25 St. John's Even with two stars gone to the NBA, the Storm is hoping for another shocking year
The 10 pounds of bulk St. John's point guard Erick Barkley added
this summer could have come in handy last March. With 10 seconds
left and his team trailing Ohio State by two in the South
regional final, the freshman drove the lane only to have Scoonie
Penn nudge him and cause the ball to trickle off Barkley's leg
and into the hands of an Ohio State defender. "I blamed myself
[for the loss]," says Barkley, even though it was his only
turnover. "I thought about that game for two weeks"--and, he
admits, he cried a lot the first day.
But then Barkley went to work. During the summer he won a gold
medal with the USA Basketball team at the World University Games
in Spain and another gold with the New York City team at the
Empire State Games in Stony Brook, N.Y. He also benefited from
two weeks of workouts in Atlanta with New Jersey Nets guard
Stephon Marbury, an old New York City pal. And what did he
learn? "It's all about confidence," says Barkley. "My talent
will take care of itself."
With versatile swingman Ron Artest and leading rebounder Tyrone
Grant having left St. John's for the NBA, Barkley, guard Marvis
(Bootsy) Thornton and forward Lavor Postell will all have to
shoulder a much larger load for a team that featured uncannily
balanced scoring last season. (Five players averaged between
10.5 and 14.9 points as the Red Storm won 28 games to become one
of the biggest surprises of the season.) Coach Mike Jarvis, who
took over when Fran Fraschilla was abruptly fired, is also
hoping that 6'6", 225-pound strongman Anthony Glover, who sat
out last season as an academic nonqualifier, can provide some
relief on the boards.
Says Thornton, who made his mark by dropping 40 points on Duke
in January, "Last year, when we didn't have a coach [after
Fraschilla left], no one thought we'd do anything. Then Mike
Jarvis came, and they said we were too small. Then we started to
win, and everybody said it was a fluke. I hope people overlook
us this year--then we can sneak up on them again."
--Jamal Greene
COLOR PHOTO: CHUCK SOLOMON B train The Red Storm will ride Barkley as far as he'll take them.
STARTING LINEUP
POS. HT. CLASS KEY STAT
SF Lavor Postell[1] 6'6" Sr. 13.1 ppg
PF Anthony Glover 6'6" So. 11.9 rpg*
C Donald Emanuel 6'8" So. 2.2 rpg
SG Bootsy Thornton[1] 6'4" Sr. 14.9 ppg
PG Erick Barkley[1] 6'1" So. 4.7 apg
1998-99 record: 28-9 Final rank (coaches' poll): No. 5 (tie)
Returning starter[1] *As high school senior in 97-98