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Posted: Tuesday October 22, 2002 10:45 PM Updated: Tuesday October 29, 2002 10:32 PM St. John's Red Storm
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis TEAM PREVIEW
After the 1999-2000 season, the Red Storm lost point guard Erick Barkley to NBA. Barkley was a sophomore. After the 2000-01 season, St. John’s lost point guard Omar Cook to the NBA. Cook was just a freshman. So while junior college transfer Marcus Hatten was busy almost single-handedly taking St. John’s to the NCAA tournament last season, you think coach Mike Jarvis wasn’t a little worried that he wasn’t witnessing just another way for a player to parlay a brief stay in Jamaica into NBA riches? You don’t think he wondered if Hatten would make it a hat trick for the Storm? That the 6-foot-1 guard with more moves than Jell-O during a Big Apple cab ride would become the third straight Storm player to say, "Show me the money," and bolt to become an instant millionaire? As they say in the New York State lottery: "Hey, you never know." But Hatten stayed put. Go figure. The dynamic guard is back for his senior season as the ringleader of a team with four returning starters and 11 returnees overall. That should make St. John’s not only a fun team to watch, but also a solid squad that could challenge for the Big East’s East Division championship. "I'm not in a rush to go to the NBA," the native of Baltimore said during an April announcement that quelled rumors of his departure. "Playing in the NBA is a dream of mine, and I’m going to work on improving my overall game with the idea of not just making the league, but being there for a long time. I'm also looking forward to my senior year at St. John's, going further in the NCAA tournament and graduation."
There weren’t many awards Hatten didn’t win after his breakout season after transferring from Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College, the same place former Storm standout Bootsy Thornton played. Hatten led the Big East in scoring at 22.3 points per game (20.1 ppg overall), was selected a first-team all-conference pick and led St. John’s in assists (4.5) and steals (3.3, fifth nationally) while finishing second in rebounding (5.3). He won the Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award, given to the New York City area’s player of the year, and also was selected the junior college transfer of the year. Hatten was the first St. John’s player to average 20-plus points since Zendon Hamilton (20.8) in the 1995-96 season. "I knew he was going to be good, but I never expected him to be as good as he was in his first year," said Jarvis, who watched Hatten lead his club in scoring in 23 of 32 games and hit for double figures in 28 of 32. "I thought it would be this year when we would start to see some of the things he did a year ago." Hatten did just about everything and, oh yeah, he did it while playing out of position. A natural shooting guard, he was needed at the point. (If Cook had stuck around for his sophomore season, can you imagine that backcourt?) "Marcus had to be a lot more selfish than he really is or really wanted to be in order for our team to be successful," Jarvis said. "But on many nights, he found a way for us to win. He was extraordinary." Without another scorer in the lineup, Hatten led with his great quickness and basketball instincts. He went for a career-high 34 points against Connecticut, dropping 21-of-25 shots from the free-throw line. He pumped in 31 in back-to-back games against Virginia Tech and Boston College, making 19-of-34 field goals and 9-of-13 from beyond the arc in those two. Hatten shot .281 from 3-point range -- a percentage that probably will improve this season because he can be more selective with his shots --and .724 on free throws. This season he should get more help. The arrival of 5-foot-10 freshman Elijah Ingram, from storied St. Anthony’s in New Jersey, should allow Hatten to play predominantly at the two guard. Ingram, a four-year starter at St. Anthony’s, led his team to back-to-back state titles and the No. 2 national ranking last year. The state player of the year in New Jersey and a McDonald’s All-American, Ingram averaged 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds. "He is potentially a very special point guard," Jarvis said of the left-handed Ingram. "He can run a team, and he brings that Jersey City toughness, winning with intelligence and quickness. And he’ll make the open [3-pointer]. "With Marcus and Elijah, I’m really excited to see how that works." That’s not all Jarvis is jumpy about. Forward Anthony Glover graduated in May to earn his fourth season of eligibility back and is working on a master's degree in criminal justice. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Glover (10.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg), a tenacious defender and rebounder, won’t be needed to patrol the laneas often and shouldn’t have to average nearly 30 minutes a game. "I think that’ll help him be even more of an aggressive player than he is," Jarvis said. The only significant losses were 6-foot-8 Donald Emanuel (6.