Forget about a must-win game. Tonight’s game is a must-not-lose one for St. John’s.
The Red Storm will complete their regular season at DePaul (8:30; SNY, WBBR, 1130 AM), the worst team in the Big East. It’s a game the St. John’s players know they can’t afford to lose for coach Norm Roberts.
Roberts is in his sixth year at St. John’s (15-14, 5-12 Big East) and the Red Storm hasn’t taken the step forward that was expected from a junior-laden class. Of course, Roberts’ tenure can’t be assessed merely on wins and losses.
He took over a program on the verge of NCAA sanctions, which limited his first two recruiting classes. And after scandals such as the Pittsburgh Sexcapades that came before his tenure, Roberts has brought respect to the St. John’s program, a fact not lost on university president Father Donald Harrington.
“He took over St. John’s in the darkest days,” said forward Rob Thomas of Harlem. “I think he’s done a terrific job of rebuilding. We on the inside see things people on the outside don’t see.”
When asked to be specific, Thomas, a tough kid with a tender heart, sounded emotional.
“He gave a chance academically and in basketball,” said Thomas, who suffers from dyslexia. “He cares just as much about us as people as players. A lot of coaches ain’t like that.”
St. John’s will either post the 80th win of Roberts’ tenure or the 100th loss. With a loss, the Red Storm will fail to match last year’s victory totals of 16 overall and six in the league. That will make it almost impossible for Roberts to post his second winning season at St. John’s. He was 16-15 in 2007-08.
“We definitely don’t want to take a step back,” Roberts said. “And we have a chance to win more games than ever before. We get a win here and we go into the Big East Tournament feeling good about ourselves and get a win there, anything can happen.”
DePaul (8-21, 1-16) already has fired coach Jerry Wainwright. The Blue Demons’ only conference win was a last-second, one-point victory over Marquette. They have lost 11 straight, but eight of those defeats were by 10 points or fewer.
“I understand it’s a business, but no one knows how far we’ve come better than we do,” forward Justin Burrell said. “Coach Roberts is a great coach and he’s one of the best people I’ve ever known. If the administration can’t see that, that’s on them.”