St. John's, Without Pitino, Has A Tough Night In Jersey

 

Seton Hall's Al-Amir Dawes wants people to see how well he played. @SetonHallMBB.

The value of someone can be seen as much in their absence as their presence, and that's something the St. John's men's basketball team experienced on Tuesday night.

At 5:14 p.m., around three hours before the Red Storm tipped off in Newark against Seton Hall, it was announced that St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino would not be there, as he was recovering from Covid, and that Associate Head Coach Steve Masiello was at the helm for the night.

Seton Hall dominated from the start, as they took a quick 6-0 lead and kept St. John's off the board for the first four minutes and 53 seconds of the game. Joel Soriano got a basket after he missed a layup at the 15:07 market of the first half.

St. John's, who was without Jordan Dingle due to Covid, then found a rhythym and, before you knew it, the game was tied at 24 on a Daniss Jenkins three-pointer with 4:33 left in the first half.

The Hall responded with a 14-0 run to finish out the opening frame, and they took a commanding 38-24 lead into halftime.

Incredibly, they opened the second half on another 14-0 run that put them up 52-24, and they were well on their way to an 80-65 victory.

Seton Hall, at the top of the Big East Conference standings, improved to 6-1 in conference play, and 13-5 overall. St. John's fell to 12-6 and 4-3 in conference play, with all three of those losses on the road.

The Hall was led by Al-Amir Dawes, who had 21 points on 5-10 shooting, 3-5 on three-pointers, and 8-9 at the free-throw line, with one rebound and one assist. Dylan Addae-Wusu had 16 points (4-12 FG, 3-6 three-pointers, 5-5 free throws),  with 10 rebounds to give him a double-double, and five assists. Elijah Hutchins-Everett had 14 points on a near-perfect 5-6 from the field, including 1-2 on threes, with seven rebounds and two assists.

St. John's was led by Daniss Jenkins, who had 17 points on 6-14 shooting and 3-8 on three-pointers, with five assists and two rebounds. Joel Soriano was held to six points on 3-8 from the field, with four rebounds in 18:39.

MASIELLO POSTGAME: Associate Head Coach Steve Masiello addressed the media in Pitino's absence, and opened with this statement: "Obviously, very disappointed with our performance tonight. Give a lot of credit to [Head Coach] Shaheen [Holloway] and Seton Hall, I thought they came out and really took it to us, especially on the glass, really making us work on the offensive end. Then with about five minutes left in the first half, they really started getting out in transition, got some second-chance opportunities, started to open it up a little bit. Then the first four minutes of the second half starting off [14-0], we didn't respond very well. We have to learn from it, get better, and turn the page."

On the team's mindset being without Pitino and Dingle: "It's not about excuses, this is college basketball. Adversity happens every day and you have to respond to adversity. Its ten percent what happens and ninety percent how you respond to it...We need to respond better. We didn't respond well today. We have to own it and be better. Simple as that. No one is going to make excuses about it."

On the team's effort: "I didn't think effort was a problem. I just thought we weren't there where we needed to be. We were out of rhythm, we were out of sorts, we weren't as quick to things. Our rotations were a little bit different tonight because of losing Jordan so close to the game. Our backcourt was a little thin, so we had to move some things around. Our effort on the glass wasn't there for sure...Giving up 21 offensive rebounds, we have to be tougher, but again, credit to Seton Hall."

Yankees Sign Stroman, Bringing New York Kid Home

 

Yankee Stadium. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Yankees have signed one of the best pitchers on the free agent market, Marcus Stroman, to a two-year contract, the team announced on Wednesday. There is also a conditional player option for the 2026 season.

The Medford, New York, native, who played for the Mets from 2019-21, returns home to play for the team he rooted for as a child.

Stroman, 32, spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Cubs, and he was an All-Star in 2023, as he went 10-9 with a 3.95 earned run average (ERA), with nine of those wins coming in the first half of the season. He threw 136.2 innings pitched, and allowed 60 earned runs (68 overall) on 120 hits, including just nine home runs, and 52 walks, with 119 strikeouts, and he had a complete game shutout, in 27 games (25 starts).

Among Major League pitchers in 2023 with at least 100.0 innings pitched, Stroman ranked second in groundball percentage (58.4) and home runs allowed per nine innings (0.59), eight in opponents' slugging percentage (.335) and 12th in opponents' OPS at .640.

Stroman made his Major League debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014, and he pitched there until 2019, when he made the All-Star team. His best season with the Jays was in 2017 when he went 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA and in his five-plus seasons with Toronto, he went 47-45 with a 3.76 ERA. 

After arriving to the Mets at the trade deadline in 2019, he went 4-2 with a 3.77 ERA, and then after sitting out the 2020 pandemic season, he had a superb 3.02 ERA in 2021, while only going 10-13 in Jacob deGrom-like fashion.

