# 1997–98 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

The 1997–98 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1997–98 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Fran Fraschilla in his second year at the school. St. John's home games are played at Alumni Hall and Madison Square Garden and the team is a member of the Big East Conference.

## Off season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Ed Brown | 14 | F | 6'8" | RS Freshman | Copiague, New York | Transferred to Rhode Island |
| Mike Menniefield | 21 | F/C | 6'8" | Senior | Greenville, South Carolina | Graduated |
| Charles Minlend | 34 | F | 6'6" | RS Senior | Cameroon, Africa | Graduated |

### Class of 1997 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Ron Artest SF | Queensbridge, NY | La Salle Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Reggie Jessie SF | Queensbridge, NY | Bishop Loughlin High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Shannon Crooks PG | Boston, MA | Everett High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| James Felton PF | Bayonne, NJ | Marist High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Milos Dumic C | Bijeljina, Yugoslavia | St. Joseph by the Sea High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "1997 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/15/97* | | Lafayette | W 72-49 | 1-0 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 11/22/97* | | St. Francis (N.Y.) | W 83-73 | 2-0 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 11/27/97* | | vs. AUPR Puerto Rico Shootout Opening Round | W 93-81 | 3-0 | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex San Juan, PR |
| 11/28/97* | | vs. Georgia Tech Puerto Rico Shootout Semifinal | L 65-77 | 3-1 | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex San Juan, PR |
| 11/29/97* | | vs. Illinois Puerto Rico Shootout Consolation | W 83-66 | 4-1 | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex San Juan, PR |
| 12/03/97 | | Syracuse | L 73-80 | 4-2 (0-1) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/06/97 | | at West Virginia | L 70-86 | 4-3 (0-2) | WVU Coliseum Morgantown, WV |
| 12/09/97* | | Colgate | W 69-53 | 5-3 (0-2) | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 12/17/97* | | at Manhattan | W 84-60 | 6-3 (0-2) | Draddy Gymnasium New York, NY |
| 12/20/97* | | DePaul | W 74-70 $^{2OT}$ | 7-3 (0-2) | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 12/26/97* | | Niagara ECAC Holiday Festival Semifinal | L 63-86 | 7-4 (0-2) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/27/97* | | Drexel ECAC Holiday Festival Consolation | W 75-46 | 8-4 (0-2) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/30/97 | | at Notre Dame | W 79-69 | 9-4 (1-2) | Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN |
| 01/03/98 | | Seton Hall | L 59-61 | 9-5 (1-3) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/06/98* | | at Louisville | L 67-73 | 9-6 (1-3) | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| 01/10/98 | | at Georgetown | W 66-60 | 10-6 (2-3) | MCI Center Washington, D.C. |
| 01/13/98 | | Miami (F.L.) | W 73-64 | 11-6 (3-3) | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 01/17/98 | | at Providence | W 63-56 | 12-6 (4-3) | Providence Civic Center Providence, RI |
| 01/19/98 | | No. 10 Connecticut | W 64-62 | 13-6 (5-3) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/22/98 | | at Pittsburgh | W 90-83 $^{2OT}$ | 14-6 (6-3) | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, PA |
| 01/25/98 | | Villanova | W 82-59 | 15-6 (7-3) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/28/98 | | Rutgers | W 76-58 | 16-6 (8-3) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/31/98 | | Notre Dame | L 65-73 | 16-7 (8-4) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/04/98 | | at Boston College | W 91-79 | 17-7 (9-4) | Silvio O. Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 02/07/98 | | No. 15 West Virginia | W 77-69 | 18-7 (10-4) | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 02/15/98 | | at Seton Hall | W 64-60 | 19-7 (11-4) | Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, NJ |
| 02/18/98 | | Boston College | W 66-61 | 20-7 (12-4) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/24/98 | | at No. 23 Syracuse | W 67-65 | 21-7 (13-4) | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| 02/28/98 | | at No. 6 Connecticut | L 58-87 | 21-8 (13-5) | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| 03/05/98 | | vs. Boston College Big East tournament quarterfinal | W 91-80 | 22-8 (13-5) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/06/98 | | vs. No. 22 Syracuse Big East tournament semifinal | L 67-69 $^{OT}$ | 22-9 (13-5) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/13/98 | (7 MW) | vs. (10 MW) Detroit Mercy NCAA First Round | L 64-66 | 22-10 (13-5) | United Center Chicago, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 24 | Felipe Lopez | San Antonio Spurs traded to the Vancouver Grizzlies |