St. John's Red Storm Men's Basketball
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The St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represents St. John's University, located in
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. The team participates in the
Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
, of which it is a founding member. As of the end of the 2023–24 season, St. John's ranked ninth all-time among NCAA Division I teams with 1,942 total wins. St. John's has appeared in 31 NCAA tournaments, most recently qualifying as Big East tournament champion in
2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
. St. John's best finish in the NCAA tournament came in
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...
, when the team, then known as the Redmen, made their first trip to the Final Four and were NCAA runners-up. St. John's made its second and most recent Final Four appearance in
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
. St. John's is coached by
Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...
. St. John's boasts two Wooden Award winners as national player of the year, 11 consensus All-Americans, 6 members of the
College Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...
, and has sent 59 players to the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. However, St. John's currently holds the NCAA Division I record for most
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the Division I level ...
appearances without a championship. The Red Storm play most of their home games at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
, "The World's Most Famous Arena", while their early non-conference games are held at
Carnesecca Arena Carnesecca Arena (formerly Alumni Hall) is a 5,602-seat multi-purpose arena in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. It was built in 1961 and renamed in honor of Hall of Fame Coach Lou Carnesecca on November 23, 2004. It is the exclu ...
on the St. John's campus in Queens. St. John's University holds the second best winning percentage for a New York City school in the NCAA basketball tournament (second to
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...
, which won the 1950 NCAA Division I Championship). St. John's has the most NIT appearances with 27, the most championship wins with 6, although they were stripped of one due to an NCAA infraction. The 1910–11 St. John's team finished the season with a 14–0 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the
Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...
and the
Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...
. In 2008, St. John's celebrated its 100th year of college basketball. The basketball team is the most popular collegiate basketball program in New York City and has a world-wide following.


History


Early years (1907–1927)

The St. John's men's basketball team played its first game on December 6, 1907, losing to
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and registering its first win in program history against
Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York, United States. Adelphi also has centers in Downtown Brooklyn, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County in addition to a virtual, online campus for remote students. As of 2019, it had ...
on January 3, 1908. Just three years later, the 1910–11 team were undefeated in a 14–0 season coached by former track and field Olympian Claude Allen, for which the team was later honored by the
Helms Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owner ...
and the
Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...
as national champions.


Buck Freeman era (1927–1936)


The Wonder Five

Twenty years later, former St. John's player Buck Freeman was hired as coach. In his first four years, from 1927 to 1931, the team had a 85–8 record. The 1929–30 and 1930–31 teams were known as the "Wonder Five", made up of Matty Begovich, Mac Kinsbrunner, Max Posnack, Allie Schuckman, and Jack "Rip" Gerson, who together helped revolutionize the game of basketball and made St. John's the marquee team in New York City. On January 19, 1931, the Wonder Five team was a part of the first college basketball triple-header at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in a charity game which saw St. John's beat CCNY by a score 17–9. Freeman finished his coaching career with a record of 177–31, an .850 winning percentage.


First Joe Lapchick era (1936–1947)

Joe Lapchick Joseph Bohomiel Lapchick (April 12, 1900 – August 10, 1970) was an American professional basketball player, mostly known for playing with the Original Celtics in the 1920s and 1930s. He is commonly regarded as the best center of his era, ove ...
, a former player of the
Original Celtics The Original Celtics were a barnstorming professional American basketball team. At various times in their existence, the team played in the American Basketball League, the Eastern Basketball League and the Metropolitan Basketball League. The te ...
, took over as head coach at St. John's in 1936 and continued the success the school had become used to under Buck Freeman. Lapchick coached from 1936 to 1947 and again from 1956 to 1965. His Redmen teams won four NIT championships (
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 †...
,
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
,
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
,
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
). Lapchick preferred to take his teams to the more prestigious NIT instead of the NCAA tournament, making the NIT semifinals 8 out of a total 12 times, and only one
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
tournament appearance in his 20 years of coaching the Redmen. Under Lapchick's coaching his teams also won six
Metropolitan New York Conference Membership Regular season champions Men's basketball *1934 *1935 DNP *1936 *1937 *1938 *1939 Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into ...
regular season titles.