In his nine-year career, Stroman's record is 77-76 with a 3.65 ERA, as he has thrown 1,303.2 innings pitched, and allowed 529 earned runs (591 overall), 1,257 hits, 376 walks, 120 home runs, while striking out 1,091.

In the time since he debuted in 2014, Stroman ranks second in the Major Leagues in groundball percentage at 57.5 and fourth in home runs allowed per nine innings (0.83). He is one of just 11 pitchers to make 25-or-more starts in at least six of the past seven full seasons since 2016, which excludes 2020's 6-game campaign. The 1,146 innings he has thrown since 2016 are also the 12th-highest among Major League pitchers.

Stroman was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, but did not sign and attended Duke University for three seasons before Toronto drafted him in the first round (22nd overall) in the 2012 Draft.

At Patchogue-Medford High School, where Stroman graduated from in 2010, he was a four-year letterwinner. In his senior year, he went 9-1 with an eye-popping 0.25 ERA and 120 strikeouts, which earned him First-Team All-State and Third-Team All-American honors.

Books: New Novels For The New Year From Shalvis & Oshansky

 

The Bright Spot

By Jill Shalvis

Avon Books an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; paperback, $18.99; available today, Tuesday, January 16th

Jill Shalvis is a New York Times bestselling author who lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters, and any resemblance to them is mostly a coincidence. She has had a legendary career writing romantic fiction, and her book, The Trouble with Mistletoe, has been adapted into a feature film, with two books optioned for television. 

The Bright Spot is the fifth standalone novel in Shalvis' Sunrise Cove series, and it is a heartwarming story about the choices we make and the love we let into our lives. It is full of quick humor, relatable yet flawed characters finding their way, and animal sidekicks.

Luna Wright is many things, but sweet and trusting are not on the list. However, she is a sucker for the underdog and a hard-luck story. She was adopted at birth with little knowledge of her biological family, but she has created her own inner circle, which included her best friend Willow, to help run the struggling but charming Apple Ridge Farm.

With a farm-to-table cafe plus a menagerie of rescued animals, including a baby goat who keeps escaping to the pantry to eat potato chips, it's the best home she has ever known. When the owner Silas, who they secretly call The Grinch, passes away, Luna realizes the farm is now under control of his investment manager, Jameson Hayes, as well as Luna herself. They also discover the many secrets had many, many secrets.

Luna's carefully cultivated corner of the world is threatened and she has to dig deep to find true strength, along with her friends, and the real meaning of love and family.

Poor Deer

By Claire Oshetsky

Ecco; hardcover, 240 pages; $26.99

Claire Oshetsky is the author of Chouette, which was a PEN Faulkner Nominee, the winner of the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and a finalist for the Northern California Book Award and the Barbellion Prize. 

Poor Deer is Oshetsky's new novel, and it is about Margaret Murphy, who weaves fantastic tales while growing up in a world where the truth is too much for a little girl to endure. 

Margaret's first memory is of the day her friend Agnes died. Nobody blames Margaret, and her mother insists to everyone who will listen that her daughter never left home that day. While left alone to make sense of tragedy, Margaret wills herself to forget these unbearable memories, and forgets them with imagined stories that she fills with faith and magic that always end happily. 

Poor Deer is a strange and formidable creature who winds her way uninvited into Margaret's made-up stories, and she will not rest until Margaret confronts the truth about her past and atones for her role in Agnes' death.

A story that is heartrending, hopeful, and boldly imagined, Poor Deer explores the journey toward understanding the children we were, and the stories we tell ourselves to endure life's toughest moments.

Kennedy Campaign Forms "We The People" Political Parties

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Courtesy Kennedy 24.

The Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Presidential campaign has found a new avenue in their goal to be on ballots in all 50 states, as it announced on Tuesday that some of his supporters have filed political party paperwork in six states.

St. John's Suffered "Extemely Disappointing Loss," As Pitino Put It, At Creighton

 

Daniss Jenkins puts up a layup. @StJohnsBball.

The St. John's Red Storm suffered a crushing loss at Creighton on Saturday afternoon, 66-65, which might cost them a shot at a ranking in the Top 25.

St. John's falls to 4-2 in Big East Conference play, and 12-5 overall, while Creighton, who entered this one ranked 22nd in one poll and 20th in another, matched them at 4-2 in the Big East, while the Blue Jays are 13-4 overall.

Creighton jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead before St. John's went on a 14-2 run capped by a Jordan Dingle jumper to take an 18-12 lead at the 10:03 mark of the first half. The Red Storm took a 35-30 edge into the half, backed by a balanced scoring attack, as Daniss Jenkins and Dingle had six points apiece, while Nahiem Alleyne and RJ Luis Jr. had four points each.

