RED STORM HOST ELITE LOCAL TALENTS

June 19, 2008

In the last couple weeks, both Lance Stephenson (class of 2009) and Tobias Harris (class of 2010) have made unofficial vists to Queens to check out St. John's and visit with coach Norm Roberts.

“Tobias…came away very impressed with what coach Norm Roberts is doing at St.John’s,” according to his father, Torrel Harris Sr. “Tobias stated to me it looks like coach Roberts is really trying his best to get St. John’s back to the elite level,” Mr. Harris informed the NBE Basketball Report in the story about the Tobias Harris Tour Stop at St. John's.

“It seems like Coach Roberts has a great plan for his young team to improve each day in order for St. John’s University to get to that next level,” Mr. Harris remarked.

The stop at St. John’s and the trip to WVU is all part of a Busy Summer for Harris that has also included the stop at Virginia, an earlier stop at Kansas and, at least, planned upcoming trips to Indiana, Louisville, Marquette, Rutgers, Maryland, Florida, Connecticut, Arizona, Memphis and Syracuse.

As for the visit from Stephenson, he made it clear after words that St. John's is a viable option to land him. It is no secret he is close to his father, Lance Sr., who has also coached his son in several AAU events with the Raising Champions squad. Staying close to home for the Lincoln HS star could become a real option as the recruitment moves along.

“Oh yeah, I was really looking at St. John’s, Stephenson commented in anarticle posted at the NBE Basketball Report. “I think I can bring New York back [to prominence], so I’m really looking at that right now.”

Stephenson told Alex Schwartz yesterday his top schools are ”USC, St. John’s, Kansas, UCLA, and Tennessee.”

But, before St. John’s fans get too excited, the process is not nearly over yet. “I don’t have a leader right now,” Stephenson cautioned.

Even schools like North Carolina, Kentucky, Memphis and Indiana are not ready to be ruled out according to Lance, “I’m still looking at the schools, but I’m more focused on the other [first five] schools, then I’m going to focus on the others.”

ST. JOHN'S 2008-2009 SNAPSHOT

June 13, 2008


Head Coach: Norm Roberts
2007-2008 Record: 11-13 (5-13 Big East)

Returning Players:
Anthony Mason, Senior (Forward)
Tomas Jasiulionis, Senior (Center)
Rob Thomas, Sophomore (Forward)
Justin Burrell, Sophomore (Power Forward)
Malik Boothe, Sophomore (Point Guard)
Ayodele Coker, Sophomore (Center)
DJ Kennedy, Sophomore (Guard/Forward)
Paris Horne, Sophomore (Guard)
Sean Evans, Sophomore (Forward)

Incoming Players:
Ty Edmondson, Point Guard
Quincy Roberts, Shooting Guard
Phil Wait, Center

Graduated:
Eugene Lawrence, Senior (Point Guard)

Transferred Out:
Larry Wright, Sophomore (Guard)
Mike Cavataio, Freshman (Guard/Forward)


Open Items/Issues:
Norm Roberts survived another season at St. John's without even a trip to the Big East's conference tournament. In fact, he was rewarded by the administration at St. John's with a new 5-year rollover contract. Shortly after the news, Roberts got busy on the recruiting trail adding much needed depth on the perimeter with Ty Edmondson and Quincy Roberts as well as a live body for the paint, Phil Wait. The recruiting did not stop there as the Redstorm also picked up an early 2009 commitment from point guard Malik Stith out of Virginia.

Even with the existence of a new contract, the pressure to win from fans and boosters will only intensify this coming season. Playing in front of embarrasingly small crowds at Madison Square Garden was bad enough, but losing by margins of 24 and 32 was even worse. Or, how about Pittsburgh winning six games on the Garden floor with St. John's winning just once on the hallowed floor, and that came against Marist.

My, how the mighty have fallen...

Summary:
As expected, with such a young team, St. John's was unable to imrpove upon their 7-9 mark of 2006-2007 last year. Is there hope this season? Well, it will depend on how much improvement they get from last year's freshman class. The biggest thing Norm Roberts' crew has going for them is the pair of forwards in Anthony Mason Jr. and Justin Burrell. Mason is one of the best small forwards in the conference and on many occassions last year he seemed like the only player on the floor for the Redsorm capable of scoring a basket. Burrell is a strong and athletic big forward that should continue to improve as his skills mature. He is learning not everything can be a dunk at this level.

While Mason and Burrell are better than average for the Big East, not much else is for SJU. The center position could have Burell sliding down to fill it if Tomas Jasiulionis, Phil Wait or Ayodele Coker can not find any consistency in the paint offensively of defensively. I do beleive Coker will eventually be a solid contributor and Wait sounds promising if he can get stronger and more acclimated to the American style of the game.

A big key is Rob Thomas having a year under his belt, continued conditioning and strenghening exercises for his knee. If he can resemble his old self, SJU could find another capable scorer.

Perimeter shooting is going to be a big weakness for SJU as Larry Wright, their best three-point threat has transferred. Malik Boothe will run the point, but the small point guard is not much of an offensive threat. Ty Edmondson was brought in late to give a little more pop from the point and the wing guards will rotate in and out with DJ Kennedy, Paris Horne and freshman Quincy Roberts competing for time.

St. John's seems to be a lot like Seton Hall heading into next season. While they definitely could be improved on some levels, they are unlikely to be closing much of the gap between them and the teams in the top half of the conference. What makes it difficult, some of the teams below them might be improving faster and will threaten to pass them this season. It is going to be a tough chore to eclipse last year's five Big East wins, getting closer to NIT-eligible might be their meager goal for 2008-2009.

