Lou Carnesecca – whose name is synonymous with St. John’s basketball – said despite the program’s flagging fortunes, its rivalry with Georgetown is alive and well. And he predicts beating their old foes in yesterday’s Big East tourney opener will be a huge stepping stone for next year.
Freshman guard Quincy Roberts — considered a building block for next season — hit two clutch free throws with one second left to clinch a 64-59 first-round win over the Hoyas and a shot at Marquette today. Both should help a young squad that started five sophomores and has two seniors.
“It’s good to see the young kids come through like that, make big free throws in the Garden. It’s good because it’ll give them confidence for next year,” said Carnesecca, 84, who naturally predicted a bright future for St. John’s despite the oversized Big East.
“It’s unwieldy, it’s tough, there’s a lot of teams. It takes a lot of hard work. The league was much smaller, more localized, and there are a lot of Georgetown alumni in this area. That all adds up to a rivalry. I don’t know how many are from Louisville, Marquette, Cincinnati.”
Carnesecca admits at the height of the rivalry he “Hated them. Hated them!” And though Roberts wasn’t even born when then Hoyas coach John Thompson parodied Carnesecca’s sweater in February 1985, he said the rivalry endures.
“Every time we play Georgetown, it’s a good game, with the history of the game. That plays a big part. It’s definitely always going to be a great game,” Roberts said. “When they were big-time rivals I was just being born, but I’ve seen games on ESPN Classic and you see how important it is. We just try to take that in and play as best we can.
“It was big shots, but you can’t think of it like that; you’ve just got to think I practice this every day, so I’m going to make these to help my team. That’s what I did. Everything is a learning lesson, every game we just want to keep striving. Hopefully we can win the whole thing.”
It was the Red Storm’s second win a week over Georgetown, after beating the Hoyas 59-56 in OT last Tuesday on two Rob Thomas free throws. The sophomore forward said he relishes not only this Hoyas rivalry but the valuable lessons his young team is learning from the rugged Big East battles.
“Coach always tells us just play hard, play together and believe in each other. When it came down to time to execute, and take over the game, a lot of guys stepped up. When people play like that and believe in each other anything can happen, especially in the Big East,” Thomas said.
“Every game is tough in the Big East. We can beat anybody on any given day. That’s what I like about the Big East. It’s kill or be killed. You just have to have the right mind frame. You’ve got to make the little plays.”