In the second half, Creighton opened it much as they did the opening frame, with a 15-7 run capped by a Mason Miller fast-break dunk that made it 45-42. St. John's responded with a 10-0 run capped by a Chris Ledlum put-back layup that made it 52-45 with 9:47 left.

Creighton re-took the lead with 5:46 left when Ryan Kalkbrenner slammed one home to make it 59-58. Five lead changes would follow before St. John's took a 65-64 lead on a Joel Soriano dunk with 2:02 remaining.

It would stay that way nearly until the finish line, but Trey Alexander was fouled by Jenkins with 10 seconds left. He would get to the line, bury the pair of free throws to make it 66-65 Creighton. They would hold on at in the closing seconds as Jenkins missed a pull-up jumper in the paint, and Dingle grabbed the offensive rebound and missed a jumper in the paint as time expired.

Creighton was led by Kalkbrenner, who had 18 points on 6-11 from the field, 1-2 from behind the arc, with nine rebounds and one assist. Baylor Scheierman had 17 points on 5-15 shooting, 1-6 on three-pointers, and 6-7 on free throws, with 12 rebounds to give him a double-double, plus two assists.

St. John's was led by Joel Soriano, who notched his 10th double-double of the season with 13 points (5-11 FG) and 11 rebounds, with an assist. Daniss Jenkins had 11 points (5-17 FG, 1-3 on threes), with five assists and two rebounds. 

PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the game, and he opened with this statement: "That was an ectremely disappointing loss for us. We played good enough to win, but on the road, you've got to get loose balls and you've got to rebound. It was a very disappointing loss and the team's very dow about it. We had a chance to win it. I told the guys not to take floaters in the lane, take two-point shots. I thought our bench gave us a big lift tonight and got us the lead...We're disappointed, but in this league, you can't get too low because we have Seton Hall next, who just beat Butler on the road. We'll take a long trip home and get ready for them. (St. John's plays Seton Hall on Tuesday night in Newark)

On Creighton: "I thought we played good defense and it came down to the buzzer...It was nothing they did that was impressive and there was nothing that we did that was impressive. It was two teams that were playing their hearts out and [Creighton] came away with the victory."

On this game: "We played well today, but didn't come away with a victory. We could have gone from 34 in the NET to 20 in the NET with a road victory, but we didn't get the job done. We have to get ready for a Seton Hall team today that is playing lights out."

Tributes To Buddy Harrelson, Member Of 1969 Miracle Mets

 

The Mets announced the very sad news that Buddy Harrelson, a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets championship team, passed away on Wednesday night at age 79 at a hospice house in East Northport, Long Island after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.

St. John's Holds Off Carter, Providence At Raucous Garden

 

Chris Ledlum making a basket late in the first half. Photo by Jason Schott.

The St. John's Red Storm, in what Head Coach Rick Pitino called "a great learning experience for our basketball team," raced out to an 11-point halftime lead before holding on for a 75-73 win over the Providence Friars on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

St. John's is now 4-1 in Big East Conference play, their best mark since 2000-01, and they are tied with UConn and Seton Hall atop the Big East standings. They are also 12-4 overall, which already bears watching because 20 wins is the benchmark you need to reach to make March Madness, something recent St. John's teams had issues with because they would have maddeningly slow starts in conference play.

Just as they had done in their win over Villanova Saturday. St. John's raced out to a 10-0 lead. Despite a few flourishes from Providence, St. John's led 40-29 at halftime, as they shot 56.7 percent from the field (17-30), as Daniss Jenkins had 11 points and Jordan Dingle chipped in nine off the bench.

The second half was a different story, as Devin Carter began to heat up, as he poured in nine points amidst a 16-4 run in the opening five-and-a-half minutes to give Providence a 45-44 lead.

By this point, the Friars faithful began to make their presence known, as they made up a big chunk of the 11,832 on hand at The Garden. That would make the final 14:30 of the game as raucous an atmosphere as a St. John's game there has had in years, what they envisioned when they hired Pitino, who by this point had loosened his tie, noteworthy since he's one of the few coaches left who still wears a suit.

Providence taking the lead appeared to be the kick in the pants the Red Storm needed, as they responded with a 13-2 run capped by a Jenkins three-pointer with 9:29 left that made it 57-47.

The scene during a timeout with St. John's up 57-47, when The Garden crowd was revved up. Photo by Jason Schott.

It appeared that the Red Storm had it in hand in the final minute when Joel Soriano drained a pair of free throws with 37 seconds left that made it 74-69. 

However, Providence, and Carter, who had 19 points in the second half and 27 in the game, was not done yet. After being fouled on a three-point attempt, he made the first two of his three attempts at the charity stripe, and after missing the third one, Rafael Castro nabbed an offensive rebound with 22.8 seconds left. Carter then raced around the Red Storm defense for a layup with 9.8 seconds left that made it a one-point game, 74-73.

