St. John's Hopes To Continue Success As Big East Slate Nears

By Zach Smart

The Felipe Lopez replica jersey that once hung proudly on the window at Modell's on Yonkers Ave. has since been removed. There's doubt that most people today would even recognize the name. There's a considerable feeling that most would just question the decision to showcase the old-school jersey.

After the hype, high expectations, and hearsay about the kid once synonymous with New York City basketball went by the wayside (Lopez played four mediocre seasons in the NBA before taking his game to the CBA and over-the-waters), the likeness was removed.

Lopez authored a storied stay at St. John's, becoming an All-Big East selection as a fabulous freshman and scoring 1,927 career points at the school, behind only some guy named Chris Mullin and the late, great Malik Sealy.

Ask most, and Lopez' story is not unusual. A kid from a New York City perennial power turns heads during his time with the Johnies and either falls off at the next level or exits prematurely, chasing hoop dreams. See Cook, Omar or Barkley, Erick, for more details. It's become a vicious cycle, a destructional pattern. Mike Jarvis didn't exactly help alter the program's already-dented perception.

Now, with Norm Roberts at the helm, the program is focused on getting the city's youth back to St. John's. The Johnnies have dwelled under bridge of obscurity these past few years, with promising campaigns underscored by recruiting troubles, lack of chemistry and underachieving players.

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This season, the Johnnies already drove into a gap, one that wasn't self-inflicted. It was a tough pill to swallow as Anthony Mason Jr., who led the Red Storm with 14.4 points and 4.4 boards last season, jumped out of the fold.

In his highly-anticipated senior season, Mason played just three games--highlighted by a 24-point performance in a win over Cornell--before falling out with a torn peroneal tendon in his right foot.

Mason Jr., the son of former New York Knicks warhorse Anthony Mason, suffered the season-ending injury during the Preseason NIT.

SJU, however, has stepped it up in Mase's absence, reeling off a six straight victories since an 82-70 loss to Tyrese Rice and Boston College on Nov. 18.

Though their out-of-conference schedule has been softer than marshmallows, front-loaded with teams that swim with that can only swim with the plankton of the big NCAA ocean (i.e. the reeling, new lower grounds-shattering NJIT), they've developed an identity.

DJ Kennedy has come into his own.

The 6-foot-6 guard/forward has established himself as the go-to-guy, posting 14.3 points per game. He lit up Long Island and Cornell for 23 and 22, respectively, during the first two games of the season. While his consistency has been called into question (He did his best Houdini impression against Boston College, Loyala-Chi., and the aforementioned NJIT), the onus is on him to fill up the stat sheet.

Leading the Johnnies into a new area code and a high-rent district, however, will have to be a cohesive effort. The roster is littered with freshman and sophomores, but Norm Roberts is confident that point guard Malik Boothe is up for the task.

The half-pint local product is averaging 9.3 points and 5.3 dimes, with sophomores Paris Horne (12.5 ppg) and Justin Burrel (10.6 ppg), a freakish athlete who broke the backboard during the NJIT beatdown, emerging as his primary targets.

Horne, a Delaware native who’s beginning to flower, was named to the Big East Honor Roll. He’s accompanied by Louisville’s Samardo Samuels, Marquette’s Lazar Hayward, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, and Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell. SJU’s 8-1 start is the best since the 1994-1995 season, with Lopez running the show. The Johnnies improved to 7-0 at home this year with a 77-59 trouncing of Bethune-Cookman. It was the Sean Evans show early on, as the 6-8 forward scored the game’s first nine points.

Will the young, sophomore-laden team be able to hold their own against the Big East sharks of the big NCAA ocean and buck the latest college basketball odds?

“I chose the path we are on,” said Roberts, who hears the “Fire Norm!” chants despite the win streak. "I chose to bring in eight freshmen. I chose to do that for our program (to) build a foundation. We have to take our lumps in order to be good. We are playing against quality - not good teams, but great teams (in this league)."