# 1944–45 St. John's Redmen basketball team

The 1944–45 St. John's Redmen basketball team represented St. John's College of Brooklyn during the 1944–45 NCAA Division I college basketball season. The team was coached by Joseph Lapchick in his ninth year at the school. St. John's home games were played at DeGray Gymnasium in Brooklyn and the old Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous School(s) |
| | Ray Wertis | 5"11" | G | Jr. | Far Rockaway, NY, U.S. | Far Rockaway HS |
| | Bill Kotsores | 6'2" | F | Sr. | Long Island City, NY, U.S. | Andrew Jackson HS |
| | Ivy Summer | 6'5" | C | So. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | James Madison HS |
| 12 | Hy Gotkin (C) | 5'8" | G | Sr. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | Thomas Jefferson HS |
| | Tom Larkin | 6'3" | F | Jr. | Cambria Heights, NY, U.S. | Andrew Jackson HS/Seton Hall |
| | Frank Pare | 5'11" | G | So. | Jamaica, NY, U.S. | St. Ann's Academy |
| | Ken Pressman | 6'2" | G | So. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | New Utrecht HS |
| | Vincent Hurley | 6'0" | G | Jr. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | St. Augustine HS |
| | Murray Robinson | 6'0" | G | Jr. | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | Lafayette HS |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 12/02/44* | Alumni | W 47-30 | 1-0 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 12/05/44* | Montclair State | W 49-23 | 2-0 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 12/08/44* | Camp Shanks | W 53-36 | 3-0 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 12/13/44* | Utah | W 39-36 | 4-0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/19/44* | West Point Field Artillery | W 53-45 | 5-0 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 12/23/44* | Puerto Rico | W 41-35 | 6-0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/30/44* | Dartmouth | W 53-38 | 7-0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/03/45 | vs. CCNY | L 41-42 | 7-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/06/45* | Rhode Island State | W 66-58 | 8-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/13/45* | at Temple | W 43-41 $^{OT}$ | 9-1 | Convention Hall Philadelphia, PA |
| 01/16/45* | Akron | W 48-42 | 10-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/20/45* | vs. Syracuse | W 58-35 | 11-1 | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo, NY |
| 01/31/45 | Fordham | W 71-35 | 12-1 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 02/03/45* | at St. Joseph's | W 52-36 | 13-1 | Convention Hall Philadelphia, PA |
| 02/09/45* | Rider | W 48-39 | 14-1 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 02/14/45* | at Army | L 39-56 | 14-2 | USMA Fieldhouse West Point, NY |
| 02/17/45 | at Brooklyn | W 63-27 | 15-2 | N/A Brooklyn, NY |
| 02/21/45 | vs. NYU | W 39-30 | 16-2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/01/45* | Cathedral | W 58-34 | 17-2 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 03/03/45* | Ellis Island Coast Guard | W 51-46 | 18-2 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 03/07/45 | vs. St. Francis (NY) | W 69-35 | 19-2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| NIT ||||||
| 03/19/45* | vs. Muhlenberg NIT Quarterfinal | W 34-33 | 20-2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/21/45* | vs. Bowling Green NIT Semifinal | L 44-57 | 20-3 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/26/45* | vs. Rhode Island State NIT third-place game | W 64-57 | 21-3 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||