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.”
