Carnephobia: The irrational fear of playing in Carnesecca Arena.
Symptoms: The inability to control the urge to complain about games played in this bandbox instead of the Garden.
Diagnosed cases: Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez and his Pirates.
“It’s so small,” lamented Seton Hall forward Herb Pope after a 79-71 win over DePaul on Sunday. “And you can’t get caught up. They’re going to shoot the lights out. They’re going to play well. They’re going to have the crowd behind them.
“They don’t like us,” Pope continued. “So everything’s in their favor. You know it’s the one time we play them this year, so they’re looking to get the tiebreaker.”
What is it about the 6,008-seat arena in Queens, formerly known as Alumni Hall, that unnerves opponents?
Television producers used to fear the lights wouldn’t turn on after lineup introductions because a rodent might have chewed through an extension cord. But after a $20 million renovation three years ago, Carnesecca Arena operates smoothly, except for the wild temperature swings throughout the building. There’s even a state-of-the-art video board.
OK, so the trombone players in the band are close enough to the court that some spittle might catch net. The fans, in an attempt to imitate Cameron Crazies, sometimes come across as Carnesecca Uncouths.
Pope, an Aliquippa, Pa., native and close childhood friend of St. John’s star D.J. Kennedy, attended a game last season. He didn’t remember much about the place, expect that the fans didn’t ride guard Jeremy Hazell of Brooklyn because they had Gonzalez in their sights.
Gonzalez made himself a target two years ago when he complained about a game being played at Carnesecca as opposed to the Garden. He should know that St. John’s forward Justin Burrell prefers to play home games in the World’s Most Famous Arena, though Kennedy prefers his campus gym.
“There’s no feeling like the place we practice every day,” said Kennedy, a Pittsburgh native who played AAU ball with Pope.
The truth is you could play this game in Rucker Park or at West 4th Street. This is a league turf war between the Johnnies (14-9 overall, 4-8 Big East) and Pirates (14-9, 5-7).
St. John’s is looking to win three straight Big East games for the first time since the 2007-2008 season. Seton Hall is looking to post its first road win in league play. Each team has six players from the five boroughs.
Fear the team, not the building.