Norm Roberts’ job as head coach of the St. John’s basketball team is safe – for now.
St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch told The Post yesterday that if a change is made it will only come after the season. Roberts is in the final year of a contract with an automatic five-year rollover.
“Right now he is our coach for the long term,” Monasch said during halftime of the Red Storm’s 60-47 loss to No. 5 Louisville at the Garden dropped them to 12-11 (3-8 Big East). “He’s put together a good team, and there’s a lot of games left.”
That tepid endorsement could be interpreted to mean Roberts has to prove something over the remaining eight games. If the Red Storm continue to struggle, St. John’s could tear up Roberts’ five-year rollover and incur minimal financial damage.
When asked if something could happen before the end of the season that would change his mind, Monasch said, “I’m not going to comment on that.”
“There’s a lot of games left,” Monasch said. “At the end of the year you look back at the total picture [and evaluate if] things are going in a positive direction. We have more good players in the program now than we’ve had since he’s been here. We’re a young team and there are a lot of games left. You have to look at the complete season.”
Any speculation about Roberts’ future has not been brought to the coach’s attention.
“There’s no talk,” Roberts said. “That’s just stuff that’s batted around in the newspapers and the Internet. That stuff’s not being discussed with our administration.”
One criticism of Roberts has been his inability to recruit an elite prospect. St. John’s has made the short list of several big-name recruits, such as Sylvan Landesberg of Holy Cross, who chose Virginia.
“There are a lot of quality programs chasing recruits, and the fact that we’re involved is good,” Monasch said. “More success and winning will lead to better recruiting classes.”
Some long-time fans believe it’s time for Roberts to go.
“He’s a great guy and everyone is rooting for him,” said Ken Petry, a season-ticket holder for 20 years until he gave up his five seats after last season because he was unsatisfied with the team’s performance.
“But he has not been able to attract the right recruits, and he’s in over his head coaching at this level. I think they have to fire him.”
dtomasino@nypost.com