HUGE PITT STOP FOR ST. JOHN'S

By Zach Smart

Norm Roberts finally took the first major stride in bringing basketball back to New York City Saturday, as the Johnnies delivered an improbable 71-65 victory over Notre Dame at Madison Square Garden last Saturday. For years, Roberts has been trying to revive an ailing program, one that abruptly dipped under the bridge following Mike Jarvis’ disastrous stay as head coach.

While Roberts’ team has been the walking wounded, an injury-plagued team that bares more resemblance to “The Infamous Infirmary” than a Big East team entertaining NCAA tournament thoughts, their win against Notre Dame could be a major steppingstone.

They withstood a 28-point performance from Luke Harangody and went on to win, behind 20 points from D.J. Kennedy.

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Pretty wild when you think about the fact that St. John’s beat Notre Dame who defeated Georgetown who defeated previously no.2-ranked Uconn. If you think that’s odder than Woody Harrelson’s penchant for earthly products (word around the campfire has it this guy even wears footwear made out of hemp), think about the NCAA as a whole.

During a normal stretch in the NCAA regular season, Boston College stuns previously top-ranked North Carolina in a major upset, and then falls to Harvard. That’s crazier than a nut-house rat.

Roberts and St. John’s hopefully won’t be riding a major high from last week. Their ecstasy can soon turn into agony as they head to Pittsburgh for a 12:00 PM date with the country’s top-ranked program.

Pittsburgh has molded their own version of earth, wind, and fire in inside presence DeJuan Blair (14.2 PPG, 12.5 RPG), scoring threat Sam Young (19.5 ppg) and battle tested, veteran point guard Levance Fields (6.5 APG).

It should be an interesting homecoming for the aforementioned Kennedy, a Pittsburgh native who’s shown he can score in clusters this season. Kennedy, a versatile 6-foot-5 sophomore, has been averaging 13 points to go with 7.3 boards.

His scoring, however, has been more than inconsistent. He’s the kid who lit up Long Island for 23 but managed just two points in a 70-56 loss to Miami. He scored 16 points against Eastern Michigan but dropped just 7 in a 2-for-10 showing in a loss to Providence.

So, for a team that’s still searching for their identity after a season-ending injury to former go-to-guy Anthony Mason Jr., Kennedy needs to take it upon himself to lead. Norm Roberts likes his toughness and his all-around game, but both Kennedy and sophomore Paris Horne (13 ppg, 45 percent FG) need to bring their full offensive repertoire every night. The games against Bethune-Cookman, NJIT, and St. Francis N.Y. are no more.

One familiar face that Kennedy will be reunited with on Saturday is Blair, another homegrown Pittsburgh product. Blair grew up roughly 600 yards from the Peterson Events Center at the Pittsburgh Hill District.

Fitting, because it took Blair roughly 600 yards to skyrocket to Big East school stardom.

Freshman year was a sprint and not a marathon for Blair, who was a Consensus Freshman All-America selection after averaging 11.6 points and 9.1 rebounds.

-Young has become one of the premier scorers in the Big East. If he really erupts one of these games, he will pass Carl Krauser for the most points scored in a game at the Peterson Events Center. Krauser gave Syracuse a 32-spot back during the 2005-06 campaign. He scored 33 in a 14-point win over Belmont back on Nov. 25.

-Beyond Young and company, Pittsburgh has oceanic depth with veterans Tyrell Biggs, Gilbert Brown and Jermaine Dixon, the younger brother of NBA player and former Maryland star Juan Dixon.

-Boxing out Blair, who had an eye-popping 17 boards during the Panthers’ victory over Georgetown, will be quite the daunting task. The Johnnies don’t exactly have the personnel to contain him. Sean Evans, however, has shown flashes of excellence (19 points and 13 boards against Marist), and will be put to the test Saturday.

-It’s too bad Malik Boothe is still hurt. One of the game’s intriguing subplots would be the point guard matchup. Levance Fields and Malik Boothe are both New York players that bring that New York savvy, though Fields has had a much more prosperous college career. Both players employ a pass-first, dish-before-swish mentality though Fields has never been afraid to launch the big shot.