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: ST. JOHN'S

June 6, 2008


VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Phil Wait (C), 7'1, 265 lbs from England


Projected 2008-2009 Roster:

Seniors: Anthony Mason (F), Tomas Jasiulionis F/C)
Juniors: None
Sophomores: Justin Burrell (PF), Malik Boothe (PG), Rob Thomas (F), Ayodele Coker (C), Paris Horne (G), DJ Kennedy (G), Sean Evans (F)
Freshman: Quincy Roberts (G), Ty Edmondson (PG), Phil Wait (C)
2009 Commitments: Malik Stith (PG)


The recruiting news has certainly picked up around St. John's the last five or six weeks and the Redstorm added another late addition yesterday with Adam Zagoria reporting Phil Wait to St. John's (zagsblog). Wait helps bring some size that Norm Roberts and his team desperately needs.

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Things have not gone well for St. John's. Another season of no post-season which was filled with embarrassing losses at Madison Square Garden. Seems like the ritual every spring in the program is who can get out first, this past year it was Larry Wright and Mike Cavataio leaving the program. The 'storm went o-fer in the early signing period, but managed a couple late period signees and also added a 2009 commitment prior to the Memorial Day holiday and this week, they dip into the international talent pool at add Phil Wait, a 7'1 and 265 lb center from Manchester, England.

Wait spent this past season at the Gran Canaria Basketball Academy in Spain and also has played at Proctor Academy in the New England Prep School ranks. Whiel playing in the US, schools like Providence and Rhode Island were very interested in Wait.

Like most European-esque players, Wait will have to get stronger and tougher to play at a high Division 1-A level and be effective. His year at a basketball academy in Spain hopefully helped in this regard. St. John's desperately needs some effective size on the court this season.

Malik Stith, a native of Long Island, committed to St. John's recently after completing his senior season at East Mecklenberg High School in North Carolina. Stith will prep one season at Bridgton Academy, the same institution that has sent current SJU players Paris Horne and Justin Burrell to the Redstorm program.

Stith had a big season at East Mecklenberg and his play this spring for the United Celtics impressed the St. John's staff enough to earn a scholarship offer. Others involved with Stith at this point were Wichita State, Winthrop and George Mason, but more would have been involved if they knew his academic situation and that he would be in the class of 2009.

Stith, the Southwestern 4A player of the year, made the boys all-state first team in North Carolina as he led East Mecklenberg to the class 4-A North Carolina High School basketball championship by scoring 20 points in the final game, a 72-63 win over Apex. He also added 7 steals, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the game and his ability to handle the ball was the key component to running out the clock. Stith is a very good ball handler who is exceptionally quick with the ball. He will be a perfect compliment to Malik Boothe and give SJU another top-notch ball handler.

Norm Roberts' long-term future is very uncertain with the Redstorm and that is obviously not going to help on the recruiting trail. Despite that uncertainty, Roberts and staff were able to land a solid commitment from Harrisburg High School's Quincy Roberts in the 2008 late signing period. The 6'4, 190 lb guard was one time a commitment for Miami (FL), but opted not to sign last fall and re-opened his recruitment. Roberts' recruitment had been rather quiet throughout the season, but after averaging over 18 points a game, along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists, the Mid-Penn all-conference selection suddenly saw a spike in his recruiting as he quickly became one of the top unsigned prospects left on the recruiting board. After considering Virginia as well, Roberts decided to join the Redstorm program and pledged to Norm Roberts on Tuesday morning.

Ty Edmondson also committed to St. John's last month and you can place him on the St. John's roster for 2008-2009. Edmondson is an athletic and tall guard that will help run the show for St. John's, giving Malik Boothe help handling the ball next season. A very strong senior season was punctuated by winning the slam-dunk contest in the Kentucky-Ohio All-Star game. As a senior, Edmondson averaged 18.4 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.7 steals at UHA helping the Blazers to a 30-5 record helping the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) District 8 and Region 2 championship.

With the late additions of Wait, Edmondson and Roberts and the early commitment of Stith, St. John's has just one scholarships open for the 2008-2009. There have been indications that SJU remains involved in potential late qualifiers such as DeAndre Kane out of Schenley HS in Pittsburgh, former teammate of DJ Kennedy, and Sean Kilpatrick out of White Plains HS in New York. Both guards are quality recruits, but their academic situations raise questions on what class they will end up in. Another recruit that has definitely picqued the interest of St. John's is 6'5 shooting guard Donald Williams. The Louisiana native prepped this past season at Progressive Christian Academy in Maryland after failing to qualify out of high school. Williams recently completed a successful visit to the SJU campus and is also considering Marquette. Williams is a 2008 recruit.

If nobody is added for the class of 2008 at this point, St. John's will continue recruiting for the 2009 class with three scholarships available. With point guard taken care of, help up front and on the wing are the likely points of emphasis, four targets that get a lot of attention from St. John's include NY Gaucho AAU teammates Tevin Baskin (6'6 forward) and Dan Jennings (6'8 PF/C), Lincoln (NYC) HS 6'8 PF/C James Padgett and Linden (NJ) HS center David Bruce. Kevin Parrom is another player the Redstorm has been looking at very closely and the rumored addition of Oswald Cross to the SJU staff could help a lot in his recruitment, along with that off AAU teammate Omari Lawrence. Other wings on the list for Norm Roberts include Mount Vernon's Sherrod Wright and James Stukes of NYC.

Roberts recently received a vote of confidence from the St. John's administration, hoping to give him a lift on the recruiting trail, and signed a new rollover contract. However, the uncertainty of his future still hangs over the program like a 'storm cloud and will continue to handcuff his recruiting. Winning this season (2008-2009) still seems like a longshot in the Big East, but might even be too late to help with the recruiting of the class of 2009, which most will sign prior to the season beginning, but it would show progress, and that is what SJU desperately needs ASAP!