Brady Dunlap, who was nursing an ankle injury throughout the game, was fouled on the inbounds with 6.7 seconds left, and he missed both of his free throw attempts. 

RJ Luis Jr. nabbed a crucial offensive rebound with 4.7 seconds left, and he was fouled by Carter. That was the Providence sharpshooter's fifth of the night, so he fouled out. 

Luis buried one of two free throws to make it 75-73, and Providence raced to the other end, with Jayden Pierre taking a deep three-point attempt that fell short.

St. John's was led by Joel Soriano, who had 16 points on 4-for-8 shooting, and he was 8-11 from the charity stripe, with seven rebounds and an assist. Daniss Jenkins matched him with 16 points, as he went 6-12 from the field, and an impressive 4-5 on three-pointers, with eight assists and four rebounds. RJ Luis Jr. had 12 points (3-7 FG, 6-8 free throws), with eight rebounds, and Brady Dunlap and Jordan Dingle each chipped in nine points.

Providence was led by Devin Carter, who had 31 points, including 23 in the second half, on 11-19 shooting, including 2-6 on three-pointers and 7-12 from the free throw line, with 13 rebounds, four steals, and two assists.

PITINO POSTGAME: St. John's Head Coach Rick Pitino addressed the media after the win over Providence and he opened with this: "I thought tonight was a great learning experience for our basketball team. I don't think we could have played better in the first 18 minutes of the first half. I told them after the game, you have to understand why you could have potentially lost this game by taking the shots that you took. But you have to give credit where credit is due, [Devin] Carter, by himself, was tougher than our entire team. 31 points, 13 rebounds from a guard - he was brilliant, great, four steals. One of the better performances that I've seen, and we defended him fairly well in the first half. But took a lot of bad shots. It's the first time we've taken challenged shots; we were 4-for-15, we want to keep it under six, and we took 15, so it was a great learning experience.

I really believe this, because I've been around this game a long time. If we had won by 25, we would have gone into Creighton (this Saturday) and just got our asses handed to us. So, this was great for our team to understand if you rebound like that, you take challenged shots like that, and you allow a guard to rebound like that, you are going to lose some close ones, so it was a great learning experience where you can win and learn fast, but we did a lot of great things in the first half, and the second half, due to Providence's brilliant play, we did a lot of poor things, but you know, overall, in the first half, when you shoot 56 percent from the field and 45 from the three, you're doing a lot of good things, and then the second half, 37 and 28 because of the shot selection that we took. These two guys (Jenkins and Soriano) played well, not great; they played well. They've played well all year, but they've got to do more, and they will.

On RJ Luis' late offensive rebound: "RJ is a great talent who is going to give me a nervous breakdown because he, like throwing the ball off the guy's rear end on an inbounds pass, some of what he does is really going to age me. I'm very young for my age (71), but coaching RJ this year has made me 90 years of age. I'm close to Louie right now, very close," referring to Lou Carnesecca, who just turned 99 years old. "But he's a great talent, that rebound saved the game, but he was told not to let the man go by him on the inbounds pass and he let him go by him. He's gonna learn; if he's a student of the game, I believe someday down the road when he heals with the shins at practices, after next year, he has a great chance of being a first round draft pick.

On Providence Head Coach Kim English: "I have to tell you, the guy who coached against me tonight is absolutely fabulous. His team plays like they haven't eaten in a week. You know, my guys are at the buffet every hour. This league is full of great coaches."

On assessing his St. John's team, and Joel Soriano: "I'm pissed off at my guys right now; it's okay because you can get upset when you win and you learn a lot of lessons, but they played great. I have very high aspirations for them, very high goals for them and I don't want them to do the things they did tonight in terms of taking challenged shots and doing those things. They're intelligent. [Joel Soriano] is the most lovable young man I have ever coached...I'm trying to make him so much better than he is just by getting on him constantly. I want him to get 25 or 30 rebounds in games. Is that possible? I don't know but I want him to try and do that because he is such an amazing young man, one of the finest I've ever met in my lifetime, and I want so much for him. He is one of the guys, either one, two or three, early in the season who should be the best player in the league. I want him to be even better than that. I don't want anyone to think about rebounding when he is in that area."

On St. John's first Big East game at The Garden: "Carnesecca is an amazing home-court advantage. I never knew that because I remember playing there and winning by one point, but I never remembered...We want to mix it up. The Garden is where everyone dreams of playing...I tear up every time the starting lineups happen because of my memories of Madison Square Garden, not only as the Knicks assistant, Knick head coach, winning two back-to-back Big East titles, signing my scholarship papers to UMass on The Garden floor - to me, it's a magical place...It's 'The World's Most Famous Arena' and we're excited to be here."

Photo by Jason Schott.