St. John’s, the only Big East team with a losing record, is mired in its first three-game losing streak in four years. The Red Storm, hosting Manhattan at 7:30 tonight in Alumni Hall, are facing the prospect of losing to three city teams for the first time since 1955-56.
It’s against that bleak backdrop that coach Mike Jarvis has tried to convince his young squad that tonight’s game – that no game – is more important than the next, that the reason they’re in this fix is they haven’t valued each game, each possession, each practice. Until they learn that lesson, they’ll be as unpredictable as a tech-stock.
“I’m not looking at the short haul, I’m looking at the long haul. Our reason for being here is to be the best program we can be in the long haul. The problem is most people look at things in terms of the game, today. I hope we never get caught up in any day being more important than another,” said Jarvis, whose 4-5 squad can climb to .500 by beating the 3-3 Jaspers.
“Every single day is just as important as any other day. It takes young people time to learn that. Most young kids are used to playing games, not practicing and honing their skills. You’ve just got to be able to sustain the same amount of effort every day.”
Which has been what Jarvis has been trying to drill into the heads of his young squad, which starts three freshman and has been every bit as up-and-down as such youth would imply.
“Coach has been on us, making sure we get the job done on defense,” said junior forward Anthony Glover, who’s averaging 17.2 points and 5.7 rebounds. “In the games we lost, defense had a lot to do with it. Also crashing the boards as a team. We haven’t done that against some of the opponents we’ve played, and that’s why we didn’t win the games.”
After opening the season in promising fashion with a 62-61 win over Kentucky at the Garden, and routing Michigan 97-83 in the BB&T Classic to move to 4-2 and No. 24 in the national polls, they’ve dropped three straight to arguably lesser competition.
First came a 68-67 loss to Fordham on Bevon Robin’s layup in the final seconds. Then came a 71-58 loss at Ohio State that wasn’t as close as the score sounds. And finally an 86-80 loss to Hofstra, the first loss to the Pride in school history.
That game was the first that freshman forward Willie Shaw didn’t start. Jarvis was coy about any other lineup changes, saying, “There could be changes. This isn’t the NBA, things change all the time. I haven’t decided who’ll start. If I do decide to make a change, you’ll find out the same time as the opposing coach.”
The would be Bobby Gonzalez, who comes in with a rebuilding MAAC team that would love nothing more than to knock off the city’s resident Big East team. Manhattan comes in with forward Durelle Brown averaging 21.0 ppg. – Glover may well see time guarding him – and the respect of Jarvis. Now he hopes his players see the Jaspers the same way.
“What I see in Manhattan is what I see in every opponent: A dangerous foe,” Jarvis said. “St. John’s has got to do what St. John’s is supposed to do. If we don’t, there’s not much difference between teams perceived as the best and those trying to be the best. Every opponent is dangerous. Young people don’t realize that.”