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St. John’s Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Red Storm

By Benjamin Zacher

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 01: A general view during the game between the St. John's Red Storm and the Creighton Bluejays at Carnesecca Arena on March 01, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 01: A general view during the game between the St. John's Red Storm and the Creighton Bluejays at Carnesecca Arena on March 01, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /
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St. John's Basketball
Mike Anderson St. John’s Basketball (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /

With a solid core group returning, St. John’s Basketball will have an opportunity to surpass last year’s 17-win total. For second-year coach Mike Anderson, this is an opportunity to prove himself in a deep Big East.

St. John’s Basketball has not made it out of the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64 since 2000.  But with the historically successful Mike Anderson entering his second year at the helm and two junior college sensations joining the fray, the Red Storm will have one of their best opportunities to finally breakthrough.

The Red Storm are coming off a 17-15 season with a 5-13 finish in the highly competitive Big East. And, despite losing leading scorers LJ Figueroa and Mustapha Heron to transfer and graduation, respectively, Anderson and his squad will enter next season with nearly all of last year’s roster returning – with the addition of key personnel.

St. John’s has endured an up-and-down track record this past century, having gone through seven head coaches in that period.  The most recent hire prior to Anderson – alumnus and Hall of Famer Chris Mullin – underwent three losing seasons and a First Four berth in his fourth year before resigning with an accumulative 59-73 record.

The Red Storm has done well in hiring a coach who is capable of bringing the program back to prosperity.  Anderson – a Nolan Richardson protégé for 17 years at Arkansas – is one of just four current Div. I head coaches with over 15 years of experience and no losing seasons.  Between 18 seasons at UAB, Missouri, Arkansas, and St. John’s, Anderson has amassed a 386-215 mark.

Finding success at St. John’s has been frustrating, to say the least.  Mike Jarvis’s first two years in 1999 and 2000 produced regional final and second-round appearances in the NCAA tournament.  Subsequent years and coaches have produced tournament berths, but the Red Storm have not been able to escape the opening round.

Anderson will look to break the mold – in 18 seasons, his programs have qualified for nine NCAA tournaments, surpassing the opening round on five occasions.  Additionally, his teams have earned NIT berths three times.

Anderson enters his second season after a solid first campaign, which included a 12-2 non-conference record with notable wins over a solid Arizona team and a nationally ranked West Virginia squad.  The team’s only losses came against a quality Pac-12 squad in Arizona State and Vermont, one of the best mid-major teams in the country last season.

I wrote about Georgetown earlier this month, and their results in the Big East last season are incredibly similar to what St. John’s experienced as well.  Both teams finished 5-13 in Big East play, and both enjoyed upsets over top teams in the conference but also endured disappointing missteps.  The Red Storm’s resume consists of wins over Creighton and Providence, but they were also swept by Georgetown.

I mentioned earlier that St. John’s has lost two of its leading scorers – and while that is true, this will also be a better team.  Nine different players started for the Red Storm last season, and the program loses just three of those starters.  In addition to those six key returners, Anderson will be bringing in two junior college stars, one graduate transfer, and two freshmen who will all be instrumental this year.