1997–98 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

1997–98 Big East men's basketball standings
	Big East 6
	Big East 7
	† 1998 Big East Tournament winner ; As of March 30, 1998; Rankings from AP Poll

1997–1998 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball
1997–1998 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball
NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, First Round
Conference	Big East Conference (1979–2013)
1997–1998 record	22–10 (13–5 Big East)
Head coach	Fran Fraschilla (2nd year);
Assistant coaches	Tom Billeter; Ron Rutledge; Darren Savino;
Captain	Tarik Turner; Felipe Lopez; Zendon Hamilton
Home arena	Alumni Hall; Madison Square Garden
	Seasons ← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The 1997–98 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Fran Fraschilla in his second year at the school. St. John's home games are played at Alumni Hall and Madison Square Garden and the team is a member of the Big East Conference.

Off season[]

Departures[]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
Ed Brown	14	F	6'8"	RS Freshman	Copiague, New York	Transferred to Rhode Island
Mike Menniefield	21	F/C	6'8"	Senior	Greenville, South Carolina	Graduated
Charles Minlend	34	F	6'6"	RS Senior	Cameroon, Africa	Graduated

Class of 1997 signees[]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Ron Artest SF	Queensbridge, NY	La Salle Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A
Ron Artest SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Reggie Jessie SF	Queensbridge, NY	Bishop Loughlin High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	N/A
Reggie Jessie SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Shannon Crooks PG	Boston, MA	Everett High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A
Shannon Crooks PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
James Felton PF	Bayonne, NJ	Marist High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	N/A
James Felton PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Milos Dumic C	Bijeljina, Yugoslavia	St. Joseph by the Sea High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	N/A
Milos Dumic C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "1997 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster[]

1997–98 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	3	Chudney Gray	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	So	Rice	Bronx, NY
G	4	Tarik Turner (C)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Sr	Oak Hill	Charlottesville, VA
G	10	Kareem Syed (W)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	So	Hillcrest	Queens, NY
G	11	Collin Charles	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	—	So	Eastern Commerce	Toronto, Ontario
G	13	Felipe López (C)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Sr	Rice	Santo Domingo, D.R.
G/F	15	Ron Artest	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Fr	La Salle	Queensbridge, NY
F/C	21	Milos Dumic	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	—	Fr	St. Joseph by the Sea (NY)	Bijeljina, Yugoslavia
F	24	Giovanni Soto (W)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Sr	Park West	Far Rockaway, NY
G/F	25	Lavor Postell	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	So	Westover	Albany, GA
G	30	Shannon Crooks	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Fr	Everett	Everett, MA
C	31	Zendon Hamilton (C)	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	—	Sr	Sewanhaka	Floral Park, NY
F	32	Tyrone Grant	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Jr	Grady	Brooklyn, NY
G/F	41	Reggie Jessie	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Fr	Bishop Loughlin	Queensbridge, NY
F		James Felton	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	Fr	Marist HS (NJ)	Bayonne, NJ

Head coach

Fran Fraschilla (Brooklyn College, '80)

Assistant coach(es)

Tom Billeter (Illinois, '83)
Ron Rutledge (St. John's, '84)
Darren Savino (Jersey City State, '93)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results[]