Back-to-back NIT Champions

On its way to its first of back-to-back NIT titles, St. John's had a record of 21–3 with only two losses occurring during the regular season. One was a 40–46 home loss to rival Niagara and another was a 38–42 loss at Madison Square Garden to
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
. The 1942–43 St. John's team were led by senior caption Andrew "Fuzzy" Levane and sophomore All-American center
Harry Boykoff Harry J. Boykoff (July 24, 1922 – February 20, 2001) was an American professional basketball player. During his career he was often referred to as "Heshie", Big Hesh", and "Big Boy". He stood at tall. Early life Boykoff was born on the Lowe ...
. The Redmen's trademark defense and inside scoring presence of Boykoff led them past
Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
, Fordham, and Toledo to claim the first of six NIT titles. The season did not end after the NIT; three days later St. John's participated in the first Red Cross charity benefit game against
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
champion
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
to determine a national champion. Wyoming won, 52–47. St. John's became the first team to repeat as champions in the seven-year history of the NIT even though
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the players' commitment to serve in the armed forces made it a very difficult season. Harry Boykoff missed the 1943–44 and 1944–45 seasons due to being drafted for the war effort, along with the team's star point guard
Dick McGuire Richard Joseph McGuire (January 26, 1926 – February 3, 2010) was an American professional basketball player and coach. McGuire was one of the premier guards of the 1950s, playing 11 seasons in the NBA (1949–60), eight with the New York Knicks ...
for half the 1943–44 season and the entire following two years. Despite the losses of their star players, the St. John's team managed to finish the season with an 18–5 record and a second NIT crown by defeating Adolph Rupp's
Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...
and Ray Meyer's
DePaul Blue Demons The DePaul Blue Demons are the athletic teams that represent DePaul University, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Blue Demons participate in NCAA Division I and are a member of the Big East Conference. DePaul's Athletic Director is DeWayne Pe ...
. The Redmen were led by playmaking junior guards Hy Gotkin and Bill Kotsores, the latter of whom was selected as the 1944 NIT Most Valuable Player. For the second year in a row the Redmen participated in the Red Cross benefit game where they faced the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
champion
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, and lost 36–44. The 1951 1952 team lost to Kentucky 81–40 in December 1951. In the NCAA tournament, St John's beat Kentucky, 64–57. They later finished second in the tournament to Kansas. St. John's success continued the following year where they produced another 21–3 record, but their chance at a rematch with George Mikan's DePaul squad and a third consecutive NIT title was shattered with an upset loss to
Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
in the semifinals. They beat Rhode Island State for a third-place finish. Lapchick's Redmen made the NIT both of the next two years and added two more
Metropolitan New York Conference Membership Regular season champions Men's basketball *1934 *1935 DNP *1936 *1937 *1938 *1939 Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into ...
regular season titles before heleft to take the head coaching job of the
New York Knickerbockers The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associati ...
in just the second year of their existence in the new
Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...
, becoming the highest paid coach of the league at the time.


Frank McGuire era (1947–1952)