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg), 6-foot-4 Sharif Fordham (5.1 ppg) and 6-foot-6 wing Alpha Bangura (5.6 ppg). Jarvis called Emanuel and Fordham "energy guys." After requesting a leave of absence from the team and being denied by Jarvis, Bangura left after his junior season and at last check was averaging 13.1 points for the Brooklyn Kings of the USBL. The back injury that cost 6-foot-11 junior center Mohamed Diakite (2.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg) half of last season will keep him out all this season, Jarvis said. Other returnees in the frontcourt are 6-foot-6 sophomore Eric King, who started 24 games; 6-foot-8 junior Kyle Cuffe, who averaged 18.8 minutes off the bench; and 6-foot-11 senior center Abe Keita, who started nine times and averaged 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds. He missed 13 games with a stress fracture in his left foot. "We’re expecting a lot more from Abe and Curtis Johnson," Jarvis said. The 7-foot-3, 320-pound Johnson saw action in only nine games last year. King had a splendid rookie season, averaging 7.6 points and 4.5 rebounds. The Milford (Conn.) Academy product out of Brooklyn showed good strength in the post. Cuffe (5.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .429 FG, .486 FT) will need to help more on the boards and by showcasing his offensive moves. Grady Reynolds, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound transfer from Southern Union State (Ala.) College, also should see frontcourt minutes. He chose the Storm over Ole Miss, Alabama, Auburn, New Mexico, Kansas State and St. Bonaventure. "Rebounding, that’s where you win games," said Jarvis, whose club was a middle-of-the-pack team off the glass last year. "You win in the paint with rebounding and getting fouled and going to the line. We do a good job, but we can do better." The other returning starter is 6-foot-6 junior swingman Willie Shaw (6.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .252 3PT). He won a starting job six games into the season but needs to be much more consistent in shooting and grabbing rebounds to help more this season. Two returnees who should add backcourt depth are 6-foot-1 sophomore Tristian Smith (1.4 ppg, 8.1 minutes) and Andre Stanley, a 6-foot-4 senior. Stanley (3.2 ppg), who started 14 times after joining the team in January, is the first walk-on in St. John’s history to start a game. The freshman other than Ingram who Jarvis beams about is 6-foot-6 Tim Doyle. The 215-pound forward was a two-time Catholic League Player of the Year for Long Island’s St. Dominic’s. He averaged 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists last year. Doyle and Villanova freshman Jason Fraser, who had St. John’s among his finalists, were on the same AAU team (L.I. Panthers) that won the AAU National Championship during the summer of 2001. "Elijah and Tim are two freshmen who are beyond their years," Jarvis said. "Tim’s a throwback. A very smart, team guy. Tim’s a winner. He passes the ball as well as any guy that isn’t a point guard that I’ve seen in a while." The other big-time recruit Jarvis bubbles over will miss this season for academic reasons, but Darryl Hill should fit in nicely after Hatten leaves. A 5-foot-10 guard from Cardozo High in Jamaica, the man with the nickname "Showtime" averaged 27 points, seven assists and six rebounds at Cardozo and 16 points, eight assists and six boards last year at Milford Academy. "As far as the playgrounds of New York City, he’s as well known as any player St. John’s has had in a long time," Jarvis said. Forget the first-round NCAA tournament exit courtesy of Wisconsin. Given what it had going in to last year, the fact that the Red Storm was one of the Big East’s six NCAA tournament teams was evidence of one of Jarvis’ best coaching jobs. Only Hatten and Glover averaged in double figures, and Jarvis started 11 players over the course of the season, tinkering with the lineup until he got it right. The arrival of Ingram finally solves the puzzle. Now Hatten should be even more dangerous, and St. John’s should have one of the league’s best and deepest backcourts, supplemented by Stanley and Shaw. The one weakness could be outside shooting. No player is automatic from downtown. In fact, Hatten (.282 3PT) and Shaw (.252) must pick it up, although Hatten has had a few good streaks. The Red Storm (.269) were last in the conference last year from 3-point land. Hatten should have enough help that he won’t have to take so many bad shots and he will avoid nights like 6-for-26 against Uconn, 4-for-15 against Duke or 5-for-19 against Seton Hall. Depth should be a strength, and the frontcourt has lots of potential. Glover is just the type of veteran leader Jarvis needs to make sure his frontcourt mates with more talent stay hungry. "We have enough guys who have tasted adversity [two years ago in a 15-16 season] and enough who tasted success last year," Jarvis said. It’s a good bet that this season will be a lot more like last year -- and even better.
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