Carroll’s Column: A Championship City formed by St. John’s Red Storm

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Sports Carroll’s Column: A Championship City formed by St. John’s Red Storm by Lloyd Carroll March 17, 2025 Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball NEW YORK, NY — 2024-2025 Big East Conference regular season champions and now, champs of the Big East Tournament, marking the St. John’s Men’s Basketball’s first in program history since the year of 2000. I have been to many basketball games at Madison Square Garden, but Saturday night’s Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament championship game between the Creighton Blue Jays and the St. John’s Red Storm elicited a level of fan engagement and joy I had never previously seen. Yes, the Knicks have won playoff series in the “World’s Most Famous Arena,” but they have not hoisted any trophies there in over fifty years. Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball As was the case the previous night against the Marquette Golden Eagles, the Red Storm found themselves in a hole early, falling behind by double digits. It did not appear to be a good night for Kadary Richmond, RJ Luis Jr., Aaron Scott, and Zuby Ejiofor as their shots were clanging off the rim instead of swishing through the net. Things changed for the better in the second half for the de facto home team. Head coach Rick Pitino knew the Creighton players had been through a fatiguing double-overtime less than 48 hours earlier against a surprisingly tough DePaul Blue Demons team. He instructed his guards to become greyhounds and rush the ball up the court as fast as possible. Center Zuby Ejiofor was able to outrun weary Creighton big men who were larger in size, Jackson McAndrew and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Their flawless fast-break execution led to a lead which the Red Storm would not relinquish on their way to an 82-66 victory. Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball Rick Pitino was philosophical at the Saturday postgame press conference. As a native New Yorker, he took pride in what the Red Storm Big East championship meant to our city. He also did not appear to be worked up about the upcoming NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. “I have had teams go to the Final Four. I have had teams get bounced in the first round. It all depends on the matchups.” He also paid tribute to a friend and contemporary, twelve-year NBA veteran and phenomenally successful businessman Junior Bridgeman, who died from a coronary a few days earlier. Pitino is seventy-two, which is a year older than the age of Bridgeman. Image Credit: Tomasso DeRosa/Latino Sports Big East commissioner Val Ackerman, who must appear neutral given her role, let her guard down a bit when I spoke to her on the confetti-strewn MSG court following the game. “This is a great night for St. John’s, the Big East, New York City, and college basketball!” she said without reluctance. Ackerman was the first WNBA commissioner nearly thirty years ago. That was when the New York Liberty would get to the finals four times in six years and yet always wind up as bridesmaids. You cannot blame Ackerman if she wonders if the WNBA’s fortunes, which are quite rosy now, would have changed a lot faster had the Liberty been able to enjoy the kind of celebration the Red Storm had on Saturday night. A strong Red Storm presence in the Big East gives Ackerman leverage for future Big East television and sponsorship deals. Image Credit: Big East Conference You can file this one under the category of strange coincidences. The Red Storm will be playing their second straight game against a team from one of the dullest towns in America when they kick off the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Omaha Mavericks, who are part of the University of Nebraska system. Creighton University, of course, is the Omaha school most Red Storm fans know better. The New York Times had a front-page story last Friday on Vitaminwater and BodyArmor founder, racehorse owner, St. John’s University alum, and Middle Village native Mike Repole. The success of the Red Storm was the impetus for the article since Repole is the SJU athletics department’s number one booster. Pitino was asked about Repole and the importance of “name, image, and likeness” money to attract players. Image Credit: Getty Images He told the media on Saturday that NIL funds are not as important to attract talent as many think. On the other hand, it is naive to dismiss it. Pitino told Repole in a YouTube video the Red Storm program could not be where it is today without his help. The notion of athletes attending college classes has generated chuckles for years, but smart student athletes take full advantage of the educational opportunities available to them. St. John’s fine reputation in that area is an asset in recruitment. Guard Simeon Wilcher and center Zuby Ejiofor are studying sports management, and both are determined to get their degree. Wilcher told me he even enjoyed his accounting courses and is interested in pursuing an MBA after his playing days end. At Thursday’s press conference following the Red Storm’s first-round win over the