Lapchick was succeeded by
Frank McGuire Frank Joseph McGuire (November 8, 1913 – October 11, 1994) was an American basketball coach. At the collegiate level, he was head coach for three major programs: St. John's, North Carolina, and South Carolina, winning over a hundred games at ...
, a former player under Buck Freeman, who made the postseason four out of five years as the coach and had an overall record of 102–36, culminating in a second-place finish in the 1952 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Under McGuire, the Redmen reached an overall number one ranking in The Associated Press poll twice, won three Metropolitan New York Conference regular season titles, competed in four NITs and made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament where they made it to the
Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...
before falling to eventual national champion
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
. They defeated
North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...
for a regional third-place finish that year. At the end of the season, McGuire left St. John's to become the basketball coach at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
. On paper, this was a significant step down from St. John's, as UNC was not reckoned as a national power at the time. However, school officials wanted a big-name coach to counter the rise of rival North Carolina State under Everett Case. McGuire's assistant coach, Al "Dusty" DeStefano, took over the head coaching duties of St. John's from 1952 to 1956. DeStefano's teams only made one postseason appearance and it was a 58–46 loss to the
Seton Hall Pirates The Seton Hall Pirates are the intercollegiate athletic sports teams representing Seton Hall University, located in South Orange, New Jersey. The Pirates compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football sub-level), primarily compet ...
in the NIT Finals who were led by All-American center Walter Dukes. The following year, the Redmen had their first losing season in over 30 years.


Second Joe Lapchick era (1956–1965)

One month after leaving his position with the
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
, Lapchick resumed his head coaching duties where he started and put St. John's back on its winning path. Picking up where he left off, he added two more NIT championships, made the postseason 6 out of 9 times, and finished with an overall college coaching record of 334–130. In 20 years of coaching in the college ranks, Lapchick only had one losing season.


1959 & 1965 NIT Champions

St. John's finished the 1958–59 season with an overall 20–6 record and captured its first ECAC Holiday Festival title with a 90–79 victory over St. Joseph's in the final and the school's third NIT championship by defeating top-seeded Bradley 76–70 in double overtime. The starting five for the Redmen consisted of four seniors and sophomore sensation Tony Jackson who was named both the Holiday Festival and NIT Most Valuable Player during the 1958–59 season, setting a school record of 27 rebounds in one game. At the end of the season senior captain Alan Seiden was rewarded with second team All-American honors and the
Haggerty Award __NOTOC__ The Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award is given to the top men's college basketball player from an NCAA Division I school in the New York metropolitan area. The Haggerty Award is presented by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MB ...
, given to the best collegiate player in the New York metropolitan area. Throughout the next three years, St. John's went 58–18, led by Jackson who received All-American honors all three years at school, 6'11" center and future NBA champion LeRoy Ellis, and future ABA/NBA coach
Kevin Loughery Kevin Michael "Murph" Loughery (born March 28, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Loughery coached both Julius Erving and Michael Jordan, and gave Phil Jackson his first NBA coaching job. Early life Loughe ...
. In the 1961–62 season, St. John's made their fifth NIT finals appearance before falling to Dayton 73–67. Lapchick went into the 1964–65 season knowing it would be his last year coaching at St. John's because he reached age 65, the mandatory retirement age of the university. His team began the year off by upsetting
Cazzie Russell Cazzie Lee Russell (born June 7, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An NBA All-Star, he was selected by the New York Knicks with the first overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He won an NBA championship with t ...
's
Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...
, the No. 1 team in the nation according to both the Associated Press and United Press International polls, by a score of 75–74 to capture the school's second ECAC Holiday Festival title. St. John's finished the season 21–8 and went on a remarkable run in the 1965 NIT by defeating Boston College, New Mexico, Army, and top-seeded Villanova to win Lapchick his fourth NIT championship. The Redmen were led by the rebounding of sophomore forward Lloyd "Sonny" Dove and the scoring of senior Ken McIntyre who totaled 101 points in his last four games, over 1,000 points for his college career, and being named the Most Valuable Player of both the Holiday Festival and the National Invitational Tournament.


Lou Carnesecca era (1965–1992)

Lou Carnesecca was hired as the head basketball coach at St. John's in 1965, after serving as an assistant at St. John's since 1958, and given the difficult task to follow in the footsteps of Lapchick. In the 1985 NCAA tournament, he coached the Redmen to their second Final Four appearance. He was named the National Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1985 and Big East Coach of the Year on three occasions. His record at St. John's was 526–200. Carnesecca led the team to its record fifth NIT title in 1989, to the NCAA's Elite Eight in 1979 and 1991, and to the Sweet Sixteen in 1967, 1969, and 1983. Carnesecca temporarily left St. John's to coach in the
American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...
from 1970 to 1973, when it was coached by former player Frank Mulzoff, who gathered a record of 56–27 and three post-season appearances. Upon Carnesecca's return, he continued to guide the program to 29 consecutive postseason tournament appearances and to playing in a major conference, the
Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
.


