After a topsy turvy coaching search, St. John's has finally found its man.
The school is expected to name former Arkansas, Missouri and UAB coach Mike Anderson its new coach. An official announcement is expected Friday. Anderson will replace Chris Mullin, who parted ways with the team April 9.
"All signs are pointing towards that," one source close to the team said Thursday night.
The Climb is the podcast that tells the stories of big names in the New York sports scene, and how they got to the top of their industry. On the latest episode, SNY's Jonas Schwartz sits down with Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman. She shares her story from her days as a student-athlete at Virginia, through the beginnings of her legal career - which led her back to the sports world. Ackerman spent time as an executive at the NBA, served as the first President of the WNBA, was elected as President of USA Basketball, and now guides the Big East. She reveals the steps of her climb in an industry where she forged a path that not many women had taken before, and shares advice for the next generation who may choose to follow that path today.
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Iona head coach Tim Cluess posted on Twitter he was taking his name out of consideration for the St. John's head coaching vacancy.
"There comes a point where the reality of the situation becomes more clear and moving forward is what is needed," Cluess wrote. "I love my players at Iona and being a coach there and I am truly blessed to be able to do what I love at a place I love."
St. John's hasn't quite entered UCLA territory in its basketball coaching search, but it's getting there.
After Porter Moser turned down the Big East school on Tuesday, St. John's fell to 0-2 in its search, having previously swung and missed on Arizona State's Bobby Hurley.
"St John's has turned into UCLA... nobody wants it," one NBA coach said by text.
A week after Chris Mullin officially stepped down, St. John's is still looking for their next coach.
In the latest blow to the program, Loyola-Chicago coach Porter Moser rejected an offer from the school on Tuesday, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
Moser, who has coached the Ramblers since 2011 and led the team on a Cinderella run to the Final Four last season, was offered the job on Monday.
Iona released a statement saying it had not been contacted by St. John's or its representatives as of Friday morning amid a report indicating coach Tim Cluess was considered a frontrunner to be the Red Storm's replacement.
Cluess, who has led Iona to the NCAA tournament six times since taking over in the 2010-11 season, is considered one of the favorites to replace Chris Mullin at St. John's, CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported Thursday night.
Iona admitted it was aware of the speculation surrounding Cluess and St. John's, but said it has spoken with Cluess about a potential "significant long-term contract" extension.
After a nasty parting of ways with Chris Mullin earlier this week, St. John's is on the clock to hire a new head men's basketball coach. New athletic director Mike Cragg needs to make the right hire, but he also needs to get someone in place relatively quickly.
The NCAA spring recruiting period starts April 26-28 and St. John's will need to have a staff out recruiting. There has already been a mass exodus off the current roster which is composed mainly of transfers.
Shamorie Ponds and Justin Simon declared for the NBA Draft, L.J. Figueroa and Bryan Trimble are expected to transfer and Class of 2019 commits PG Cam Mack and F Valdir Manuel have already decommitted.
Here are five names in the mix at St. John's. Whoever gets the gig will have a lot of work ahead to rebuild the program, which is coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015.
The Chris Mullin era at St. John's is officially over.
After days of speculation, the school officially announced Tuesday that Mullin had stepped down after leading the program for four seasons.
Mullin, 55, was 59-73 over four seasons with the Red Storm.
Chris Mullin wasn't the only departure from St. John's on Tuesday.
Justin Simon is entering the NBA Draft and plans to remain in the pool, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello. Meanwhile, fellow guard Bryan Trimble Jr. has put his name into the transfer portal.
Some more St. John's news ...
-- Justin Simon is entering the NBA Draft and plans to remain in the draft pool, source confirmed to ESPN.
-- Guard Bryan Trimble has entered his name into the transfer portal, source told ESPN.
Rick Pitino may not be done coaching on the sidelines of Madison Square Garden.
The former Knicks coach, who most recently coached in the United States at Louisville, has expressed interest in the St. John's head coaching job, according to the New York Post, and has reached out to the school. Current Red Storm coach Chris Mullin's future with the program is currently unknown, but the Post reported Monday that he'll be stepping down.
The embattled Pitino was fired from Louisville after being caught up in a "pay for play" scandal between adidas and potential players. The end of his tenure with the Cardinals, which began in 2001, was tumultuous and mired by an escort sex scandal. But on the court, the 66-year-old helped lead Louisville to the 2013 national title.
