2017–18 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

The 2017–18 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represented St. John's University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by alumnus and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Chris Mullin, in his third year at the school. They played their home games at Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 4–14 in Big East play to finish in tie for ninth place. They beat Georgetown in the first round of the Big East tournament before losing to Xavier in the quarterfinals.[1]

2017–18 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record16–17 (4–14 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCarnesecca Arena
Madison Square Garden
Seasons
2017–18 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Xavier 15 3   .833 29 6   .829
No. 2 Villanova 14 4   .778 36 4   .900
Seton Hall 10 8   .556 22 12   .647
Creighton 10 8   .556 21 12   .636
Providence 10 8   .556 21 14   .600
Butler 9 9   .500 21 14   .600
Marquette 9 9   .500 21 14   .600
Georgetown 5 13   .278 15 15   .500
St. John's 4 14   .222 16 17   .485
DePaul 4 14   .222 11 20   .355
2018 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The Red Storm finished the 2016–17 season with a record of 14–19, 7–11 in Big East play to finish in eighth place in conference. They defeated Georgetown in the first round of the Big East tournament before losing to Villanova in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Malik Ellison 0 G 6'6" 215 Sophomore Voorhees, New Jersey Transferred to Pittsburgh
Federico Mussini 4 G 6'2" 170 Sophomore Reggio Emilia, Italy Entered the LBA
Sidney Wilson 15 F 6'7" 170 Freshman Bronx, NY Transferred to Connecticut (pre-season)
Richard Freudenberg 20 F 6'9" 210 Freshman Heidelberg, Germany Entered the BBL
Darien Williams 45 F 6'8" 235 Senior San Francisco, California Graduated
Transferred to Nevada

Incoming transfers

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Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Sedee Keita F 6'9" 240 Sophomore Philadelphia, Pennsylvania transfer from South Carolina (3 yrs eligibility remaining)
Mikey Dixon G 6'2" 170 Sophomore New Castle, Delaware transfer from Quinnipiac (3 yrs eligibility remaining)

2017 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Sidney Wilson
SF
Bronx, NY Brewster Academy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 170 lb (77 kg) May 20, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 81
Bryan Trimble Jr.
SG
Kansas City, MO Sunrise Christian Academy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jun 12, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 79
Boubacar Diakite
SF
Bamako, Mali Our Savior New American School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jun 13, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Greg Williams Jr.
SG
Lafayette, LA Lafayette Christian Academy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Nov 15, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 82
Josh Roberts
SF
Troy, AL Montverde Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sep 8, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 77
Marcellus Earlington
PF
Ramsey, NJ Don Bosco Prep 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Feb 28, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Preseason

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In a preseason poll of Big East coaches, the Red Storm was picked to finish in sixth place in the Big East.[2] Sophomore guards Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds were named to the preseason All-Big East second team.[3]