1983 Big East Champions


1985 NCAA Final Four


1986 Big East Champions


Recent years (1992–present)


2000 Big East Champions


2003 NIT Champions


2010–11 Senior team


2011–12 Fresh Five team


2024-2025 Big East Champions


2025 Big East Champions


Postseason


NCAA tournament results

The Red Storm have appeared in the NCAA tournament 30 times. Their combined record is 27–32. Due to impermissible benefits to a player, their 2002 appearance has been vacated by the NCAA making their official record 28–32. * Vacated by the NCAA


NIT results

The Red Storm have appeared in the
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
(NIT) 30 times. Their combined record is 45–30. They are six-time NIT Champions (1943, 1944, 1959, 1965, 1989, 2003). Due to impermissible benefits to a player, their 2003 appearance (and title) has been vacated by the NCAA, making their official record 40–30. * Vacated by the NCAA


Coaching history


St. John's rivalries


Big East rivalries

The St. John's-Georgetown rivalry was one of the most intense matchups in the Big East during the 1980s, highlighted by the 1985 Big East Championship, 1985 NCAA semifinal game, the "Sweater Game" between Hall of Fame coaches Lou Carnesecca and John Thompson, and Hall of Fame players Chris Mullin and
Patrick Ewing Patrick Aloysius Ewing Sr. (born August 5, 1962) is a Jamaican-American basketball coach and former professional player who is a basketball ambassador for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he played most o ...
. St. John's fans also count other East Coast rivals the
Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and women's rowing where they compete in the Coastal Athletic Association (Football Champions ...
,
Providence Friars The Providence Friars are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. They compete in the Big East Conference (NCAA Division I) for every sport exc ...
,
Seton Hall Pirates The Seton Hall Pirates are the intercollegiate athletic sports teams representing Seton Hall University, located in South Orange, New Jersey. The Pirates compete as a member of the NCAA Division I level (non-football sub-level), primarily compet ...
, and former Big East founders
Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...
and the
Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level ( Football Bowl Subdivis ...
along with the
Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big Eas ...
and
Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...
among their most frequently played opponents.


New York rivalries

St. John's fifth most frequent played opponent is fellow Vincentian and
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...
college, the
Niagara Purple Eagles The Niagara Purple Eagles are athletics teams that represent Niagara University in College athletics, college sports. Part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I, the Purple Eagles field 19 varsity leve ...
. The universities have played each other every college basketball season since 1909. St. John's also frequently plays other New York City opponents representing the four other NYC boroughs; the
Fordham Rams The Fordham Rams are the varsity sports teams for Fordham University. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. In football, the Rams play in t ...
and
Manhattan Jaspers The Manhattan Jaspers are composed of 19 teams representing Manhattan University in intercollegiate athletics. The Jaspers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Manhattan University fields 19 NC ...
of
The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
, the St. Francis Terriers and LIU Blackbirds of
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, the
NYU Violets NYU Violets is the nickname of the sports teams and other competitive teams at New York University. The school colors are purple and white. Although officially known as the Violets, the school mascot is a bobcat. The Violets compete as a member ...
and CCNY Beavers of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, and the
Wagner Seahawks The Wagner Seahawks are composed of 23 teams representing Wagner College in intercollegiate athletics. Sports sponsored for both men and women are basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, tennis, track & field (both indoor and outdoor, which ...
of
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
. These teams were all instrumental in creating the postseason
National Invitational Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
hosted annually at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
. From 1933 to 1963 most of these schools came together to play each other in the
Metropolitan New York Conference Membership Regular season champions Men's basketball *1934 *1935 DNP *1936 *1937 *1938 *1939 Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into ...
. The Red Storm own an all-time record of 250–86 against these other New York City schools.