Butler Bulldogs, Rick Pitino said that while the game was taking place on St. John’s home court, it was not a home game. “I saw more Marquette jerseys in the stands than ours. I expect that to change in the next two days as teams are eliminated.” He was right. Image Credit: St. John’s Men’s Basketball Interestingly, the Red Storm stayed at a Manhattan hotel throughout the Big East Tournament. Although there are advantages to being able to sleep in your own bed, a Big East official told me there was no league requirement to make the Red Storm stay in a hotel. Pitino figured it would reduce distractions. Legendary Big East communications director John Paquette announces his retirement Longtime Big East communications director John Paquette announced his plans to retire at the end of spring just before the men’s basketball tournament got underway. He was honored on the Madison Square Garden court during the second half of Saturday’s championship game. Image Credit: Latino Sports I do not often sing the praises of most sports public relations executives, but the accolades for John Paquette are fully deserved. Whereas too many sports PR types enjoy the power trip of being “grantors of the golden media credentials;” John Paquette has always been the polar opposite. He is as welcoming and accommodating to those from smaller outlets as he is to the familiar names from the well-known newspapers, magazines, radio, and television stations. Unlike way too many of his peers, John calls on reporters at press conferences in the order he sees their raised hands, instead of trying to do what I call “media calculus;” namely, calling on reporters in descending importance (assuming they are even called on at all) in the opinion of the moderator A Bill Murray interaction at MSG I ran into actor Bill Murray Friday night as I was leaving following the St. John’s win over Marquette. His son, Luke Murray, is an assistant coach at the UAlthough he was there to see UConn, Murray is a proud Chicago native, and we spoke about DePaul Blue Demons which for too many years have been the Columbia Lions of the Big East. Image Credit: Big East Conference “It was not that way when Ray Meyer was coaching them,” Murray said. For those who are unfamiliar with Ray Meyer, he was the Lou Carnesecca of Windy City college hoops. “DePaul needs to start recruiting those strong Chicago high school players who have been leaving town,” he added. New Yorkers have long said the same thing about St. John’s failure to attract local high school talent. So far, that has not been a priority for Rick Pitino. Columbia Men’s Basketball dismisses head coach Jim Engles While these are heady times for Rick Pitino, the end of the coaching line came for another local college men’s basketball coach, when Columbia University gave the boot to Jim Engles after nine years of utter futility. Engles got the Columbia Lions off to a roaring (full pun intended) 11-1 start, but then the team relapsed to their usual selves as they finished 2025 Ivy League play with a miserable 1-13 mark. At least Engles will be able to tell his grandchildren how his Lions went into Villanova and beat the Wildcats on their home court. That was something Rick Pitino and the Red Storm were not able to accomplish this season. MLB’s Spring Breakout Games Major League Baseball has done a wise thing with the creation of Spring Breakout Games. The idea is for every team’s fans to get familiar with the prospects in their club’s pipeline. Image Credit: MLB/MiLB On Sunday, Steve Gelbs, former Mets general manager Jim Duquette, and SNY Mets minor league expert Joe DeMayo did an impressive job on Sunday’s Mets-Nationals breakout game from West Palm Beach even though they were calling the game remotely. Remembering and Paying Tribute to John Feinstein The death of sports columnist and prolific author John Feinstein last week shook up everyone in the sports media world. I would inevitably see him at the major golf tournaments I was covering, and he always found time to talk. He appreciated the coverage I gave his books in this space, and he always made sure I received a copy of his latest work. Image Credit: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images Ian O’Connor, like John Feinstein, is a very respected columnist and author. He was covering the Big East Tournament, and we spoke about Feinstein’s passing. “John had an ego, but he was a terrific writer and friend,” Ian told me. “He will be sorely missed.” His next book will be a bio of University of Connecticut Wolfpack men’s basketball head coach Danny Hurley. O’Connor’s last book was his bestseller about Aaron Rodgers, “Out of the Darkness.” You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle. Related Topics Big East Big East Conference BIG EAST Tournament Bill Murray College Hoops Columbia Men’s Basketball Columbia University Jim Engles John Feinstein John Paquette Madison Square Garden Mike Repole MILB MLB MLB Spring Breakout MSG NCAA New York City Red Storm Rick Pitino St. John’s Men’s Basketball St. Johns St. Johns Red Storm St. Johns University Val Ackerman Click to comment Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. 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