• Web Release
• P.I.T. Information

QUEENS, N.Y. (April 15, 2024) – St. John’s graduate students Daniss Jenkins and Joel Soriano accepted invitations to compete in the 2024 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (P.I.T.), which runs from April 17-20. The four-day, 12-game competition is held at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Va.

Established in 1953, the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament welcomes 64 of the best college seniors and graduate students from across the nation to compete before representatives of National Basketball Association (NBA) franchises as well as international scouts.

Soriano shined in his time representing the Red Storm, finishing his career as one of only six players to record 1,100 points and 800 rebounds in just three seasons with the program. The 2022-23 BIG EAST Most Improved Player and All-BIG EAST Second Team selection registered 40 double-doubles at St. John’s. Soriano also completed his career in Queens seventh all-time in rebounding with 870 boards and 40th on the program’s scoring chart with 1,150 points. The 6-foot-11 center also ranks third in program history shooting 57.0 percent from the field over his career, trailing only Walter Berry (1984-86, 58.1 pct) and Bill Wennington (1981-85, 57.9 pct).

This past season, Soriano led the Red Storm with 9.5 rebounds per contest to go with 13.8 points per game. Soriano recorded 3.7 offensive rebounds per game, which ranked 11th in Division I. The Yonkers, N.Y., native also set career-highs shooting 57.7 percent from the field and recording 57 blocks. Soriano’s 14 double-doubles were the second highest total in the BIG EAST last season while his 1.7 blocks per game ranked third in the league.

Jenkins was sensational for the Red Storm in his lone season with the program. The 2023-24 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection helped lead the Johnnies to their first BIG EAST Tournament semifinal appearance in 24 years. Jenkins averaged team-highs with 14.9 points, 5.4 assists (3rd in BIG EAST) and 1.6 steals (7th in BIG EAST) per game. The 6-foot-4 guard scored double figures in 28 games, including six 20-point performances.

A native of Dallas, Jenkins finished the campaign ninth among the program’s single-season leaders with 179 assists. Jenkins had eight or more assists in eight games this season, including a season-high nine assists in a win at Butler on Feb. 28.

Jenkins and Soriano helped lead the Red Storm to 20 wins this past season with 11 coming in BIG EAST play, marking the program’s most conference wins since 2010-11. St. John’s won six of its final seven games, including its first BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal victory since 2000. The Johnnies rolled to a 91-72 victory over eventual NIT champion Seton Hall before falling to eventual National Champion Connecticut, 95-90, in the semifinals.

St. John’s Basketball alumni have enjoyed success at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament over the years. Tyrone Grant was named the P.I.T. Most Valuable Player in 1999 before D’Angelo Harrison was named to the All-Tournament team in 2015.

While we wait on the Jerry Carino interview

PG

Harmon 23 MPG
Jenkins 15 MPG
Felton 2 MPG

2G

Middleton 16 MPG
Addae-Wusu 14 MPG
Jenkins 8 MPG
Felton 2 MPG

SF

Coleman 27 MPG
Middleton 8 MPG
Addae-Wusu 5 MPG

PF

Aligbe 22 MPG
Tubek 15 MPG
Okorafor 3 MPG

C

Erheriene 20 MPG
Yalden 18 MPG
Mbaye 2 MPG

Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton will rename its basketball practice facility the McDermott Center in honor of coach Greg McDermott and his family, the school announced Monday.

McDermott has led the Bluejays to the NCAA Tournament nine times in his 14 seasons, and he needs three wins to break the program record of 327. His son, Doug McDermott, was a three-time consensus All-American and 2014 national player of the year for the Bluejays. He has played 10 seasons in the NBA.

Formerly known as the Championship Center, the $13 million building opened in 2014. The family of major donors Bill and Ruth Scott recently requested that the building be renamed. A dedication ceremony is June 20.

Greg and Theresa McDermott have two sons, Doug and Nick, and a daughter, Sydney. Greg said he was humbled to have his family's name on the building.

