# 1958–59 St. John's Redmen basketball team

The 1958–59 St. John's Redmen basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1958–59 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The team was coached by Joseph Lapchick in his fourteenth year at the school and also was the first season Lou Carnesecca joined the basketball program as an assistant coach. The team was a member of the Metropolitan New York Conference. During this time the university was transitioning from Brooklyn to Queens, so the basketball team played their home games at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens, NY and Madison Square Garden in Manhattan while their new on campus arena, Alumni Hall, was being built.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous Team(s) |
| 11 | Gus Alfieri | 6'2" | G | Sr. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | St. Francis Prep |
| 14 | Gary Marozas | 6'6" | F/C | So. | Queens, NY, U.S. | Forest Hills HS |
| 21 | Mike Pedone | 6'0" | G | Jr. | Jersey City, NJ, U.S. | St. Peter's Prep |
| 24 | Tony Jackson | 6"4" | G/F | So. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | Thomas Jefferson HS |
| 25 | Bernie Pascal (DNP) | 6'5" | F | Sr. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | St. Francis Prep |
| 27 | Dick Engert | 6"5" | F | Sr. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | Xavier HS |
| 33 | Alan Seiden | 5"10" | G | Sr. | Queens, NY, U.S. | Jamaica HS |
| 34 | Lou Roethel | 6"6" | F/C | Sr. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | St. Francis Prep |
| | John Ryan | 6'6" | F/C | Jr. | Long Beach, NY, U.S. | Long Beach HS |
| | Butch Dellacave | 5'9" | G | So. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | St. John's Prep |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 12/04/58* | | Providence | W 73-55 | 1-0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/08/58* | | Bridgeport | W 98-56 | 2-0 | Martin Van Buren High School Queens, NY |
| 12/10/58 | No. 20 | at Brooklyn | W 93-68 | 3-0 (1-0) | Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY |
| 12/13/58* | No. 20 | Bradley | L 66-71 | 3-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/15/58* | No. 20 | Hunter | W 91-52 | 4-1 | Martin Van Buren High School Queens, NY |
| 12/20/58* | | Virginia | W 90-71 | 5-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/26/58* | | vs. Holy Cross ECAC Holiday Festival Quarterfinal | W 77-63 | 6-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/27/58* | | vs. No. 20 Dayton ECAC Holiday Festival Semifinal | W 76-63 | 7-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/29/58* | | vs. St. Joseph's ECAC Holiday Festival Championship | W 90-79 | 8-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/03/59* | No. 13 | Temple | W 81-76 | 9-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/10/59* | No. 10 | at George Washington | W 86-85 | 10-1 | Uline Arena Washington, D.C. |
| 01/17/59* | No. 9 | at St. Joseph's | W 97-72 | 11-1 | The Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| 01/24/59 | No. 7 | vs. St. Francis (NY) | W 91-44 | 12-1 (2-0) | 69th Regiment Armory New York, NY |
| 01/29/59* | No. 7 | at No. 15 St. Louis | L 68-72 | 12-2 | Kiel Auditorium St. Louis, MO |
| 01/31/59* | No. 7 | at Loyola (IL) | L 85-95 $^{2OT}$ | 12-3 | Chicago Stadium Chicago, IL |
| 02/02/59* | No. 7 | at Notre Dame | L 70-72 | 12-4 | Notre Dame Fieldhouse Notre Dame, IN |
| 02/05/59* | No. 15 | Richmond | W 85-76 | 13-4 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/14/59 | No. 19 | at Fordham | L 77-79 $^{OT}$ | 13-5 (2-1) | Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, NY |
| 02/19/59* | | Niagara | W 87-78 | 14-5 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/26/59 | No. 17 | Manhattan | L 65-70 | 14-6 (2-2) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/28/59 | No. 17 | CCNY | W 82-64 | 15-6 (3-2) | Martin Van Buren High School Queens, NY |
| 03/05/59 | No. 18 | NYU | W 57-55 | 16-6 (4-2) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| NIT ||||||
| 03/12/59* | | vs. Villanova NIT First Round | W 75-67 | 17-6 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/14/59* | | vs. No. 19 St. Bonaventure NIT Quarterfinal | W 82-74 | 18-6 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/19/59* | | vs. Providence NIT Semifinal | W 76-55 | 19-6 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/21/59* | | vs. No. 4 Bradley NIT Championship | W 76-71 $^{2OT}$ | 20-6 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1959 | 2 | 12 | Al Seiden | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1961 | 2 | 24 | Tony Jackson | New York Knicks |