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BREAKING NEWS: Top recruit Sampson commits to St. John’s

Posted by Mike Cunniff

JaKarr Sampson, a 6-7 small forward from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, has committed to St. John’s on ESPNU.

Sampson is a four-star recruit according to ESPN and Rivals, and a five-star recruit according to Scout.  He is ranked as the 23rd prospect overall to ESPN, 44th to Rivals and 22nd to Scout.

He is new head coach Steve Lavin’s third commitment overall and second in the class of 2011. Another 2011 small forward Maurice Harkless, is also ranked in ESPN’s Super 60.

Sampson is the only five-star recruit St. John’s has pulled in since Scout and Rivals started rating prospects in 2002. The last four-star recruits to commit to the Red Storm before this year were current seniors Justin Burrell and Dele Coker in 2007.

ESPN praises Sampson as a “terrific above the rim finisher” and a “good shot blocker” who is capable of guarding multiple positions. They compare his game to NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen’s.

Sampson, an Akron, Ohio native, played at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s, NBA star LeBron James’ alma mater, before transferring this year for academic reasons, according to The Plain Dealer.

Roberts fired as Men’s Basketball Coach

Posted by Bill San Antonio

Norm Roberts has been fired as the St. John’s men’s basketball coach after six seasons, according to Athletic Director Chris Monasch.

According to multiple reports, Roberts and his agent, Dennis Coleman, met with Monasch last night at Coleman’s office in the NewsCorp building, where he was informed of the University’s decision.

“Coach Roberts took over a very challenging situation and has advanced our program in many respects. We appreciate the class and integrity he exhibited in his six years at St. John’s. His student-athletes always represented the University in ways consistent with our values, and he has significantly improved the pool of basketball talent since he arrived,” said Monasch. “We have high expectations for our program. Along with demanding that our program is run with integrity and that our student-athletes achieve academically and in the community, we expect a high level of success on the court consistent with our tradition.”

Roberts compiled an 81-101 record with the program, reaching the NIT this year after amassing the program’s highest win total under the head coach (17). According to the New York Post’s inital report last week, Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg and Hofstra’s Tom Pecora lead the list of candidates to be Roberts’ replacement.

“My wife [Pascale] and I appreciate the great opportunity to have coached at St. John’s, and would like to offer our gratitude and appreciation to Father Harrington, Father Maher, Jim Pellow and Chris Monasch. They have all been very supportive of me, my staff and my family,” said Roberts. “Having grown up in Queens, I never could have imagined being afforded the opportunity to coach at one of the most prestigious basketball programs in the country. I do believe the program is in a much stronger position than when I arrived, and is poised to take a major step up both in the BIG EAST and nationally. This is due to the hard work of our coaching staff and our players, and I wish this group of young men continued success in the future.”

Red Storm blow away Fairfield in home opener

Posted by Mike Cunniff

The St. John’s baseball team couldn’t wait to get home.

After going 1-5 in their last six games and giving up over nine runs per game during that stretch, the Red Storm’s home opener couldn’t come soon enough.

They made the most of their home cooking, routing Fairfield 16-5 at Jack Kaiser stadium Wednesday

NY Post: Roberts will not be retained by university

Posted by Bill San Antonio

The New York Post is reporting that St. John’s will not retain head basketball coach Norm Roberts, according to sources high in the athletic department, the board of trustees, and in the booster sector.

“He has as much as integrity as anyone I’ve known,” one source told the Post. “He is as classy as anyone I’ve ever known. That’s what makes this so hard.”

Roberts lost his 100th game yesterday in the second round of the Big East tournament, a 57-55 defeat at the hands of Marquette. Despite winning 17 games this season — the most in a season during the Roberts era — it is likely that St. John’s would not reach the NIT tournament, therefore not reaching a postseason tournament in each season under Roberts.

According to the Post, Roberts’ buyout will likely be in the range of $700,000-$800,000. Roberts’ agent Dennis Coleman interrupted a phone conversation with the Post to take a call from one of his college basketball-coaching clients, then did not return phone calls or texts.

The Post also reported that Virginia Tech Head Coach Seth Greenberg – a two-time ACC Coach of the Year with ties to St. John’s – and Hofstra coach Tom Pecora lead the list of potential head coaching candidates, in addition to Siena’s Fran McCaffery, Iona’s Kevin Willard, and Harvard’s Tommy Amaker. Sources told the Post that former New York Knick and St. John’s player Mark Jackson has also expressed interest in the job, despite no coaching experience.

