Men prepare to battle giant-killing St. John’s

While it may be too soon to call them giant killers, the St. John’s Red Storm has suddenly… While it may be too soon to call them giant killers, the St. John’s Red Storm has suddenly risen from mediocrity to defeat Syracuse and Notre Dame in consecutive games.

After a 10-8 start to the season, including losses to Illinois State and Hofstra, the Red Storm (12-8, 3-4 Big East) appeared to have fallen out of tournament contention. With its sudden resurgence, however, St. John’s postseason hopes have been rekindled, and another high-profile win would thrust the team back into national consciousness.

The Red Storm, therefore, should be elated to face the ninth-ranked Panthers tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. St. John’s has upset highly ranked Pitt squads in each of the previous two seasons.

“I think they are working harder,” head coach Norm Roberts said in a release following the victory over the Fighting Irish. “I think they are understanding each other more. I think they are understanding what they have to do to win.”

St. John’s is led by 6-foot-10 forward Lamont Hamilton. Hamilton leads the team in points (13.5), rebounds (7.2) and blocks (.9) per game.

The burly forward is clearly a catalyst to his team’s achievement. Against Notre Dame, Hamilton led the Red Storm in points (23) and rebounds (12). He contributed another 10 points and 12 rebounds in the upset victory over Syracuse.

Hamilton should probably credit much of his success to junior guard Eugene Lawrence. After finishing fourth last season, Lawrence is currently second in the Big East with 5.25 assists per contest. As an indication of his versatility, the Brooklyn native is also averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Sophomore Anthony Mason Jr. has been making his father, NBA veteran Anthony Mason, proud thus far. Mason Jr. is third on the team with 11.0 points per contest and second on the team with 6.1 rebounds per game.

At 6-1, Pitt is off to its best conference season start in school history. They will certainly be mindful of the fact that St. John’s cost them their undefeated bid last season.

Several Panthers should have familiarity with many of the Red Storm players. Besides playing what is predominately the identical team last season, several Pitt players, including Ronald Ramon, Levance Fields and Austin Wallace, hail from New York City and competed against their St. John’s counterparts throughout high school.

Fields enters the contest following a huge night against Cincinnati on Wednesday. Recognized more for his passing flair than shooting touch, the stout guard connected on six of seven 3-point attempts to lead all scorers with 18 points.

Fields is averaging 9.3 points and 4.8 assists per game. He also leads the Panthers with 21 steals.

But one cannot mention 3-pointers without referencing Ramon. The Bronx native was three for four from outside against the Bearcats, and he is currently first in the Big East with a 47.9 3-point percentage.

Despite not starting a game this season, the versatile guard is fourth on the team in scoring (9.5) and second in assists (2.6).

Of course, the center of attention in the Pitt offense is 7-foot center Aaron Gray. Although Gray’s performance has slipped since the beginning of conference play, his overwhelming stature still causes opposing teams to adjust their defensive scheme to focus on him, opening up outside shots for the Pitt backcourt.

The preseason Big East Player of the Year leads the team with 14.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest. His 34 blocks in only 21 games are good for seventh in the conference.