# 1969–70 St. John's Redmen basketball team

The 1969–70 St. John's Redmen basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1969–70 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The team was coached by Lou Carnesecca in his fifth year at the school before he left to become the head coach of the New York Nets in the American Basketball Association. St. John's home games were played at Alumni Hall and Madison Square Garden.
The Redmen reached the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament, where they lost to Marquette.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous School(s) | GP | PPG | RPG |
| 5 | Richie Lyons | 6'0" | G | SO | New Hyde Park, NY | Holy Cross HS | 29 | 5.5 | 1.1 |
| 10 | Jim Smyth | 6'5" | G/F | SR | Brooklyn, NY | St. John's Prep | 29 | 10.9 | 2.3 |
| 11 | Billy Paultz | 6'11" | C | JR | River Edge, NJ | Cameron Junior College | 29 | 15.8 | 14.4 |
| 15 | Ralph Abraham | 6'5" | F | SR | Brooklyn, NY | St. John's Prep | 29 | 10.3 | 7.3 |
| 20 | Mike Keilty | 6'4" | G | SO | Woodside, NY | Holy Trinity HS | 16 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| 22 | Neil Levane | 6'2" | G | JR | Great Neck, NY | Great Neck South HS | 8 | 2.0 | 0.5 |
| 24 | Bill Phillips | 7'0" | C | SO | Hollis, NY | Jamaica HS | 10 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| 25 | Pete LaMantia (I) | 6'3" | G/F | JR | Bayside, NY | Bishop Reilly HS | 2 | 4.5 | 1.5 |
| 34 | Richard Gilkes | 6'6" | G/F | JR | Westbury, NY | Westbury HS | 28 | 2.5 | 2.3 |
| 35 | John DeVasto | 6'0" | G | JR | Bronx, NY | Loyola School | 20 | 1.9 | 0.5 |
| 44 | Greg Cluess | 6'8" | F/C | SO | West Hempstead, NY | St. Agnes HS | 27 | 2.7 | 2.1 |
| 55 | Joe DePre (C) | 6'3" | G | SR | Westbury, NY | Westbury HS | 29 | 16.5 | 5.8 |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 12/02/69* | No. 14 | at Temple | L 59-60 | 0-1 | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, PA |
| 12/04/69* | No. 14 | Harvard | W 73-62 | 1-1 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 12/09/69* | | at West Virginia | W 76-60 | 2-1 | Stansbury Hall Morgantown, WV |
| 12/13/69* | | Seton Hall | W 83-64 | 3-1 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 12/15/69* | | at Georgetown | W 71-64 | 4-1 | McDonough Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| 12/19/69* | | No. 4 Davidson | W 74-62 | 5-1 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 12/22/69* | | at Stanford | W 63-59 | 6-1 | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| 12/23/69* | | at No. 12 Southern California | L 59-95 | 6-2 | LA Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/26/69* | | vs. Iowa Rainbow Classic | W 57-55 | 7-2 | Neil S. Blaisdell Arena Honolulu, HI |
| 12/29/69* | | vs. Louisiana State Rainbow Classic | L 70-78 | 7-3 | Neil S. Blaisdell Arena Honolulu, HI |
| 12/30/69* | | vs. San Francisco Rainbow Classic | L 60-67 | 7-4 | Neil S. Blaisdell Arena Honolulu, HI |
| 01/10/70* | | Syracuse | W 86-72 | 8-4 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 01/17/70* | | St. Francis | W 89-65 | 9-4 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 01/24/70* | | Villanova | W 60-57 | 10-4 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 01/28/70* | | at Providence | L 57-58 $^{OT}$ | 10-5 | Alumni Hall Providence, RI |
| 01/31/70* | | Pittsburgh | W 67-58 | 11-5 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 02/03/70 & 02/04/70* | | at Rhode Island | W 85-67 | 12-5 | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, RI |
| 02/07/70* | | Army | W 54-44 | 13-5 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 02/10/70* | | at No. 16 Notre Dame | L 76-90 | 13-6 | Athletic & Convocation Center Notre Dame, IN |
| 02/14/70* | | Fordham | W 80-53 | 14-6 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 02/18/70* | | St. Joseph's | W 47-46 | 15-6 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 02/21/70* | | at Niagara | L 70-72 | 15-7 | NU Student Center Lewiston, NY |
| 02/24/70* | | Holy Cross | W 75-62 | 16-7 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 02/28/70* | | NYU | W 64-53 | 17-7 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 03/02/70* | | at Boston College | W 71-64 | 18-7 | Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, MA |
| NIT Tournament ||||||
| 03/13/70* | | vs. Miami (OH) NIT First Round | W 70-57 | 19-7 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/16/70* | | vs. Georgia Tech NIT Quarterfinal | W 56-55 | 20-7 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/19/70* | | vs. Army NIT Semifinal | W 60-59 | 21-7 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/21/70* | | vs. No. 8 Marquette NIT Championship | L 53-65 | 21-8 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 29 | Joe DePre | Phoenix Suns |
| 7 | 103 | Billy Paultz | San Diego Rockets |