Johnnies fall to Marquette on day two of tourney

Posted by Bill San Antonio

The St. John’s Red Storm overcame a 10-point halftime deficit against Marquette during Wednesday’s second-round Big East tournament match, but the Golden Eagles held on for the 57-55 win after David Cubillan hit a 3-pointer with 1:10 in regulation.

St. John’s shot just 29.6 percent in the first half, but after an inspired halftime speech from Head Coach Norm Roberts, the team brought the game to within a point with 13:15 left as D.J. Kennedy found Sean Evans underneath for the easy lay-in. Minutes later, Kennedy hit an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down and Justin Brownlee made back-to-back field goals to put the Red Storm up 46-42. Kennedy and Evans each had 12 points.

Marquette made its first five 3-point attempts and finished 10-for-18 from beyond the arc. Lazar Hayward made four of those attempts, tying the game on a fallaway 3-pointer with 5:24 remaining, and led the team with 20 points. Cubillan, who hit the shot that proved to be the game-winner, was the team’s second-leading scorer with 11.

St. John’s (17-15, 6-13 Big East) remains hopeful it will receive a bid to the NIT, having beaten Connecticut yesterday and playing at a high level for much of the season. Marquette (21-10, 12-7 Big East) returns to action tomorrow to face Villanova in the Big East tournament’s third round.

Johnnies top Huskies in conference tourney opener

Posted by Bill San Antonio

Early in the first half of Tuesday’s Big East tournament opening round match-up between Connecticut and St. John’s, Red Storm forwards Anthony Mason Jr. and D.J. Kennedy were sent to the bench with early foul trouble.

Mason Jr. hit the game’s opening shot, a 3-pointer, and quickly picked up two fouls before the game was three minutes old. Kennedy hit a 3-pointer of his own but turned the ball over once and was blocked by Stanley Robinson before recording his two fouls.

Due to these occurrences, St. John’s was forced to play with a bigger lineup, as Justin Brownlee and Sean Evans replaced Mason Jr. and Kennedy as the team’s major offensive threats and didn’t disappoint. The Johnnies rode their big men all the way to a 73-51 win, knocking Connecticut out of the tournament and possibly out of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

Johnnies drop MSG finale to No. 16 Pitt

Posted by Bill San Antonio

Midway through the second half of Saturday’s men’s basketball game, Dwight Hardy drew a foul on Dante Taylor of No. 16 Pittsburgh and sank both free throws, cutting the Panthers’ lead, at the time, to 47-40.

Moments later, Ashton Gibbs sank a 3-pointer, and though Justin Burrell countered with a field goal, Pitt took the ball up the floor yet again and hit another 3-pointer. What was a seven-point lead quickly turned into 11.

The Red Storm continued hoisting shots, despite shooting at a 36.2 percent clip. And Pittsburgh, on the offensive end, constantly took advantage. The Panthers (22-7, 11-5 Big East) shot over 50 percent for the game and pulled away with a 72-64 win over St. John’s (15-13, 5-11 Big East) before 6,892 fans in the Johnnies’ regular season finale at Madison Square Garden.

Butler’s buzzer beater gives Men’s Basketball tenth conference loss

Posted by Bill San Antonio

Marquette’s Jimmy Butler and St. John’s Malik Boothe chased down a loose ball near the right corner with less than 10 seconds remaining in the overtime period of Wednesday night’s men’s basketball game, after Boothe stripped him in driving to the basket.

Butler beat Boothe to the ball and hit a 17-foot jump shot as Anthony Mason Jr. rushed over to defend and Marquette defeated St. John’s 63-61, spoiling the forward’s Senior Night in Queens.

Baseball breaks school runs record

Posted by Bill San Antonio

The St. John’s baseball team broke a school record that stood for 54 years Sunday as it swept the University of New Orleans. 

The Red Storm defeated the Privateers 31-6, breaking a record of 30 runs scored set on April 28, 1956 against Brooklyn.

First baseman Paul Karmas was the offensive catalyst for St. John’s, going 4-for-7 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI. Third baseman Greg Hopkins and left fielder Jimmy Brennan also homered for the Red Storm, who sent 12 batters to the plate as part of a 6-run third inning.

New Orleans broke the shutout in the fourth, scoring 3 runs off Miguel Valcarcel, but the Johnnies extended their lead with a 5-run fifth. Eight different St. John’s players scored at least one run, and junior outfielder Scott Ferrara scored five runs.