St. John's Basketball: Top 5 Red Storm players this century

St. John’s Basketball has had some great talent in the last couple of decades. Here are the top-5 Red Storm players of the recent era.

For current St. John’s students (like myself), and recent graduates, we have only seen the highlights of the good ole days of St. John’s basketball. Arguably most of the top five St. John’s players of all time came from that generation of players that we were not around to watch, leading to us having to use stats and old highlight tapes to determine who deserves to be in the top five. Although the players we have witnessed the past 18 years at St. John’s may not be on the same level as Mullin, Jackson and Berry, they have done a lot to bring St. John’s basketball back to what it once was. So here are the top five players from our era.

5. Chris Obekpa

Although Chris Obekpa wasn’t a prolific scorer as he only averaged 4.5 points per game in three seasons at St. John’s, he may be one of the best defensive players in the past twenty years. Obekpa recorded 321 blocks in his college career which is the most ever in a Red Storm uniform. In fact, the closest to Obekpa in terms of career blocks in a Red storm uniform is Robert Werdann who recorded 188 blocks in his career. He led the Big East in blocks per game every year which is also very impressive. Obekpa’s 11 blocks against Fordham in 2012 is the most ever recorded by a Red Storm player in a single game.

4. D.J. Kennedy

D.J. Kennedy, who played for the Red Storm from 2007 – 2011 amassed 1,504 points in his time at St. John’s. Kennedy, who was a four-year starter, played in 129 which is tied for fifth all time. Kennedy is also ranked seventh all-time for 3-pointers made with 122 in his career. He averaged 11.7 points per game in his career while also shooting .746 from the field in his career and averaged 6.1 rebounds per game. Kennedy is also ranked 11th in rebounds with 781 and 7th in steals with 183.

3. Shamorie Ponds

In just three years at St. John’s, Shamorie Ponds has had an unbelievable career. Although Ponds is still playing, the Brooklyn native has achieved a lot. In his freshman season, Ponds scored 573 points, the most by a freshman in Red Storm history. Ponds reached the 1,000 point mark against Xavier this year in a 31 point performance. Ponds’ best moments undoubtedly came this past season as he put on unbelievable performances to upset both Duke and Villanova.

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A game fans will also never forget was when Ponds dropped 44 points against Marquette this past season, setting a Carnesecca record for most points scored in a game. Ponds also won the Haggerty Award this year which is given out to the best player in the New York Metropolitan area, making him the 23rd player in St. John’s history to win the award and the 7th to win the award as an underclassman.

2. Marcus Hatten

Marcus Hatten’s short career at St. John’s was absolutely legendary. Although Hatten only played two seasons, Hatten is 19th all-time in scoring with 1,400 points. Hatten averaged 21.2 points per game in his career which is the most all-time for a St. John’s player. Hatten is also first in steals in a single season with 105 in his first year at St. John’s and is fourth all-time in steals with 205 in his career. Hatten’s 756 points in his senior season are the most all time by any senior in Red Storm history.

He also holds the record for most steals in a single game with 10 against UConn in 2003. Hatten also has the Red Storm record for most free throws made in a game and free throws attempted in a game when he went 21 of 25 from the line against UConn in 2002. Hatten’s most memorable game came against Duke at MSG in 2003 where he dropped 29 points and hit a free throw with no time on the clock to upset the Blue Devils.

1. D’Angelo Harrison

D’Angelo Harrison without a doubt is one of the best players to wear a Red Storm uniform. Harrison is third all-time in scoring in Red Storm history with 2,178 points and is first in career three-pointers made with 264.

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Harrison also holds the program record for three-pointers in season 76 in his senior season. In his career at St. John’s he averaged 17.4 points in 125 games. He also led the Red Storm in scoring every year of his career.

St. John’s Basketball: Top 5 Red Storm players this century

By Nick Bello | Jul 31, 2018