1978–79 St. John's Redmen basketball team

The 1978–79 St. John's Redmen basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Lou Carnesecca in his eleventh year at the school. St. John's home games were (and to this day still are) played at Alumni Hall and Madison Square Garden.

1978–79 St. John's Redmen men's basketball
Lapchick Memorial Champions
1979 NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 17
Record	21–11
Head coach	Lou Carnesecca (11th season)
Assistant coaches	John Kresse (11th season) Tom Abatemarco (1st season) Ron Rutledge (1st season)
Captain	Tom Calabrese
Home arena	Alumni Hall Madison Square Garden

Roster

1978–79 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F - Ray James 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Fr Alexander Hamilton Brooklyn, NY G - Ed Kennedy 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) — Jr Maria Regina Merrick, NY G/F - Curtis Redding  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr Canarsie/Kansas State Brooklyn, NY G 4 Tom Calabrese (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Sr Cliffside Park Cliffside Park, NJ G 5 Bernard Rencher 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — RS Jr Mater Christi/Notre Dame Elmhurst, NY G/F 22 Ron Plair 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — So William C. Bryant East Elmhurst, NY G/F 32 Gordon Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Sr Bay Shore Bay Shore, NY G 35 Reggie Carter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — RS Jr Long Island Lutheran/Hawaii New York, NY F/C - Rick Bollinger 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr River Dell Teaneck, NJ F 43 Frank Gilroy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — So Holy Cross Whitestone, NY F 44 Rudy Wright 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr Long Island City Queens, NY G/F - Tim Cluess 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Fr St. Agnes West Hempstead, NY C 55 Wayne McKoy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — So Long Island Lutheran Bayside, NY	Head coach Lou Carnesecca (St. John's, 11th) Assistant coach(es) John Kresse (St. John's, 11th) Tom Abatemarco (Dowling, 1st) Ron Rutledge (St. John's, 1st) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
11/24/78*		American Lapchick Tournament Opening Round	W 72-70	1-0	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
11/25/78*		Wagner Lapchick tournament championship	W 108-91	2-0	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
11/28/78*		Wisconsin	L 68-73	2-1	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
12/02/78*		Princeton	W 71-51	3-1	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
12/07/78*		Baylor	W 83-82	4-1	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
12/09/78*		No. 20 Georgetown	L 71-77	4-2	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
12/12/78*		at Columbia	L 77-90	4-3	Levien Gymnasium  New York, NY
12/16/78*		BYU	W 90-83	5-3	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
12/22/78*		Tennessee Tech	W 100-56	6-3	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
12/29/78*		vs. Rutgers ECAC Holiday Festival Semifinal	L 61-72	6-4	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
12/30/78*		vs. No. 1 Duke ECAC Holiday Festival Consolation	W 69-66	7-4	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
01/04/79*		at Seton Hall	L 70-76	7-5	Walsh Gymnasium  South Orange, NJ
01/06/79*		Temple	L 73-74	7-6	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
01/09/79*		Baltimore	W 75-52	8-6	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
01/13/79*		Rutgers	L 66-69	8-7	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
01/16/79*		at Villanova	W 74-54	9-7	The Palestra  Philadelphia, PA
01/20/79*		Rhode Island	L 70-71	9-8	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
01/23/79*		at Manhattan	W 80-55	10-8	Alumni Gym  Bronx, NY
01/28/79*		at Saint Joseph's	W 47-40	11-8	The Palestra  Philadelphia, PA
01/31/79*		at Army	W 72-65	12-8	USMA Fieldhouse  West Point, NY
02/03/79*		Niagara	W 80-52	13-8	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
02/06/79*		Boston College	W 85-76	14-8	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
02/10/79*		at Fordham	W 66-48	15-8	Rose Hill Gymnasium  Bronx, NY
02/13/79*		Holy Cross	W 82-66	16-8	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
02/17/79*		at No. 7 Syracuse	L 72-79	16-9	Manley Field House  Syracuse, NY
02/24/79*		Providence	W 70-65	17-9	Alumni Hall  Queens, NY
ECAC Metro tournament
03/01/79		vs. Wagner ECAC Metro Semifinal	W 86-82 OT	18-9	Nassau Coliseum  Uniondale, NY
03/03/79		vs. Iona ECAC Metro Final	L 57-63	18-10	Nassau Coliseum  Uniondale, NY
NCAA tournament
03/09/79*	No. 17	vs. No. 13 (7) Temple NCAA First Round	W 75-70	19-10	Reynolds Coliseum  Raleigh, NC
03/11/79*	No. 17	vs. No. 6 (2) Duke NCAA Second Round	W 80-78	20-10	Reynolds Coliseum  Raleigh, NC
03/16/79*	No. 17	vs. No. 18 (6) Rutgers NCAA Sweet Sixteen	W 67-65	21-10	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, NC
03/18/79*	No. 17	vs. No. 14 (9) Penn NCAA Elite Eight	L 62-64	21-11	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Main article: 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
2	27	Reggie Carter	New York Knicks
10	189	Gordon Thomas	New York Knicks