Virginia has won the first men's basketball championship in school history, getting a career-high 27 points from De'Andre Hunter and clutch play from Kyle Guy to beat Texas Tech 85-77 in overtime.
The first No. 1 seed out a year ago is the last one standing this year.
Hunter drained a 3-pointer with 12.9 seconds left to force the first overtime since 2008, when Mario Chalmers' miracle helped Kansas top Memphis in San Antonio. The big forward continued to make plays in the extra session, including another 3 during an 11-0 run that put the game away.
St. John's men's basketball coach Chris Mullin is reportedly expected to step down from his position, according to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, days after Director of Athletics Mike Cragg said the school is not looking for a replacement.
An official announcement is expected this week, Rothstein reports, and once it happens, St. John's is expected to target Arizoa State's Bobby Hurley as a replacement, according to Rothstein.
"Wasted Wrestling Experiment."
That's what John Cena's heel persona, the "Doctor of Thuganomics," called Elias after storming down to the ring at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday night.
While that diss was incredibly sick, its irony struck a chord. After wasting its fans' time with countless failed experiments, leading to some of its lowest ratings in recent history, WWE decided to go all-out for its sellout crowd at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands and give the people precisely what they wanted.
St. John's head coach Chris Mullin is not going anywhere.
Amid growing speculation of Mullin's job security in recent days, St. John's Director of Athletics Mike Cragg released a statement on Saturday assuring that Mullin will remain the Red Storm's head coach.
"Let me be clear and I said from the start, Coach Mullin is our head coach and we are not looking for another head coach," Cragg said.
This Sunday, April 7, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) will broadcast its biggest annual live event, WrestleMania, from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It's eight miles from the heart of Manhattan, but you'd never know that from the marketing campaign, which is decidedly New York centric. Even the show's logo is wearing a Statue of Liberty-inspired crown.
What was once a single blockbuster show, has transformed into an entire weekend of city events. On Friday evening, NXT Takeover: New York, a WWE developmental league event, will pack Brooklyn's Barclays Center. On Saturday, Barclays will host the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. Sunday is WrestleMania. On Monday and Tuesday, WWE heads back to Barclays to broadcast Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live.
Former WFAN talk show personality Craig Carton has been given 42 months in prison for running a ticket Ponzi scheme on Friday by a federal judge in Manhattan.
Carton tried a plea for leniency, saying he was a victim of childhood rape and gambling addiction. However, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon didn't see it through.
"Gambling may be why you did what you did, but a gambling addiction is not an excuse for stealing from people," Judge McMahon said per Newsday's John Riley.
St. John's is losing it's best player.
Junior guard Shamorie Ponds announced on his Instagram account Thursday night that he will enter the 2019 NBA Draft and hire an agent. Ponds, who played for Thomas Jefferson HS in Brooklyn, will forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility after the Red Storm reached the NCAA Tournament this season, getting knocked out in the First Four play-in game by Arizona State.
"Playing for St. John's has been nothing less than amazing for me. To RedStorm Nation, I thank y'all each & every night for giving me the confidence to be myself and accept me for who I am thru my highs & lows," Ponds wrote in his Instagram post.
SNY announced plans for a first-of-its-kind weekend hockey festival, Connecticut Ice, featuring Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, UConn and Yale.
NEW YORK, NY, March 25, 2019 - At a press conference today at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT, SNY announced its plans for a first-of-its-kind weekend hockey festival, Connecticut Ice. The inaugural three-day festival celebrating youth, amateur and collegiate hockey in the state of Connecticut will take place Friday, January 24 through Sunday, January 26, 2020 at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT.
The multi-day festival will include a Mites Cross-Ice Jamboree for 6-8-year old's, Youth Tournaments of which the Championship games in three divisions (Boys 12U and 10U and Girls 12U) will take place on the Webster Bank Arena ice, and High School and Prep School Rivalry Games. The festival will also include on-ice clinics and off-ice seminars for youth players and their families in conjunction with USA Hockey. All of this hockey activity will surround the first-ever tournament pitting Connecticut's four NCAA Division I Men's Collegiate hockey teams against each other. Quinnipiac University, Sacred Heart University, University of Connecticut and Yale University will square off in a two-round, four game-tournament with all games broadcast LIVE on SNY.
"We are very pleased to announce Connecticut Ice and to bring this festival to the City of Bridgeport," said Steve Raab, President, SNY. "Connecticut's love for hockey is tremendous and the opportunity for it to be a catalyst for us to make a major, positive impact in the state is exciting. This annual festival would not be possible without the enthusiastic support already pledged by every part of the state's hockey community."
