In a stunning announcement that could doom St. John’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament, star guard D’Angelo Harrison, the Red Storm’s leading scorer, has been suspended for the rest of the season, including the Big East Conference Tournament and any postseason tournaments, the university announced Friday.
Sources said Harrison, an emotional player who has challenged the coaching staff almost from the day he arrived on campus two years ago, seemed to making strides early in the season which is why coach Steve Lavin named him the captain. But he had not retained that inner growth and, as one source said, his conduct had become detrimental to the team.
Two sources said that there wasn’t any defining issue in the last few weeks. Rather a compilation of not being respectful to coaches, tardiness to team functions and his demonstrative personality on the court led to the stunning suspension.
The suspension caught Harrison and his family by surprise. A source said he was very upset and devastated that he had let down his teammates. For all his displays of emotion on the court, Harrison has always supported his teammates and never shown them up.
Harrison met with head coach Steve Lavin and has had multiple conversations with his family as to whether to remain at St. John’s. His loving grandmother, Angela Harrison, who raised D’Angelo and his brother Deandre, said the suspension caught them off guard.
Angela Harrison declined to go into details about the suspension but she made it clear her grandson had not violated any NCAA rules. Nor had he have any substance abuse issues.
“This is not about any illegal drugs or alcohol,” Angela Harrison told The Post. “D’Angelo is an emotional young man but he is never been involved in anything like that. We were caught off guard by this suspension.”
Angela Harrison said she would travel from Missouri City, Texas to support her son in New York within the next day or two. She said D’Angelo was not withdrawing from the university and no decision had been made about next season although there was a desire for him to return to the good graces of the staff.
The loss of Harrison might be the pin that bursts the teams NCAA tournament bubble. He is the team’s leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, third best in the Big East and tied for 42nd nationally.
The Johnnies are 16-11 overall and 8-7 in the Big East going into Saturday night’s game against red hot Providence. On a team that is woeful on 3-point shooting (109-for-369, 29.5 percent), Harrison (58-of-184, 31 percent) has made more treys the rest of the team combined.
“I had a productive meeting with D’Angelo yesterday. He has a bright future in basketball and I’m optimistic his time away from our team will be of value,” said Lavin.
This is a stark contrast to Lavin’s feelings about Harrison at the start of the season. He lauded Harrison’s personal growth over the summer. As reported exclusively by The Post, Harrison spent most of the summer at the John Lucas camp in Houston, working on becoming a more mature player and person.
“D’Angelo across the board has been outstanding,” Lavin said in November. “The most important thing for him is channeling his energy in a positive way in terms of being in the present.”
Earlier this season Harrison became a member of the university’s 1,000-point club. He was on pace to become the school’s all-time leading scorer if he stayed four seasons. And his emotional play combined with his clutch shot-making made him a fan favorite.
lenn.robbins@nypost.com