"The philanthropy of Bill, Ruth and the entire Scott family continues to transform not only Creighton University but all of Omaha," he said.

With a Seton Hall mention.

BY JOE LUNARDI
UPDATED: 5/31/2024 AT 10 A.M. ET

NORMAN, OKLA. – Seton Hall men's golfer Wenliang Xie (Burbank, Calif.) was named to the Division I PING All-Northeast Region Team.

Players across six regions – Northeast, East, Southeast, Midwest, Central, and West – earned all-region honors for 2024 from the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

Named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, Xie is coming off one the greatest single-year golf efforts in Seton Hall history. In 11 tournaments during the 2023-24 academic year, he tallied six top-10 finishes, 15 sub-par rounds and six sub-par tournaments, all career-highs. At the Jack Grier Shocker Invitational last fall, Xie tied for third place at a remarkable 11-under-par. This spring, Xie led Seton Hall to its second BIG EAST Championship in three years with an even-par, 70-74-72-216, which tied for third overall and earned him All-Tournament status.

Xie's 71.81 stroke average ranks fifth-lowest for a single-year in Seton Hall history.

Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior Writer

DESTIN, Fla. -- As the SEC spring meetings concluded on Thursday, commissioner Greg Sankey acknowledged that while college athletics is in "uncharted waters," he believes the NCAA Division I schools can continue to operate together, and his conference is prepared "to take a leadership role" as they all navigate the historic change.

Sankey said the NCAA basketball tournament in March is what binds Division I together, but if it's going to stay together, "there are pressures that have to be recognized."

"We've allowed Division I to grow," he said. "We have conferences solving their membership problem by inviting non-Division I members in, but we haven't modified the bracket size. I think common sense says you have to dig into that. There are competitive issues, there are calendar issues, there are economic issues. But I do think that March can be kept together. That doesn't mean it stays exactly the same.

"We also have to recognize the differences that do exist within the group that pursue that brass ring of the tournament access opportunity."

The SEC has formed multiple working groups to help tackle the weighty issues looming after the House v. NCAA settlement, including one to look at conference rules that might need to be removed or implemented. Another group will take a deeper dive into the league's federal legislative efforts, and another will look into oversight and governance of the settlement itself.

There's also a group of athletic directors looking into roster structures, which Sankey said needs to move expeditiously. Conference leaders agreed, though, that one major next step will be to see a longer-form filing of the settlement, part of which will reveal how the plaintiffs plan to disperse the historical damages, which date back to 2016. Sources said they expect to learn that before July.

"That's the next move," said Texas president Jay Hartzell. "We'll get to see what their plans are. Not that we'll shape it, but the public will start to learn what's going to happen. It will be interesting to see what the reactions are based on how they plan to spend the money. We'll all be watching that."

How that revenue is distributed to past athletes will impact the conversation about Title IX moving forward, as sources told ESPN this week the back pay could be lopsided towards men. That's up to the plaintiffs, though, as current athletic leaders are tasked with figuring out how to allocate it moving forward. While the back pay will provide some clarity, they still need to figure out how the money ties into the federal law.

Oklahoma president Joe Harroz Jr. said questions about the settlement are "the entire universe right now."

"When you look at it, with the settlement it changes so much," he said. "It really is this idea of making sure you're in line with the settlement and that we continue to be the conference that leads the country."

Sankey has repeated every day this week that the critical answers to how the revenue distribution will be implemented to players on each campus -- and how Title IX factors into it -- will be part of a process that plays out over the next several months. The in-person meetings the league has had, though, over the past month, helped the conference discussions this week.

"I think we walk out of here with an understanding that we're heading to a new chapter, we're going to have to manage transition, but fully prepared and committed across the board at the athletic director, president and chancellor level to take a leadership role in that change," he said.


Sankey said the SEC will continue to work with the Big Ten in that role, and said the advisory committee between the two was "an acceptance of the responsibility for leadership."

He said they don't currently have any meetings scheduled, but they both are eager to discuss their end-of-year meetings.