What does the future hold for Mike Francesa?
SNY's Jonas Schwartz sat down with the longtime WFAN host and Francesa says there's a lot that must be figured out with both his subscription-only app and his WFAN show.
"First thing's first: I have to decide whether it's just gonna be the app or be the FAN," Francesa said. "We have to work this out because there are some issues where I think we are hitting a conflict. The app's gotten big enough more quickly than we thought, and I think there's a point where it does impact the radio show. So we have to decide how to work both of them."
Seton Hall guard Myles Powell spoke about his team's effort in their 84-68 loss to Wofford in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday and reflected on the season as a whole.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Fletcher Magee set the Division I career record for 3-pointers, poured in 24 points and led seventh-seeded Wofford to an 84-68 victory over Seton Hall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
Magee hit seven treys against the No. 10 seed Pirates to help the Terriers to their first tournament win in five tries. Wofford also won its 21st consecutive game overall.
Magee now has 509 3-pointers in four seasons, breaking the career mark set by Oakland's Travis Bader in 2014. Duke's J.J. Redick (457), Tennessee's Chris Lofton (431) and Davidson's Stephen Curry (414) also rank in the top 10.
Seton Hall (20-13) is in the tournament for the fourth year in a row, tying the program record for consecutive appearances. The team is an at-large selection for the third straight season.
"I'm so proud of what we accomplished and where we are," Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. "I'm also excited, if we play that hard (in the NCAA Tournament), I'm excited about it. I really am. That's what I told the team."
Seton Hall reached the Big East Conference tournament final last weekend, falling to Villanova by 74-72 in the title game. The league tournament gave the Pirates a sense of what they might be capable of.
St. John's was the 68th team selected in the NCAA Tournament's field of 68, and they looked the part Wednesday night as they never held a lead in a 74-65 loss to Arizona State in a First Four matchup of No. 11 seeds in the West Region. St. John's was eliminated and still hasn't won a Tournament game since 2000. >> Box score
1) This was the worst day for Mustapha Heron to have a nightmare of a game. The Auburn transfer had just six points after entering the game averaging 14.9 points per game for the season. Heron didn't score in the first half and finished 1-for-11 from the field with four turnovers. Early in the second half he went to the line for three free throws and missed all three attempts. Marvin Clark II did not score and finished 0-for-5 from the field after averaging 10.8 points per game during the season.
MAAC champions Iona are back in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season, but as a No. 16 seed have a tall task ahead of them with a matchup against No. 1 North Carolina set for Friday in Columbus at 9:20 p.m.
Senior guard Rickey McGill talks to SNY's Jeane Coakley about returning to the Big Dance and how they can pull off the big upset like UMBC did last year as the first ever No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the Tournament.
St. John's is making its first NCAA appearance under Chris Mullin, the school legend who is in his fourth season as head coach, making steady improvement. St. John's last made the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and hasn't won a game in the tourney since 2000.
"It's a good step forward," Mullin said Sunday night.
"Historically, traditionally, this is where St. John's has always been. To get back to this point, I'm happy for my players first and foremost. ... Every year, we've gotten progressively better."
St. John's found its way into the NCAA Tournament but will have to do it via a play-in game on Wednesday night against Arizona State.
Shamorie Ponds, Justin Simon, Mustapha Heron, Marvin Clark II and head coach Chris Mullins spoke on Tuesday about pressure and expectations ahead of the play-in game.
The winner of the play-in game will draw No. 6 seed Buffalo in the West Region.
The NCAA Tournament is here and the New York/New Jersey area will be well represented. Here's a look at who each local team is playing and what their chances of making a run are:
City/Tip time: Salt Lake City, 9:57 p.m.
Thursday TV: truTV
As one of the country's hottest teams, Seton Hall played themselves into the tournament over the final weeks of the season that included a run to the final of the Big East Tournament.
Their NCAA Tournament fate decided, the Pirates (20-13, 9-9 Big East) now have definite answers of their fourth straight tournament appearance.
10-seed Seton Hall will head to Jacksonville in the Midwest Regional and play 7-seed Wofford in the first round Thursday.
They had to hold their breaths, but St. John's is in -- barely.
