St. John’s got worn down last night. But the Red Storm are not down and out, not if you listen to one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history.
Robert Montgomery Knight was the television analyst for Duke’s 76-69 win over the Red Storm and he sees a positive future for this team, even as the coach’s future remains cloudy.
“Not very often do you see a team that’s down by 15 or 16 points with five minutes to play continue to play as hard as St. John’s did,” Knight told The Post in an exclusive interview. “I thought their effort was really good. I think they’re learning to play. This was a damn good team they were playing against tonight.”
Duke (21-5) certainly looked the part of one of the nation’s elite teams. They forced 14 first-half turnovers, built a 32-18 lead and were up 69-55 with four minutes left. St. John’s (12-14) got it to 74-69, but only 15 seconds were left.
“One mistake or two can open it right up,” said D.J. Kennedy, who was terrific with 20 points and nine rebounds. Kennedy hobbled through the second half with a groin injury. Malik Boothe (six turnovers) aggravated the thumb injury on his left hand that forced him to miss nine games. Anthony Mason Jr. (foot) is just off crutches. Justin Burrell, coming off the bench for the second straight game, has a bruised confidence organ. By the time the final buzzer sounded four St. John’s players had fouled out.
“Any time we play in the Garden against St. John’s, I’m concerned because there’s ghosts in this building and they’re not Duke ghosts,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who still hasn’t gotten over a 72-71 loss here in 2003 on a questionable call that sent Marcus Hatton to the line for the winning free throws.
Duke has won five straight in the series which, as reported in The Post, probably won’t be renewed after next season.
Next season remains cloaked in uncertainty. The loss dropped coach Norm Roberts’ record to 60-81 in his fifth season. The university will evaluate after the season if they should continue to go forward with the classy Queens native who has restored integrity.
For the fourth-straight game, university president Father Donald J. Harrington and/or chief operating officer Dr. James Pellow attended the game. Perhaps they’ve developed a sudden passion for college hoops.
Knight has always had that. And he likes the nucleus of this team.
“I like what I see in terms of what they can do and how they can go about improving,” he said. “It isn’t a matter of winning as much as it’s a matter of developing in these next six games. If they work hard what they can do in these next six games and the spring then I think these kids have a chance to be a pretty good basketball team.”
Duke 76 St. John’s 69