St. John's to open basketball season ...

The St. John's University Redmen (I still refuse to acknowledge the change to Red Storm) will open the basketball season tonight against the vaunted Molloy Lions. Molloy is a Div II school based in Rockville Centre, Long Island. Each year, St. John's opens up with a game that is actually more of a scrimmage.

While I'm at it, the whole Red Storm vs. Redmen thing still bothers me. St. John's wore red uniforms, so their school nickname, penned by writers from the old Brooklyn Eagle, was the Redmen of St. John's. It had nothing to do with native Americans.

And, while so many of the NCAA teams changed their nicknames, I've noticed the logos and nicknames of the MLB teams in Cleveland and Atlanta remain the same, as well as NFL teams in Washington DC and KC. That Cleveland MLB logo might need some attention from the PC police, but that is a story for another day.

So, to just be sure I've got it straight, the University of Notre Dame can call its teams the "Fighting Irish" and depict itself with a little Irishmen with his fists up and that is fine? But, a school in New York cannot be the Redmen?

Anyway, that is old news.

With the prelude above, I will just note that today's notes are on the team that I will forever call, "The Johnnies."

My Johnnies will suit up eight freshmen when they tip it off. In the month of December, that usually spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. Then, when the BIG EAST schedule tips-off, it spells D-E-A-T-H. The press releases and quotes from Coach Norm Roberts call this team, 'the future of St. John's basketball.' I just hope the future remains academically eligible for the season, or stays at St. John's for a few years. The latter, going pro early, is less of an issue for the Johnnies of recent years, as the talent level of the players just isn't there. St. John's has been recruiting on the "B" or even "C" level of recruits, after Mike Jarvis took the program so, so low, that any "A" level recruit would say 'thanks but no thanks.'

Roberts has been clawing and scratching his way out of that deep hole. He has re-established St. John's among the NYC high school and AAU levels but that has yet to produce any returns.

I am predicting only four or five BIG EAST wins and no berth in the post season tourney. I would love to be wrong and watch this team play hard and gel.