The Johnnies secured a NCAA Tournament berth Sunday as an 11-seed, but will have to play in the "First Four" round Wednesday against Arizona State in Dayton, Ohio. The winner of that matchup will earn the right to play No. 6 Buffalo in Tulsa.
St. John's (20-12, 8-10 Big East) is coming off a blowout loss against Marquette last Thursday in the Big East Tournament. Whether they'd done enough during conference play, coupled with a relatively weak non-conference schedule, put the Johnnies squarely on the bubble entering Selection Sunday.
After St, John's defeated then-No. 13 Villanova on Feb. 17, the only question regarding the Red Storm's NCAA Tournament future was what seed they would get.
But after going 1-4 to close out the regular season with two losses to Xavier and one apiece to DePaul and Providence and then getting destroyed by Marquette in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals, the Johnnies are squarely on the tournament bubble heading into Selection Sunday and have to wait anxiously until early Sunday evening to see if they're going dancing.
NEW YORK (AP) - Villanova became the first team to win three consecutive Big East Tournaments, beating Seton Hall 74-72 on Saturday night behind seniors Eric Paschall and Phil Booth and key contributions from freshman Saddiq Bey.
Seton Hall star Myles Powell, guarded closely by Booth, missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that could have won it. Booth was called for traveling as he tried to corral the rebound, however, and the Pirates got one more chance with 0.4 seconds left. Anthony Nelson's long inbounds pass bounced off the backboard and was slapped away by the Wildcats, who got to party on the Madison Square Garden floor yet again.
The 25th-ranked and top-seeded Wildcats (25-9) were in the Big East final for a fifth straight year, and have won four of the last five championships. The only loss during that span was to Seton Hall in 2016, and Powell and the third-seeded Pirates (20-13) gave Villanova all it could handle once again.
NEW YORK (AP) - Myles Powell sparked Seton Hall with 18 second-half points and Big East player of the year Markus Howard of Marquette came up short on a potential winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Pirates a chippy and foul-filled 81-79 victory in the Big East Tournament semifinals Friday night.
The third-seeded Pirates (20-12) will face top-seed and defending champion Villanova in the final Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in a rematch of the 2016 title game won by Seton Hall. >> Read more
NEW YORK (AP) Myles Powell scored 29 points in the first half to set a Big East Tournament record and finished with 31 to lead Seton Hall a 73-57 victory against Georgetown in the quarterfinals Thursday night.
The third-seeded Pirates (19-12) will face No. 2 seed Marquette in the second game of the semifinal doubleheader Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Seton Hall ended the regular season with consecutive victories against Marquette and Villanova and now seems safely in the NCAA Tournament field no matter what else happens this weekend in Manhattan. >> Read more
NEW YORK (AP) Markus Howard scored 12 of his 30 points in a game-breaking 23-2 second-half run, and No. 23 Marquette snapped its four-game losing streak with an 86-54 rout of St. John's in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals Thursday night.
Fellow guard Sacar Anim added 13 points as the second-seeded Golden Eagles (24-8) beat seventh-seeded St. John's (21-12) for the first time in three tries this season. Sam Hauser had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
"It was as complete a performance as we've had in some time," coach Steve Wojciechowski said.
The win advanced Marquette to its first Big East semifinal since 2010 against No. 3 seed Seton Hall or No. 6 seed Georgetown, who played in the late quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden. The Golden Eagles split with both teams. >> Read More
NEW YORK (AP) Shamorie Ponds scored 18 points, had seven assists and led a second-half surge as St. John's gave their NCAA hopes a boost with a much-needed 82-74 victory against DePaul in the first round of the Big East Tournament Wednesday night.
The seventh-seeded Red Storm (21-11) will face No. 2 seed Marquette in the third game of the quadruple header at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. St. John's avoided being swept three games by the 10th-seeded Blue Demons (15-15), burying DePaul in the second half.
Eli Cain led DePaul with 23 points before fouling out late.
Justin Wright-Foreman broke the Colonial Athletic Association tournament record with 42 points to lead Hofstra to a 78-74 overtime victory over Delaware in the CAA semifinal.
CINCINNATI (AP) Stranded in the Big East basement last month after six losses in a row, defending champion Xavier is finishing with a flourish.
Paul Scruggs scored 22 points, Ryan Welage hit pivotal 3s down the stretch, and Xavier extended its late-season surge by beating St. John's 81-68 on Saturday, its ninth straight win over the Red Storm.