"We're going to have to make independent decisions on a number of key things," he said. "We can't solve every problem together, otherwise you reintroduce antitrust concerns. ... We also have to draw people in, so it's not like two votes change the world. Certainly two conferences agreeing on things and in the right sort of way have influence."

The SEC on Thursday also announced new payout amounts for any of its teams that qualify for the 12-team playoff, which begins this fall. Any SEC team that makes the first round will earn $3 million, followed by an additional $3.5 million for a quarterfinal appearance, $3.75 million for a semifinal, and $4 million for participating in the national championship game. That's in addition to travel expenses. Sankey said those numbers were an SEC policy, and each conference can make its own decisions on respective payouts.

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The NCAA and a coalition of states suing the organization announced a proposed settlement of a lawsuit Thursday that would allow athletes to be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer and would offer some who were sidelined an extra year of eligibility.

Under the agreement, a preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in West Virginia allowing multiple-transfer athletes to compete would be made permanent. Judge John Preston Bailey would still have to sign off on the pact.

Thursday's agreement comes a month after the NCAA Division I Council fast-tracked legislation that was ratified by the Division I board of directors to fall in line with Bailey's preliminary injunction.

Under the agreement, the NCAA would be required to grant an additional year of eligibility to Division I athletes previously deemed ineligible under the transfer eligibility rule since the 2019-20 academic year.

"We've leveled the playing field for college athletes to allow them to better control their destinies," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement. "This long-term change is exactly what we set out to accomplish."

In a statement, the NCAA said the agreement "is just one of the many ways the Association is delivering more benefits to student-athletes, increasing flexibility and making impactful reforms."

Athletes would still be required to meet academic requirements to maintain eligibility. Transfer windows, which are sport-specific, remain in place and require undergraduate athletes to enter their names into the portal at certain times to be immediately eligible at a new school. Graduate students can already transfer multiple times and enter the portal outside the windows while maintaining immediate eligibility.

The agreement would prevent the NCAA from retaliating against member institutions and athletes who challenge the rule or support those who do. This includes safeguarding student-athletes' rights to compete during legal proceedings without fear of punishment from the NCAA.

In addition, the NCAA would be barred from undermining or circumventing its provisions through future actions that could threaten athletes' rights and freedoms, according to the agreement.

The federal court in the Northern District of West Virginia would maintain jurisdiction to enforce its terms and resolve any disputes that might come up, according to the agreement. The lawsuit had been scheduled for a jury trial next year.

One of the players highlighted in the lawsuit was West Virginia's RaeQuan Battle, who had cited mental health issues in his decision to transfer to West Virginia after previously playing at Washington and Montana State.

Battle, the first person from the Tulalip Reservation in Washington state to play Division I basketball, had said he has lost "countless people" to drugs, alcohol and COVID-19 over the years and believed West Virginia had the proper support system to help him flourish personally and academically.

After the NCAA denied his request to play immediately at West Virginia, Battle missed the first month of the 2023-24 season before the December court injunction allowed him to play the remainder of the schedule.

Battle recently participated in workouts ahead of next month's NBA draft.

"The NCAA needs to recognize underlying issues that affect student-athletes in every decision," West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement. "Real life issues often are at stake."

The U.S. Department of Justice, which joined the lawsuit in January, was involved in the settlement. Besides Ohio and West Virginia, other states securing the agreement were Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.

Team profile - guards and swings

PG
Chaunce Jenkins
6-4 (Old Dominion)

Zion Harmon
6-0 (Bethune Cookman)


2G
Scotty Middleton
6-6 (Ohio State)

Jahseem Felton
6-5 (Combine Academy)


SW
Dylan Addae-Wusu
6-4 (Seton Hall)

Isaiah Coleman
6-5 (Seton Hall)




When you lose two stars in Kadary Richmond and Al Dawes you have a tough row to hoe. Especially at a small school like Seton Hall that doesn't have (at this time) the NIL money to compete with its peers.
But SHU coach Shaheen Holloway made an early decision knowing that Dawes was gone and Richmond would probably follow. That decision? Make sure that freshman star Coleman would come back by telling him the roster would be built around him. That was good enough to keep Coleman out of the portal and thus the rebuilding of the roster began.

