1978–79 St. John's Redmen basketball team

1978–79 St. John's Redmen men's basketball
Lapchick Memorial Champions
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 17
Record21–11
Head coach
Assistant coaches
CaptainTom Calabrese
Home arenaAlumni Hall
Madison Square Garden
Seasons

The 1978–79 St. John's Redmen basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Lou Carnesecca in his eleventh year at the school. St. John's home games were (and to this day still are) played at Alumni Hall and Madison Square Garden.

Roster

1978–79 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F - Ray James 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Fr Alexander Hamilton Brooklyn, NY
G - Ed Kennedy 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Jr Maria Regina Merrick, NY
G/F - Curtis Redding Current redshirt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Jr Canarsie/Kansas State Brooklyn, NY
G 4 Tom Calabrese (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sr Cliffside Park Cliffside Park, NJ
G 5 Bernard Rencher 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
RS Jr Mater Christi/Notre Dame Elmhurst, NY
G/F 22 Ron Plair 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
So William C. Bryant East Elmhurst, NY
G/F 32 Gordon Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sr Bay Shore Bay Shore, NY
G 35 Reggie Carter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
RS Jr Long Island Lutheran/Hawaii New York, NY
F/C - Rick Bollinger 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Sr River Dell Teaneck, NJ
F 43 Frank Gilroy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
So Holy Cross Whitestone, NY
F 44 Rudy Wright 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Sr Long Island City Queens, NY
G/F - Tim Cluess 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Fr St. Agnes West Hempstead, NY
C 55 Wayne McKoy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
So Long Island Lutheran Bayside, NY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
11/24/78*
American
Lapchick Tournament Opening Round
W 72-70  1-0
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
11/25/78*
Wagner
Lapchick tournament championship
W 108-91  2-0
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
11/28/78*
Wisconsin L 68-73  2-1
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
12/02/78*
Princeton W 71-51  3-1
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
12/07/78*
Baylor W 83-82  4-1
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
12/09/78*
No. 20 Georgetown L 71-77  4-2
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
12/12/78*
at Columbia L 77-90  4-3
Levien Gymnasium 
New York, NY
12/16/78*
BYU W 90-83  5-3
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
12/22/78*
Tennessee Tech W 100-56  6-3
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
12/29/78*
vs. Rutgers
ECAC Holiday Festival Semifinal
L 61-72  6-4
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
12/30/78*
vs. No. 1 Duke
ECAC Holiday Festival Consolation
W 69-66  7-4
Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
01/04/79*
at Seton Hall L 70-76  7-5
Walsh Gymnasium 
South Orange, NJ
01/06/79*
Temple L 73-74  7-6
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
01/09/79*
Baltimore W 75-52  8-6
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
01/13/79*
Rutgers L 66-69  8-7
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
01/16/79*
at Villanova W 74-54  9-7
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, PA
01/20/79*
Rhode Island L 70-71  9-8
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
01/23/79*
at Manhattan W 80-55  10-8
Alumni Gym 
Bronx, NY
01/28/79*
at Saint Joseph's W 47-40  11-8
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, PA
01/31/79*
at Army W 72-65  12-8
USMA Fieldhouse 
West Point, NY
02/03/79*
Niagara W 80-52  13-8
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
02/06/79*
Boston College W 85-76  14-8
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
02/10/79*
at Fordham W 66-48  15-8
Rose Hill Gymnasium 
Bronx, NY
02/13/79*
Holy Cross W 82-66  16-8
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
02/17/79*
at No. 7 Syracuse L 72-79  16-9
Manley Field House 
Syracuse, NY
02/24/79*
Providence W 70-65  17-9
Alumni Hall 
Queens, NY
ECAC Metro tournament
03/01/79
vs. Wagner
ECAC Metro Semifinal
W 86-82 OT 18-9
Nassau Coliseum 
Uniondale, NY
03/03/79
vs. Iona
ECAC Metro Final
L 57-63  18-10
Nassau Coliseum 
Uniondale, NY
NCAA tournament
03/09/79*
No. 17 vs. No. 13 (7) Temple
NCAA First Round
W 75-70  19-10
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
03/11/79*
No. 17 vs. No. 6 (2) Duke
NCAA Second Round
W 80-78  20-10
Reynolds Coliseum 
Raleigh, NC
03/16/79*
No. 17 vs. No. 18 (6) Rutgers
NCAA Sweet Sixteen
W 67-65  21-10
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
03/18/79*
No. 17 vs. No. 14 (9) Penn
NCAA Elite Eight
L 62-64  21-11
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA Club
2 27 Reggie Carter New York Knicks
10 189 Gordon Thomas New York Knicks

References