Upon returning to Queens following Big East media day, D’Angelo Harrison planned to make a beeline for Taffner Field House and the St. John’s locker room.
“They picked us fifth, I’m going to write it on the board,” the dynamic junior shooting guard said of the Big East preseason coaches poll, released Wednesday at Chelsea Piers. “When I get back, first thing.”
So, where should St. John’s be slotted?
“Obviously No. 1,” Harrison, a first team all-conference selection, said with a smile.
“We have the most potential, but nobody has seen it yet. Once people see it, they’ll understand. We have six, seven pros on this team. Our first game [against] Wisconsin, people will understand we’re for real this year.”
Harrison said St. John’s belonged, at worst, in the top three. He said he smiled when he saw where his team was picked.
“It’s extra motivation for us,” Harrison said.
Teammate JaKarr Sampson agreed. St. John’s should be ranked No. 1 or No. 2, the sophomore forward said.
The coaches did recognize the Red Storm’s potential, voting four players onto the all-conference teams — the most from any individual team. Harrison was selected to the first team, Sampson was chosen for the second team, prized freshman point guard Rysheed Jordan of Philadelphia was named the Rookie of the Year and shot-blocking dynamo Chris Obekpa was one of two honorable mention picks.
There were two coaches who voted St. John’s first — Marquette placed first overall — and the Red Storm were just five points behind Creighton for third.
The consensus among other coaches seemed to be the voting was an indication of how closely packed together the league will be. Georgetown head coach John Thompson III held two fingers inches apart in assessing how far No. 1 Marquette is from No. 9 Butler.
“St. John’s ended up No. 5 — they could easily be No. 1 or 2,” Thompson said. “There’s a lot of parity in this conference.”
Though St. John’s does seem to have the pieces to make a run at the league title and play deep into March, head coach Steve Lavin understands there are question marks surrounding his club, which doesn’t have one player with NCAA Tournament experience and is coming off a mediocre 17-16 campaign that resulted in an NIT berth.
Harrison, the enigmatic star guard, was suspended by Lavin for the final six games of last season because of behavioral issues. The team is integrating Jordan and three other players who did not play last season — sharpshooter Max Hooper, multi-talented forward Orlando Sanchez and big man God’sgift Achiuwa — into its rotation, which could lead to growing pains.
“Those teams picked ahead of us, they’re bringing back rosters with a number of players who’ve been to NCAA Tournaments … where we’re still building,” Lavin said. “Now we want to take that next step. It’s an indication that’s we’re still a work in progress. We’re hoping by February we’re starting to gel, and all the new parts — guys who were sitting out, guys who never played Division I basketball — are coming together.”
Harrison admitted, “We haven’t done anything yet.” Even so, St. John’s is a confident group, and perceived a slight in its low ranking. The Red Storm, furthermore, has noticed their lack of a national presence in preseason polls and predictions.
The Johnnies can’t wait for Nov. 8, when they travel to Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on perennial Big Ten power Wisconsin, and can begin to turn their naysayers into believers.
“We can talk the talk and everything, but me and my team want to show them,” said Sampson, the Big East Rookie of the Year last season. “That’s going to start our first game, Nov. 8.”