Roster

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2017–18 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F/C 0 Sedee Keita   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So 22ft Academy
South Carolina
Philadelphia, PA
G/F 1 Bashir Ahmed 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr John F. Kennedy
Hutchinson C.C.
Bronx, NY
G 2 Shamorie Ponds 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Thomas Jefferson Brooklyn, NY
G 3 Mikey Dixon   6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Sanford School
Quinnipiac
New Castle, DE
G 4 Jay Camus (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Archbishop Molloy
Manhattan
Queens, NY
G 5 Justin Simon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Brewster Academy
Arizona
Temcula, CA
F 10 Amar Alibegović 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Instituto Tecnico Minerva Rome, Italy
F 11 Tariq Owens 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Mount Zion Prep
Tennessee
Odenton, MD
G 12 Bryan Trimble Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Sunrise Christian Academy Kansas City, MO
F 13 Marvin Clark II 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Sunrise Christian Academy
Michigan State
Kansas City, MO
F 14 Kassoum Yakwe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Our Savior New American School Bamako, Mali
G 20 Marcus LoVett Jr. 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Morgan Park Fort Wayne, IN
F 22 Boubacar Diakite   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Our Savior New American School Bamako, Mali
G 23 Justin Cole (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Archbishop Molloy Rockville Centre, NY
G 24 Brandon Lawrence (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Moreau Catholic Union City, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 1, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
American International W 84–52 
 21  Ponds   14  Clark   7  Simon  Carnesecca Arena (3,869)
Queens, NY
Nov 5, 2017*
1:00 pm, BTN Plus
at Rutgers
Disaster Relief Charity Exhibition
L 78–80 
 25  Ponds   7  Tied   6  Ponds  Louis Brown Athletic Center (1,551)
Piscataway, NJ
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm, FCS
New Orleans W 77–61  1–0
 23  Lovett   7  Ponds   6  Ponds  Carnesecca Arena (4,921)
Queens, NY
Nov 14, 2017*
6:30 pm, FS2
Central Connecticut W 80–55  2–0
 21  Ponds   11  Simon   4  Tied  Carnesecca Arena (4,043)
Queens, NY
Nov 16, 2017*
6:30 pm, FS1
Nebraska
Gavitt Tipoff Games
W 79–56  3–0
 22  Ponds   12  Simon   5  Ponds  Carnesecca Arena (4,652)
Queens, NY
Nov 20, 2017*
6:30 pm, FS1
Molloy W 71–43  4–0
 14  Tied   11  Simon   9  Simon  Carnesecca Arena (4,424)
Queens, NY
Nov 23, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Oregon State
AdvoCare Invitational quarterfinals
W 82–77  5–0
 26  Ponds   6  Tied   6  Ponds  HP Field House (2,712)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Nov 24, 2017*
11:00 am, ESPNews
vs. Missouri
AdvoCare Invitational semifinals
L 82–90  5–1
 31  Ponds   9  Simon   8  Simon  HP Field House (2,367)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Nov 26, 2017*
12:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. UCF
Advocare Invitational 3rd place game
W 46–43  6–1
 12  Lovett   10  Ponds   4  Ponds  HP Field House (1,712)
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Dec 2, 2017*
4:30 pm, FS1
Sacred Heart W 90–55  7–1
 22  Ponds   11  Owens   7  Ponds  Carnesecca Arena (4,643)
Queens, NY
Dec 5, 2017*
11:30 pm, ESPNU
vs. Grand Canyon
Valley of the Sun Shootout
W 68–60  8–1
 28  Ponds   11  Simon   4  Ponds  Talking Stick Resort Arena (8,907)
Phoenix, AZ
Dec 8, 2017*
8:00 pm, P12N
vs. No. 16 Arizona State
Basketball Hall of Fame Classic
L 70–82  8–2
 18  Ponds   8  Ahmed   7  Ponds  Staples Center (6,456)
Los Angeles, CA
Dec 17, 2017*
4:30 pm, FS1
Iona
Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival
W 69–59  9–2
 16  Ponds   11  Ahmed   3  Simon  Madison Square Garden (9,515)
New York, NY
Dec 20, 2017*
4:30 pm, ESPNU
vs. Saint Joseph's
Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase
W 77–73  10–2
 28  Ponds   11  Simon   9  Simon  Mohegan Sun Arena (5,518)
Uncasville, CT
Dec 28, 2017
7:00 pm, FSN
Providence L 72–94  10–3
(0–1)
 20  Clark   8  Clark   6  Ponds  Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Queens, NY
Dec 31, 2017
5:00 pm, FS1
at No. 23 Seton Hall L 70–75  10–4
(0–2)
 19  Owens   14  Owens   10  Simon  Prudential Center (8,456)
Newark, NJ
Jan 3, 2018
8:00 pm, FS1
at Creighton L 71–78  10–5
(0–3)
 21  Ahmed   5  Tied   6  Simon  CenturyLink Center (16,167)
Omaha, NE
Jan 6, 2018
2:00 pm, FSN
DePaul L 74–91  10–6
(0–4)
 21  Ahmed   7  Tied   6  Ponds  Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Queens, NY
Jan 9, 2018
6:30 pm, FS1
Georgetown L 66–69  10–7
(0–5)
 17  Ponds   7  Clark   6  Ponds  Madison Square Garden (9,406)
New York, NY
Jan 13, 2018
8:00 pm, FBN
No. 1 Villanova L 71–78  10–8
(0–6)
 37  Ponds   7  Tied   3  Simon  Madison Square Garden (17,123)
New York, NY
Jan 17, 2018
8:30 pm, CBSSN
at No. 11 Xavier L 82–88  10–9
(0–7)
 28  Simon   6  Owens   6  Simon  Cintas Center (10,224)
Cincinnati, OH
Jan 20, 2018
12:00 pm, FS1
at Georgetown L 89–93 2OT 10–10
(0–8)
 33  Ponds   10  Simon   8  Ponds  Capital One Arena (8,976)
Washington, D.C.
Jan 23, 2018
8:30 pm, FS1
Creighton L 63–68  10–11
(0–9)
 17  Simon   9  Simon   7  Simon  Carnesecca Arena (4,771)
Queens, NY
Jan 27, 2018
2:30 pm, FS1
at Butler L 45–70  10–12
(0–10)
 13  Owens   9  Owens   5  Simon  Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,129)
Indianapolis, IN
Jan 30, 2018
8:30 pm, CBSSN
No. 6 Xavier L 68–73  10–13
(0–11)
 31  Ponds   10  Ahmed   5  Ponds  Carnesecca Arena (5,344)
Queens, NY
Feb 3, 2018*
12:00 pm, FOX
No. 4 Duke
The Garf
W 81–77  11–13
 33  Ponds   7  Ponds   7  Simon  Madison Square Garden (19,812)
New York, NY
Feb 7, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN
at No. 1 Villanova W 79–75  12–13
(1–11)
 26  Ponds   10  Simon   7  Simon  Wells Fargo Center (10,900)
Philadelphia, PA
Feb 10, 2018
12:00 pm, FSN
Marquette W 86–78  13–13
(2–11)
 44  Ponds   11  Simon   6  Simon  Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Queens, NY
Feb 14, 2018
9:00 pm, CBSSN
at DePaul W 77–76  14–13
(3–11)
 26  Ponds   6  Owens   10  Ponds  Wintrust Arena (4,690)
Chicago, IL
Feb 21, 2018
8:30 pm, FSN
at Marquette L 73–85  14–14
(3–12)
 19  Tied   7  Ponds   6  Tied  BMO Harris Bradley Center (12,624)
Milwaukee, WI
Feb 24, 2018
12:00 pm, FOX
Seton Hall L 74–81 OT 14–15
(3–13)
 25  Ponds   10  Clark II   6  Ponds  Madison Square Garden (18,840)
New York, NY
Feb 28, 2018
9:00 pm, CBSSN
Butler W 75–68 2OT 15–15
(4–13)
 24  Simon   10  Simon   5  Simon  Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Queens, NY
Mar 3, 2018
12:00 pm, FSN
at Providence L 57–61  15–16
(4–14)
 14  Clark   7  Ahmed   9  Simon  Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,627)
Providence, RI
Big East tournament
Mar 7, 2018
7:00 pm, FS1
(9) vs. (8) Georgetown
First round
W 88–77  16–16
 26  Ponds   10  Simon   6  Simon  Madison Square Garden (16,866)
New York, NY
Mar 8, 2018
12:00 pm, FS1
(9) vs. (1) No. 3 Xavier
Quarterfinals
L 60–88  16–17
 18  Clark   7  Ponds   3  Ponds  Madison Square Garden (17,647)
New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References

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