First and foremost Holloway needed to replace Richmond at the point. No easy task as Richmond was IMO the best point in the Big East and one of the best in the nation. Holloway did that in fine fashion. Getting not one but two quality guards in Jenkins and Harmon. Neither of the caliber of Richmond but both players who can run a D1 offense. Jenkins is more of a scorer and Harmon closer to a true 1.

That gives SHU a nice change of pace twosome that can match up to the opposition. With Jenkins the bigger guard and Harmon the quicker player. Both able to put points on the board although neither player has shot a high percentage in their careers.

Another plus is they are considered good defenders, a must with the SHU coach if you want quality PT. A negative? Each has a very poor assist to turnover ratio.

Now with that said Holloway has other options at the point as both incoming Felton and returning Addae-Wusu can man the point if necessary. But I listed each at their best position. Felton as a two and Addae-Wusu as a swing who can play the 1, 2 or 3.

I see Middleton starting at the 2. He's probably the best shooter on the team. Maybe even the equal of Dawes down the road with more playing time. He ended the year at Ohio State with the coaching change hitting about 75% from the distance with his quick release and size to shoot over defenders. But that was a small sample although he did finish over 45% from the arc, but a disappointing 40% from the field and 50% from the line. The latter two numbers will have to improve if Middleton plays as well as I expect.

Felton as I noted above is a combo guard, more a 2 than a 1 but can do either when called upon. He has size and excellent court vision and from all accounts (sight unseen to date) plays hard and is a good teammate who can hold his own on either side of the court. A plus with Holloway.

At the three I see returning Coleman as the starter. He will probably be the best defender on the team and with more PT will shoot as he did last season, mid to high 40% from the field, slightly over 70% from the line, and improve on his 31% from the arc. He and Middleton will be a dynamic duo for the Prates with their size and athleticism.

Finally we have jack of all trades and SHU's swiss army knife in Addae-Wusu. He really doesn't excel in any particular position on offense and maybe that was because of his shoulder injury for most of last season as his % from the arc vastly improve over the last ten games or so. But there is no questioning his D or work ethic. Sha has a tough decision to make with his returning player. He started every single game for the Hall in his first year in Blue. But with the roster Seton Hall had last season there was no other option. This year that will be different.

Here's my sight unseen very early and very tentative starters heading into the 2024/25 season.

PG 6-4 Jenkins
2G 6-6 Middleton
SW 6-5 Coleman

But clearly unlike last season that could change and change often.

Grade B+/B

Tomorrow the bigs.

Schedule


SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Seton Hall volleyball team released its 2024 schedule on Thursday. Head coach Shannon Thompson and the Pirates will prepare for 29 contests overall, including 12 home dates at Walsh Gym and 18 BIG EAST Conference games.

Seton Hall will open the season with the Florida Atlantic Invitational, hosted by the Florida Atlantic University, Aug. 30 and 31. The Pirates will begin the event against Ball State on Friday at 10:00 a.m. followed by host Florida Atlantic at 7:00 p.m. They'll complete the season-opening event with a match against Bryant University on Saturday at 10:00 a.m.

The Pirates will host the Seton Hall Classic, Sept. 6-8, in Walsh Gym. The Hall will host Sacred Heart at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. On Saturday, it'll face local rival NJIT at 3:00 p.m. before taking on Kent State on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

The weekend of Sept. 13-14, The Hall will play at the Towson Invitational in Towson, Md. The Pirates will face Coppin State on Friday at 2:00 p.m. On Saturday, The Hall will take on Loyola (Md.) at 11:00 a.m. before facing host Towson at 4:00 p.m.

Two road, stand-alone matches will close out the non-conference portion of the Seton Hall schedule. The Pirates will go to Brooklyn, N.Y. to face LIU on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 21, The Hall will play Fordham in the Bronx at 6:00 p.m.

