Red Storm Tip Off is live tonight

Kicking off the season (unofficially) is tonight’s Red Storm Tip-Off, a celebration of the team and a showcase of them men’s and women’s squads for students and alumni. Now, of course, practice has already started, the kids also have training time over the summer, and this is more of a fun showcase with music and recruits, but still — this is an important marker that the season is soon to come.

Here’s what you need to know:

How to watch

The event will be live-streamed on Facebook starting at 7:10 PM. Here is the Facebook link. You should probably just like or follow the site (along with following Rumble in the Garden on Facebook, of course).

How to attend

According to St. John’s:

Doors to the event will open at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are free. The Carnesecca Arena Ticket Office will open at 9 a.m. on Friday for St. John’s students. Student season ticket holders will receive their Red Storm Tip-Off ticket in their online account. Beginning at 4 p.m., the Ticket Office will welcome season ticket holders, Red White Club members, alumni, faculty and staff to pick up tickets.

That sounds like non-alumni are not able to go, but that is unclear. I’d go and try to get in anyway...

Who are the special guests

The musical guest will be rapper Sheck Wes, whose off-kilter videos are enjoyable (the kids seem to like his music, too). Here’s a video of Mo Bamba. Yes, named after the Harlem hoopster. Wes released his debut album last week.

Also in the house will be some possible future St. John’s hoopsters

• Jonathan Kuminga is a top-five recruit in the 2021 class (two seasons from now); 6’8”, 195 pounds.
• Moussa Cisse is a 6’9”, 200 pound center at Christ the King in Queens who is a top 15 recruit in the 2021 class.
• Nate Tabor is a 6’5”, 202 pound wing from Waterbury (like Mustapha Heron); he is a top-75 recruit and is in the 2020 class.
• R.J. Davis is a 5’11” guard from Archbishop Stepinac, in the 2020 class.
• C.J. Wilcher is a 6’5”, 180 pound guard who polays at St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey. He’s in the 2020 class.

There will also be an alumni game, and we don’t know who will be playing but it should be fund.

What we expect to see from the players

We want to see some good dance moves, no injuries, and a taste of what Mustapha Heron can do on the court. Other than that, it’ll be nice to see which players can show some goofy tricks off, and will be nice to see transfer Eli Wright and David Caraher in uniform once this season.

And let’s close out with another Sheck Wes video for Chippi Chippi