Sports

St. John’s has questions to answer for next season

The NCAA Tournament hopes of St. John’s were dashed Thursday afternoon at the Garden in what was a microcosm of the Red Storm’s season — a slow start followed by a fast finish that fell short.

Fans can harp on what went wrong this year, why it took so long for the Red Storm to get going, and if this underachieving season falls at the feet of coach Steve Lavin, his players, or both.

But that’s yesterday’s news. Take a look, instead, at the future. The Johnnies, likely headed for the NIT, can be a legitimate force next year, a Top 25 program — if all goes right between now and next November — assured of a berth in the field of 68.

There, however, are a lot of moving parts, from Lavin on down:

The coach

There is talk of a contract extension, news broken by The Post. Would Lavin come back without any years added to the two he has left on a six-year deal? St. John’s would be wise to extend him — if nothing else, it would help him in recruiting the 2015 class, which he has zeroed in on as an impact group.

In four years, Lavin has increased St. John’s profile, raised the talent level, made the program a recruiting power and awoken a dormant fan base. There are actual expectations in Queens; the Johnnies are relevant.

Those are the positives, but there are, of course, accompanying negatives. He has reached the tournament once in four years — with his predecessor’s players — and while he has compiled two top 10 recruiting classes, the teams have yet to do anything of significance. St. John’s still struggles mightily in a half-court setting on offense, and its defense, a strength, was exposed in huge late-season losses to Xavier and Providence. Lavin’s teams always get better as the season extends, but that doesn’t excuse a no-show January.

Who’s coming back

Seniors God’sgift Achiuwa, Marco Bourgault and Orlando Sanchez will be gone, leaving a dearth of size behind JaKarr Sampson and Chris Obekpa. Then there is the matter of the non-seniors, junior D’Angelo Harrison, sophomores Obekpa and Sampson and freshman point guard Rysheed Jordan.

The NBA could be an option — but only if, Jordan excluded, the initial goal is the NBA’s D-League. Scouts have told The Post Jordan would be the only one of those players taken in the draft, based on his enormous potential, but the odds of his going in the first round are long because of the loaded draft. A source close to Jordan told The Post he needs another year to develop and is expected to return.

Harrison, when asked after Thursday’s loss to Providence, said the plan is for everyone to come back, though a lot can change in the coming weeks and months.

Reinforcements needed

It’s late in the recruiting season, yet Lavin has also often been at his best this time of year, having landed Obekpa two springs ago and Jordan at this time last year. He has to add depth to his front court for next year. St. John’s is a favorite for Christ the King center Adonis Delarosa, a 6-foot-11 wide body who is set to pick a school on April 18. Delarosa, however, is seen as a work in progress, not an immediate contributor.

Look for the Johnnies to dip into the junior college ranks to add size. Additionally, forward Christian Jones, who was red-shirted after a nondescript freshman season, could be returning.

There are minutes that will have to be replaced.

Support lacking

That’s you, Johnnies fans. This year didn’t go as you planned. You wanted better results, expected a berth in The Big Dance. That doesn’t exclude your performance, however. It doesn’t explain just 6,739 showing up to the upset win over Creighton, 6,707 for the must-win game against Xavier, or being drowned out by Providence’s faithful fans on Thursday. So many other schools sell their arenas out — the Marquettes, Xaviers and Villanovas of the league.

While St. John’s played very well at the Garden all year, going 14-4, the crowds were as much a disappointment as the team. It took Syracuse and its large alumni base to fill it up in December.