The shock of the career-ending right knee injury suffered by St. John’s forward D.J. Kennedy on Thursday night in the Big East tournament quarterfinals gave way to the sadness of reality yesterday as the senior and his teammates began dealing with the knowledge their hope of advancing deep into the NCAA tournament had taken a huge hit.
Several people close to Kennedy, who was diagnosed with a torn left ACL, described him as fluctuating between disconsolate that he won’t fulfill his lifelong dream of playing in the Big Dance and resolved to remain a positive influence on the team.
“Naturally he is very disappointed with the harsh reality of not being able to play in the NCAA tournament,” coach Steve Lavin told The Post. “But he will take on the role of an unofficial student assistant to help his teammates in our postseason journey.”
The journey will be made harder for two reasons:
First, Kennedy was the Red Storm’s most versatile player, capable of scoring from the perimeter and in the paint, rebounding, defending and passing, in addition to his tremendous leadership skills.
Second, the NCAA tournament selection committee previously has used an injured player as cause for lowering a team’s seed. The most publicized case involved former Cincinnati star Kenyon Martin, whose team was ranked No. 1 for most of the season but received a No. 2 seed in the 2000 tournament after he broke his leg in the Conference USA tournament.
“It’s definitely a consideration,” Jerry Palm, publisher of CollegeRPI.com, told The Post. “I expect it will cost [St. John’s] a seed line.”
As of yesterday, Palm and Joe Lunardi of ESPN had the Red Storm as a No. 5 seed. Palm had them facing the Ivy League representative, Princeton or Harvard, in Denver.
Former St. John’s coach Norm Roberts, who recruited Kennedy, said he heard from the injured player yesterday morning.
“He said, ‘Coach, I’m just trying to stay positive,’ ” Roberts said.
Kennedy, like most of the players on this team, saw his role change this season. He was the focal point of the offense last year, but with the emergence of Dwight Hardy and Justin Brownlee, Kennedy became the swingman on the team.
“When D.J. plays well, we’re a better team,” forward Justin Burrell said. “He takes us to another level because he can do so many things. If he’s not going to be on the court, every one of us is going to have to step up. Everyone.”
Forward Sean Evans seems the player most likely to get the first crack at Kennedy’s minutes. After spending the first half of the season in Lavin’s doghouse, Evans had been the most improved player in the last third of the season.
Kennedy was injured about six minutes into the loss to Syracuse. He darted into the lane and came to an abrupt stop. His knee buckled and he crumpled to the court. When Lavin reached him, Kennedy said he was in tremendous pain.
Yesterday, Kennedy and the Red Storm dealt with the heartache. One of the key players in restoring St. John’s to prominence will not reap the reward of playing in the NCAA tournament.
“Not fair,” Lavin said. “Not right.”