"We've got to end with a bang," Scruggs said. >> Read more
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Seton Hall may have punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a pair of stunning upsets in the final week of the regular season in the Big East Conference.
Myles Powell scored 20 points, Myles Cale added 19 and Seton Hall upset No. 23 Villanova 79-75 Saturday, just three days after knocking off No. 16 Marquette to revive its chances of going to college basketball's biggest tournament.
"We just beat two ranked teams. We beat Kentucky. We beat Maryland," said Powell, who added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in more than 36 minutes. "The list goes on. We can play with anybody in the country when we are playing our basketball."
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) As Quincy McKnight dribbled into the frontcourt in the waning seconds, a smile came across the face of the Seton Hall point guard and it wasn't long before his teammates starting jumping around and hugging each other as if they had won a tournament game.
The Hall didn't win anything other than a game against No. 16 Marquette on Wednesday, but the way the Pirates did it and what it meant was extraordinary.
Myles Powell scored 34 points and Seton Hall revived its NCAA Tournament hopes by scoring the final 18 points to beat the Golden Eagles 73-64 at the Prudential Center.
With Selection Sunday fast approaching, as many as half a dozen teams from New York State are in position to make the NCAA Tournament.
Here's a look at where each team stands now and what they need to do to make the Big Dance:
The skinny: Despite getting thrashed by Virginia 79-53 on Monday night, the Orange (19-11, 10-7 ACC) are safely into the Big Dance thanks to wins over then-No. 1 Duke in January and then-No. 18 Louisville in February. The Orange have a NET ranking of 39 and are currently a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com. Syracuse will be a top-7 seed in the ACC Tournament next week in Charlotte, N.C., and the Orange will get a first-round bye. They could help their NCAA Tournament seeding with a deep run in the ACCs.
CHICAGO (AP) Max Strus had a career-high 43 points as DePaul topped St. John's 92-83 on Sunday.
Femi Olujobi had 23 points and 10 rebounds for DePaul (14-13, 6-10 Big East Conference), which snapped its four-game losing streak. Jaylen Butz added eight rebounds.
After falling behind 42-33 at the half, DePaul outscored St. John's 59-41 in the second half to earn the 9-point victory. The Blue Demons' 59 second-half points were a season best for the team.
JAMAICA, N.Y. (AP) Naji Marshall had a career-high 31 points as Xavier got past St. John's 84-73 on Thursday night.
Marshall hit 10 of 12 from the free throw line.
Quentin Goodin had 13 points for Xavier (16-13, 8-8 Big East Conference), which won its fifth consecutive game. Zach Hankins added 11 points and seven rebounds. Tyrique Jones had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the visitors.
LJ Figueroa had 23 points for the Red Storm (20-9, 8-8). Shamorie Ponds added 13 points and six assists. Marvin Clark II had 11 points. >> Read more
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie certainly knows his U.S. presidents, but SNY's MLB Insider Andy Martino does as well as he proved when the two matched wits on Baseball Night in New York.
Watch Christie and Martino go toe-to-toe in Rapid Fire.
With their win over Villanova on Feb. 17, St. John's put themselves back in play for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. After a hiccup on the road against Providence on Feb. 20, the Johnnies dominated Seton Hall in a wire-to-wire victory on Saturday that almost certainly cemented their spot in the Tourney.
With three games remaining (vs. Xavier on Feb. 28, @ Depaul on Mar. 3, @ Xavier on Mar. 9), followed by the Big East Tournament, St. John's is now likely playing for seeding.
Here's where the Bracketology experts currently have them dancing...
Duke freshman phenom Zion Williamson is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. But his recent knee sprain has people wondering if he should shut down his college season to prepare for the next level.
And on the same note, it has people wondering if college athletes should be paid.
NEW YORK (AP) Shamorie Ponds had 27 points, five assists and five steals as St. John's beat Seton Hall 78-70 on Saturday night.
Marvin Clark II had 18 points for St. John's (20-8, 8-7 Big East). Justin Simon added 10 points. Sedee Keita had four blocks for the home team.
The Red Storm swatted a season-high 12 blocks. >> Read more
In honor of Black History Month, SNY looks back at the ground-breaking accomplishments of boxing legend Muhammad Ali...
Coming off a rough loss at Providence, St. John's has a huge game Saturday night against Seton Hall in a matchup which will break a tie for third place in the Big East.
Head coach Chris Mullin, Shamorie Ponds and Marvin Clark II preview the Red Storm's final regular-season home game at MSG.
