

*Is that still considered the Valley? I don't know my Los Angeles geography.