1- Villanova By The Numbers has a numbers-oriented 2009-2010 preview on St. John's. You should check it out.
2- Mid-Major Madness is doing a countdown of all the teams in Division I. yes, all 344. The Red Storm shows in this list at 131. The write-up, below the fold.
131. St. John's: It seems like all too long ago when St. John's was contending for Big East titles. St. John's went 16-18 in 2008-09 and has had just one winning season in five years under Norm Roberts, who might be in trouble if things don't turn around soon. A quick glance at the Red Storm's roster, with G/F Anthony Mason Jr., suggests that good things may be in store. St. John's returns all five starters from last year's squad - and that doesn't include Mason, who learned in August that the NCAA had granted him an extra year of eligibility following an anterior cruciate ligament tear three games into last season.
Read the rest of the analysis, those are good quick looks at every single NCAA Division I men's basketball team.
3- From MSG's GameOn! blog, an article about how St. John's is more prepared to move on without Anthony Mason Jr. than they were in the past:
While Mason remains an integral piece to the Red Storm, he isn't the sole piece anymore. Juniors Paris Horne and D.J. Kennedy took their games to another level last year with Mason out of the lineup, becoming two of the more improved players in the Big East. So far in practice, they've been terrific for St. John's.
"No one is taking their minutes," Roberts said of the junior duo. "The way they're playing, they're by far our two best players every day."
4- Meanwhile, upcoming opponent St. Bonaventure has an up and coming talent at center in Andrew Nicholson; he even gets a well-written profile in Slam magazine.
5- And Larry Wright is listed as one of the top 12 mid-major transfers in National Hoops Report. Good luck at Oakland University in Michigan.
Post-script: At Storm Fest last night, St. John's hosted local forward Devon Collier and French forward (who is doing school stateside at Florida Air Academy) Will Yeguete (also spelled online as Will Yeguette, and his full first name is Wilfried) for official visits.
Also, a new St. John's blog has started called Red Storm Review. I'll be checking it out.