St. John's 2009 CBI Tournament Preview

St. John's Red Storm - Big East (16-17, 6-12)

RPI: 140

Big Wins: 1/3 Notre Dame (71-65), 3/3 Georgetown (59-56), 3/10 vs Georgetown (64-59)

Bad Losses: 12/31 at Providence (54-75), 1/22 Cincinnati (60-71), 2/5 at Seton Hall (81-91)

Coach: Norm Roberts

Probable St. John's Starters:

• Malik Boothe, Sophomore, Guard, 6.6 ppg, 4.4 apg

• Paris Horne, Sophomore, Guard, 14.8 ppg, 2.1 apg

• D.J. Kennedy, Sophomore, Guard, 12.8 ppg, 2.9 apg, 6.5 rpg

• Sean Evans, Sophomore, Forward, 9.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg

• Justin Burrell, Sophomore, Forward , 9.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg

Key St. John's Roleplayers:

• Dele Coker, Sophomore, Forward, 2.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 bpg

• TyShwan Edmondson, Freshman, Guard, 1.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg

• Quincy Roberts, Freshman, Guard, 5.2 ppg, 1.1 apg

• Rob Thomas, Sophomore, Forward, 6.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg

Why St. John's Can Surprise:

St. John’s needed a little time to develop this year. The roster is full of sophomores and freshmen and that was painfully obvious at times during the 2008-2009 campaign. However, the group pulled off some quality wins later in the year and getting a taste of the postseason will do wonders for this team in the future. The frontcourt might not consist of any household names, even in Big East country, but Sean Evans and Justin Burrell have done a superb job battling against some of the best big men in the nation during conference play.

Evans, a 6-8 sophomore, averages 9.8 points and a team high 6.9 rebounds and his development has been the biggest factor in the Red Storm’s success. He is not a great athlete who will block shots and fly around the basket, but he is a consistent, fundamentally sound big man who just seems to always get the job done. Burrell is the big guy who will stretch out the defense with his outside shooting touch.

Why The Red Storm Can Disappoint:
Very few teams in the nation hit as few three-pointers as St. John’s. Coach Norm Roberts is content with his big guys scoring in the paint and his wings slashing to the basket, but the Red Storm will find themselves behind quite a bit and somebody has to score in a hurry and the best way to do that is with the three-pointer. The other problem is turnovers. Malik Boothe is a solid passer, but the point guard commits three turnovers per game and the team as a whole commits nearly 15.

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Who To Watch:
The stars of this team are on the wings. Paris Horne is the team’s leading scorer at 14.8 points per game. Horne is the biggest threat to hit the long ball, but he only connects on 34.3 percent of his attempts. Kennedy, who averages 12.8 points per game, does not shoot any better, but he will drive to the basket without hesitation and gets to the charity stripe a team high 5.4 times per game. When Kennedy is being aggressive and Horne is hitting his outside jumper, St. John’s offense is pretty good. But when those two are shutdown by the opposition, the Red Storm’s offense will falter.

St. John's By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 66.6 (188th in nation, 13th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 67.4 (157, 10)

Field-Goal Percentage: 42.8 (218, 10)

Field-Goal Defense: 44.7 (244, 13)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.2 (311, 16)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: na

Free-Throw Percentage: 64.6 (280, 12)

Rebound Margin: 3.6 (56, 6)

Assists Per Game: 12.4 (218)

Turnovers Per Game: 14.6 (230, 13)

Joel’s Bracket Says: First Round loss to Richmond

By Joel Welser
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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