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
11/15/97*	Lafayette	W 72-49	1-0	Alumni Hall Queens, NY
11/22/97*	St. Francis (N.Y.)	W 83-73	2-0	Alumni Hall Queens, NY
11/27/97*	vs. AUPR Puerto Rico Shootout Opening Round	W 93-81	3-0	San Juan, PR
11/28/97*	vs. Georgia Tech Puerto Rico Shootout Semifinal	L 65-77	3-1	San Juan, PR
11/29/97*	vs. Illinois Puerto Rico Shootout Consolation	W 83-66	4-1	San Juan, PR
12/03/97	Syracuse	L 73-80	4-2 (0-1)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
12/06/97	at West Virginia	L 70-86	4-3 (0-2)	WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV
12/09/97*	Colgate	W 69-53	5-3 (0-2)	Alumni Hall Queens, NY
12/17/97*	at Manhattan	W 84-60	6-3 (0-2)	Draddy Gymnasium New York, NY
12/20/97*	DePaul	W 74-70 ^2OT	7-3 (0-2)	Alumni Hall Queens, NY
12/26/97*	Niagara ECAC Holiday Festival Semifinal	L 63-86	7-4 (0-2)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
12/27/97*	Drexel ECAC Holiday Festival Consolation	W 75-46	8-4 (0-2)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
12/30/97	at Notre Dame	W 79-69	9-4 (1-2)	Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN
01/03/98	Seton Hall	L 59-61	9-5 (1-3)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
01/06/98*	at Louisville	L 67-73	9-6 (1-3)	Freedom Hall Louisville, KY
01/10/98	at Georgetown	W 66-60	10-6 (2-3)	MCI Center Washington, D.C.
01/13/98	Miami (F.L.)	W 73-64	11-6 (3-3)	Alumni Hall Queens, NY
01/17/98	at Providence	W 63-56	12-6 (4-3)	Providence Civic Center Providence, RI
01/19/98	No. 10 Connecticut	W 64-62	13-6 (5-3)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
01/22/98	at Pittsburgh	W 90-83 ^2OT	14-6 (6-3)	Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, PA
01/25/98	Villanova	W 82-59	15-6 (7-3)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
01/28/98	Rutgers	W 76-58	16-6 (8-3)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
01/31/98	Notre Dame	L 65-73	16-7 (8-4)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
02/04/98	at Boston College	W 91-79	17-7 (9-4)	Silvio O. Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA
02/07/98	No. 15 West Virginia	W 77-69	18-7 (10-4)	Alumni Hall Queens, NY
02/15/98	at Seton Hall	W 64-60	19-7 (11-4)	Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, NJ
02/18/98	Boston College	W 66-61	20-7 (12-4)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
02/24/98	at No. 23 Syracuse	W 67-65	21-7 (13-4)	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY
02/28/98	at No. 6 Connecticut	L 58-87	21-8 (13-5)	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT
Big East Tournament
03/05/98	vs. Boston College Big East Tournament Quarterfinal	W 91-80	22-8 (13-5)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
03/06/98	vs. No. 22 Syracuse Big East Tournament Semifinal	L 67-69 ^OT	22-9 (13-5)	Madison Square Garden New York, NY
NCAA Tournament
03/13/98	vs. (10) Detroit Mercy NCAA First Round	L 64-66	22-10 (13-5)	United Center Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Team players drafted into the NBA[]

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	24	Felipe Lopez	San Antonio Spurs traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies

References[]

[1] sports-reference.com 1997-98 Big East Conference Season Summary

[2] Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.

[3] "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t St. John's Red Storm men's basketball
Venues	Old Madison Square Garden (193?–1969) Madison Square Garden (1969–present) Carnesecca Arena (alternate; 1961–present)
Rivalries	Fordham Georgetown
Culture & lore	Johnny Thunderbird
People	Statistical leaders
Seasons	1910–11 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1951–52 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Helms national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

1997–98 Big East men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Big East 6
No. 6 Connecticut†	15	–	3	.833	32	–	5	.865
St. John's	13	–	5	.722	22	–	10	.688
West Virginia	11	–	7	.611	24	–	9	.727
Villanova	8	–	10	.444	12	–	17	.414
Notre Dame	7	–	11	.389	13	–	14	.481
Boston College	6	–	12	.333	15	–	16	.484
Big East 7
No. 21 Syracuse	12	–	6	.667	26	–	9	.743
Miami	11	–	7	.611	18	–	10	.643
Seton Hall	9	–	9	.500	15	–	15	.500
Providence	7	–	11	.389	13	–	16	.448
Pittsburgh	6	–	12	.333	11	–	16	.407
Rutgers	6	–	12	.333	14	–	15	.483
Georgetown	6	–	12	.333	16	–	15	.516

† 1998 Big East Tournament winner As of March 30, 1998^[1]^[2]^[3]; Rankings from AP Poll