What we learned: St. Johns
>> Butler, with Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star
>> Xavier, with Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer
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>> Providence, with Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal
>> St. John's, with coach Steve Lavin
This week on the Bluejay Banter radio show, we continued our Big East preview with a look at St. John's. We were thrilled to have been joined by Red Storm head coach Steve Lavin. The interview is below.
Some interesting notes from Lavin:
St. John's key losses
St. John's key returners
Senior guard D'Angelo Harrison: Harrison was the Red Storm's leading scorer last year (17.5 points per game) and shot 37 percent from 3-point range. He is the team's star.
Sophomore point guard Rysheed Jordan: Lavin credited Jordan's development with his team's late surge last year. He ended up averaging almost 10 points and 3 assists per game.
Junior center Chris Obekpa: Obekpa is the defensive enforcer in the middle for St. John's -- he blocked 94 shots last year. Lavin will be looking for a little more offensive consistency.
Other notes
St. John's has a lot of production to replace inside, and Lavin will look to a junior college transfer and a freshman to fill that void. It seems we constantly hear how St. John's has the "most talent" in the Big East, and that may be true again this year -- as always, though, it's a matter of whether or not Lavin can get his team to gel in the right way. If so, the Red Storm will be back in the NCAA Tournament.