For the first time in a long time we are not one injury away from the season being over.

Last 2 years we lose KR to injury the season is over….same with Rhoden, Mamu, Whitehead and absolutely Powell.

This year we are not relying on 1, 2 or 3 players. We could lose one or two good players and the season would not be over, not as good a season but we would be competitive.

We would have been in the bottom 4 last year without Kadary.

That is the definition of depth.

11 Coaches from College that went to the NBA...

only winners Donovan and Brad Stevens

Everyone seems concerned about rising crime rates on here, so I can't believe nobody shared the great news earlier this month that crime was down big time in the first quarter compared to the prior year quarter.


The article mentions some important limitations with the data, but a criminal justice analyst in the article notes that this drop jibes with other data sources they have that confirms the trend that crime is dropping. The completely rational explanation is that the surge in crime over the past few years was a temporary byproduct of the pandemic and immediately after, and not indicative of a longer term trend.

Some are claiming that this is a mirage based on lower overall voluntary crime reporting, but this short thread debunks that argument.

Login to view embedded media

I just emailed our Guardian subscribers the opportunity to purchase the final edition of our Championship Pils, from Magnify Brewing. Our supply is limited and orders will be reserved on a first come, first served basis. The email was sent from my personal email walshtrips@comcast.net.

Shoot me an email if you're a Guardian subscriber and you haven't gotten my invite.

GO PIRATES!!!

By Bradley Locker

Dan Hurley is opening up after choosing to stay at UConn instead of coaching the Lakers.

The reigning two-time national champion coach of the Huskies joined “The Dan Le Batard Show” for his first interview since Monday, when he rejected a six-year, $70 million offer from the storied NBA franchise.

“One of the worst takes I’ve heard is this was a leverage play by me to improve my situation at UConn,” Hurley said. “I don’t need leverage here. We’ve won back-to-back national championships at this place.”

One of the major storylines regarding Hurley’s decision was his contract, with reports circulating that he intentionally considered NBA candidacies to catalyze a raise in Storrs.

Hurley, though, referred to that idea as a “conspiracy” and “lazy.”

On the program, Hurley said he’s had a “contract in place for a couple of weeks” and mentioned that the “financial part in terms of salary has been done for a while.”

Hurley signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract extension after winning his first title in 2023.

In the meantime, Hurley noted that he’s still “not comfortable with” contractual components such as NIL and staff salaries.

Regarding a timetable for a possible move to the pros, Hurley said he first talked to his agent June 3 about other job possibilities, and referred to his choice as “gut-wrenching” — even entering the morning of June 10, when he ultimately chose to stay at the college level.

In advance of UConn’s scheduled practice Monday, Hurley remarked that his situation “had become a circus” and “was weighing on me and my wife and my two sons.”

As for the appeal of the Lakers, Hurley mentioned the allure of the franchise’s past coaches and having both LeBron James and Anthony Daivs.

“It was something I wanted to potentially explore,” Hurley said.

Additionally, Hurley mentioned he didn’t talk to James throughout the process, but claimed it “would have been a thrill to coach him.”

While t’s still have to be crossed on Hurley’s new deal, the coach can now focus on aiming for a three-peat, which hasn’t happened in college basketball since UCLA accomplished it in 1973.

• 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.

I thought I would let you know of an encounter my son had with your coach this weekend. My kid and Sha's were at the same facility for a basketball tournament. He was waiting for my kid's game to finish before his son started his game. He told my son he played well and they had a nice 10 minute conversation. Sha laughed pretty hard when my son told him he is a Rutgers fan. He could not of been nicer and is a great representative of Seton Hall.

Login to view embedded media
This is like the small calendar when Seaver passed away

Part 2 of our 3 part Q&A with Jerry Carino by Colin Rajala


Trove: Switching gears a little bit, there is at least one scholarship player left to fill out the 2024-2025 roster, but I wanted to get your opinion on the 24-25 basketball team as it currently stands. What are your expectations for the team?

Carino: It's just become harder than ever to project what teams are going to be because so many players are new on so many rosters. Not only do I not really know what to expect from Seton Hall, but I don’t know what to expect for most of the teams. It's a crapshoot. Every year I make predictions on Rutgers and Seton Hall in November and that’s after I’ve seen the team practice and after a whole preseason of writing about them.

This past year, I was the most wrong I've ever been because it's just so hard now with all of the musical chairs. I have an AP Top 25 vote and that preseason ballot is just throwing darts against the dart board now. You look back on it now and look how it shook out and it's embarrassing, but there's no real way to do it.

KenPom should not have preseason rankings. What are they even based on? KenPom should come out on December 1 or December 15 after a month or so of games where there's a lot of data, then start rolling from there. Even the AP Top 25, which has been around since the 1940s and serves as a valuable frame of historic reference, it’s hard to take these preseason polls seriously. That's in October and November, forget about the people coming out with stuff in May and June when these rosters aren’t even finalized yet. So, I don't really have a good answer for you there.

Bar A event 25 dollars in advance 30 at the door

2 drink tickets and unlimited bbq

Age 86, iconic RIP

Just read this article about Wisconsin's NIL situation. It is behind a paywall but there are ways to read it if you don't want to pay. In my opinion this was a very well done Q&A and the coach did not shy away from questions.

He acknowledged that they initially were not prepared when the budget for players skyrocketed and they lost a bunch of players to the portal, but they have since turned it around.

The coach makes an effort to talk to donors face to face and actually keeps it real with them that players are asking for X amount this is how much I need to stay competitive. His strategy is working because of that face to face encounter as fans are starting to get it and jump on board.

He acknowledged you have to be at least a little transparent if you are going ask people to take their hard earned money to pay players. Just my opinion but this is what I would have been looking for in the Q&A that was done with McBride. Don't want to hear everything is good and we are competitive. Acknowledge your shortcomings, discuss where you have succeeded, and what is next for the future.