Seton Hall will begin the BIG EAST Conference portion of its schedule at St. John's in Queens on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7:00 p.m. The Pirates' home opener will come the next day, Saturday, Sept. 28, when it hosts Villanova at historic Walsh Gymnasium at 5:00 p.m. Additional BIG EAST home dates and opponents are Xavier (Oct. 11), DePaul (Oct. 13), Georgetown (Oct. 16), Marquette (Oct. 25), Creighton (Oct. 26), Connecticut (Nov. 8), Providence (Nov. 9) and Butler (Nov. 23).

Here's the full Seton Hall BIG EAST Conference schedule…

Friday, Sept. 27 at St. John's @ 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 28 vs. Villanova @ 5:00 p.m. (Walsh Gym)
Friday, Oct. 4 at Connecticut @ 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5 at Providence @ 3:00 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 11 vs. Xavier @ 5:00 p.m. (Walsh Gym)
Sunday, Oct. 13 vs. DePaul @ 1:00 p.m. (Walsh Gym)
Wednesday, Oct. 16 vs. Georgetown @ 5:00 p.m. (Walsh Gym)
Friday, Oct. 18 at Butler @ TBD
Friday, Oct. 25 vs. Marquette @ 5:00 p.m. (Walsh Gym)
Saturday, Oct. 26 vs. Creighton @ 6:00 p.m. (Walsh Gym)
Friday, Nov. 1 at DePaul @ 8:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, Nov. 3 at Xavier @ 1:00 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Connecticut @ 5:00 p.m. (Walsh Gym)
Saturday, Nov. 9 vs. Providence @ 4:30 p.m. (Walsh Gym)
Friday, Nov. 15 at Creighton @ 7:00 p.m. ET
Sunday, Nov. 17 at Marquette @ 2:00 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Nov. 20 at Georgetown @ 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23 vs. Butler @ 5:00 p.m. (Walsh Gym)

The top six BIG EAST teams in the final regular season standings will again battle for the conference championship and its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, beginning on November 26.

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RIP Bill, one of the Best to play the Game

Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place lawyer Michael Avenatti's conviction for plotting to extort up to $25 million from Nike.

The justices did not comment in rejecting an appeal from Avenatti, who rose to fame representing adult film actor Stormy Daniels in litigation against former President Donald Trump. The timing of the court's action, while Trump is on trial in New York over a hush money payment to Daniels, is coincidental.

Avenatti's involvement with Nike stems from a whistleblower's allegations that the athletic footwear and clothing company was paying amateur basketball players.

Avenatti's lawyers argued that the fraud statute under which he was convicted is unconstitutionally vague. They also contended that Avenatti cannot be criminally charged with plotting to extort money from Nike because he was engaged in settlement negotiations.

The conviction and sentence had been upheld by the federal appeals court in New York.


The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Avenatti's claim that there was insufficient evidence to support his February 2020 conviction on charges of extortion and honest-services fraud for threatening to smear Nike in the media if he didn't get paid.

Avenatti, who was based in California, had been sentenced to 2½ years in prison in the Nike case. He also has been convicted of stealing book proceeds from Daniels and was sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing settlement funds from clients and failing to pay taxes for a coffee chain he owned.

He is scheduled to be released from prison in 2035, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not take part in the court's action Tuesday. Avenatti represented Julie Swetnick, one of the women who publicly accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when he was nominated to the court in 2018. Kavanaugh denied the allegations.

THE FUTURE OF COLLEGE ATHLETICS?​

Having read the attached article, I wouldn't be surprised if many universities eliminate non-revenue generating sports. The unintended consequence may be a massive loss of education opportunities for athletes of the so called "olympic sports".

A future where university scholarships and pay exist for a maximum of 2 male sports and 2 female sports. The remaining sports would exist as Club teams with a combination of financial aid and scholarships.

The NCAA needs to figure this out quickly!

Debbie is retiring from the band after 37 years of service. Met her a few times, what a wonderful lady. I wish her well in retirement.