St. John's program records


Notable players and coaches

List of players and coaches honored:


Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Members

The following St. John's players, coaches, and contributors have been enshrined in the
Naismith Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...
.


McDonald's High School All-Americans


Olympians

The following St. John's players and coaches have represented their country in basketball in the Summer Olympic Games:


Players in the NBA since 1979


Players in International Basketball

* Justin Simon (born 1996) - basketball player for
Bnei Herzliya Bnei Herzliya Basket (, lit. ''Sons of Herzliya''), is a professional basketball club that is based in Herzliya, in central Israel. The club plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top division of Israeli basketball. History The club w ...
of the
Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...


Awards and honors


National award winners


Big East Conference award winners


Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association award winners


Facilities

* record stands after the 2023–24 season


DeGray Gymnasium (1932–1956)

DeGray Gymnasium was the original home of the St. John's Redmen when the university was located at 75 Lewis Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of
Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. Their record at DeGray Gym was 156 wins to 11 losses for a winning percentage of .934. St. John's played their last home game there on December 8, 1956, with a victory of
Roanoke College Roanoke College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers ...
103–65. When the university was transitioning from Brooklyn to Queens, the basketball team split their home games between the old
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
and Martin Van Buren High School for five seasons.


Carnesecca Arena (1961–present)

In 1961, home games were moved to the 5,602-seat Alumni Hall on the newly constructed
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
campus opening with a 79–65 win over
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
. On November 23, 2004, the building and court were renamed for Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca.


Madison Square Garden (1931–present)

On January 19, 1931, St. John's was a part of the first college basketball triple-header at the third
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
on 8th Avenue and 50th Street in a charity game which saw St. John's beat CCNY by a score 17–9. St. John's has played at least one game in the arena every year since then, for a record 89 consecutive seasons, for both regular season home games, preseason and postseason tournaments including the Big East, NIT, and Holiday Festival.


Taffner Field House

The current training facility of the St. John's basketball team is Taffner Field House, located on the Queens campus adjacent to
Carnesecca Arena Carnesecca Arena (formerly Alumni Hall) is a 5,602-seat multi-purpose arena in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. It was built in 1961 and renamed in honor of Hall of Fame Coach Lou Carnesecca on November 23, 2004. It is the exclu ...
. In the fall of 2005, the $16 million facility was completed with a majority of the donations coming from longtime St. John's fan, graduate, and benefactor Donald L. Taffner and his wife Eleanor Taffner, for whom the building is named. The field house features four full-size basketball courts, two for student life and two for varsity basketball, a weight room, training room, locker rooms, meeting rooms, and coaching offices for both men's and women's basketball.


Key statistics

Victories over AP Number 1 Teams St. John's has five victories over the AP number one ranked team. * Jan. 11, 1951: No. 11 St. John's 68 vs. No. 1 Bradley 59 @
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
* Mar. 22, 1952: No. 10 St. John's 64 vs. No. 1 Kentucky 57 @
Reynolds Coliseum William Neal Reynolds Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, on the campus of North Carolina State University. The arena was built to host a variety of events, including agricultural expositions and N ...
* Jan. 2, 1965: NR St. John's 75 vs. No. 1 Michigan 74 @
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
* Dec. 30, 1978: NR St. John's 69 vs. No. 1 Duke 66 @
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
* Jan. 26, 1985: No. 2 St. John's 66 vs. No. 1 Georgetown 65 @ Capital Centre * Feb. 7, 2018: NR St. John's 79 vs. No. 1 Villanova 75 @
Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to: * Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California * Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California * Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California * Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California * Wells Fargo C ...


References


External links

* {{St. John's University (New York City) Basketball teams established in 1907 1907 establishments in New York City