# 2016–17 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

The 2016–17 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represented St. John's University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by alumni and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Chris Mullin in his second year at the school. They played their home games at Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the regular season 14–19, 7–11 in Big East play to finish in eighth place. They defeated Georgetown in the first round of the Big East tournament before losing to Villanova in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Red Storm finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 8–24, 1–17 in Big East play to finish in last place in conference. They lost to Marquette in the first round of the Big East tournament.

## Preseason

Prior to the season, St. John's was picked to finish in eighth place in a poll of Big East coaches. Shamorie Ponds was named the preseason Rookie of the Year.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Christian Jones | 2 | F | 6'7" | 230 | RS Junior | Arlington, Texas | Graduated Transferred to UNLV |
| Durand Johnson | 5 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Graduate student | Baltimore, Maryland | Graduated |
| Felix Balamou | 10 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Conakry, Guinea | Graduated |
| Ron M'Vouika | 24 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Graduate student | Paris, France | Graduated |
| Yankuba Sima | 35 | C | 6'11" | 220 | Sophomore | Girona, Spain | Transferred to Oklahoma State (mid-season) |

### 2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Shamorie Ponds PG | Brooklyn, NY | Thomas Jefferson High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 29, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Richard Freudenberg PF | Heidelberg, Germany | Bayern Munich | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Feb 4, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### Transfer additions

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Bashir Ahmed | G/F | 6'7" | 210 | Junior | Bronx, New York | junior college transfer from Hutchinson Community College (2 yrs immediate eligibility) |
| Marvin Clark Jr. | F | 6'7" | 225 | Junior | Kansas City, Missouri | transfer from Michigan State (2 yrs eligibility remaining) |
| Justin Simon | G | 6'5" | 205 | Sophomore | Temecula, California | transfer from Arizona (3 yrs eligibility remaining) |

### 2017 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Sidney Wilson SF | Bronx, NY | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | May 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Bryan Trimble SG | Kansas City, MO | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jun 12, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Boubacar Diakite SF | Bamako, Mali | Our Savior New American School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 13, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 31, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Baruch | W 99–49 | | 21 – Mussini | 12 – Owens | 5 – Lovett | Carnesecca Arena (3,727) Queens, NY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2016* 9:00 pm, FSN | | Bethune-Cookman | W 100–53 | 1–0 | 20 – Mussini | 4 – Tied | 7 – Lovett | Carnesecca Arena (4,371) Queens, NY |
| Nov 14, 2016* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Binghamton Battle 4 Atlantis opening round | W 77–61 | 2–0 | 23 – Lovett | 10 – Ponds | 4 – Tied | Carnesecca Arena (4,969) Queens, NY |
| Nov 18, 2016* 9:00 pm, BTN | | at Minnesota Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 86–92 | 2–1 | 31 – Lovett | 10 – Ahmed | 5 – Lovett | Williams Arena (8,873) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 23, 2016* 7:00 pm, AXS TV | | vs. No. 24 Michigan State Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | L 62–73 | 2–2 | 20 – Lovett | 7 – Tied | 3 – Ellison | Imperial Arena (2,344) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 24, 2016* 7:00 pm, AXS TV | | vs. VCU Battle 4 Atlantis consolation second round | L 69–75 | 2–3 | 18 – Ponds | 7 – Tied | 5 – Lovett | Imperial Arena (1,362) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 25, 2016* 9:30 pm, AXS TV | | vs. Old Dominion Battle 4 Atlantis 7th place game | L 55–63 | 2–4 | 16 – Lovett | 7 – Ponds | 3 – Ponds | Imperial Arena (969) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 29, 2016* 6:30 pm, FS2 | | Delaware State | L 72–79 | 2–5 | 19 – Ahmed | 9 – Ponds | 4 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (4,109) Queens, NY |
| Dec 2, 2016* 8:00 pm, ESPNews | | at Tulane | W 95–75 | 3–5 | 18 – Lovett | 7 – Ahmed | 5 – Lovett | Devlin Fieldhouse (2,563) New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 5, 2016* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Cal State Northridge | W 76–70 | 4–5 | 25 – Ponds | 8 – Ahmed | 5 – Tied | Carnesecca Arena (3,901) Queens, NY |
| Dec 8, 2016* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Fordham Rivalry | W 90–62 | 5–5 | 26 – Ponds | 8 – Alibegovic | 9 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (4,474) Queens, NY |
| Dec 11, 2016* 12:00 pm, FS1 | | vs. LIU Brooklyn Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival | L 73–74 | 5–6 | 18 – Ponds | 7 – Williams | 5 – Ellison | Barclays Center (7,514) Brooklyn, NY |
| Dec 18, 2016* 11:00 am, FS1 | | vs. Penn State Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival | L 76–92 | 5–7 | 22 – Ellison | 11 – Owens | 4 – Ponds | Madison Square Garden (8,200) New York City, NY |
| Dec 21, 2016* 7:00 pm, FSN | | at Syracuse | W 93–60 | 6–7 | 21 – Ponds | 8 – Yakwe | 9 – Lovett | Carrier Dome (18,363) Syracuse, NY |
| Big East regular season |||||||||
| Dec 29, 2016 7:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 13 Butler | W 76–73 | 7–7 (1–0) | 26 – Ponds | 7 – Ponds | 2 – Lovett | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| Jan 1, 2017 2:00 pm, FS1 | | at DePaul | W 79–73 | 8–7 (2–0) | 22 – Lovett | 9 – Williams | 8 – Ellison | Allstate Arena (5,152) Rosemont, IL |
| Jan 4, 2017 8:30 pm, FS1 | | No. 10 Creighton | L 72–85 | 8–8 (2–1) | 23 – Lovett | 7 – Ahmed | 7 – Ellison | Carnesecca Arena (4,928) Queens, NY |
| Jan 7, 2017 2:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 16 Xavier | L 82–97 | 8–9 (2–2) | 32 – Lovett | 7 – Ponds | 5 – Ponds | Cintas Center (10,474) Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 9, 2017 6:30 pm, FS1 | | at Georgetown | L 55–83 | 8–10 (2–3) | 12 – Ponds | 6 – Owens | 2 – Tied | Verizon Center (5,158) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 14, 2017 12:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 3 Villanova | L 57–70 | 8–11 (2–4) | 13 – Ponds | 7 – Owens | 4 – Lovett | Madison Square Garden (17,309) New York City, NY |
| Jan 16, 2017 4:30 pm, FS1 | | DePaul MLK Day Marathon | W 78–68 | 9–11 (3–4) | 23 – Ellison | 9 – Owens | 6 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| Jan 22, 2017 12:00 pm, FS1 | | at Seton Hall | L 73–86 | 9–12 (3–5) | 22 – Lovett | 7 – Ahmed | 4 – Lovett | Prudential Center (9,801) Newark, NJ |
| Jan 25, 2017 6:30 pm, FS1 | | at Providence | W 91–86 | 10–12 (4–5) | 26 – Lovett | 6 – Ellison | 3 – Tied | Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,314) Providence, RI |
| Jan 29, 2017 6:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 24 Xavier | L 77–82 | 10–13 (4–6) | 23 – Ponds | 6 – Owens | 6 – Ellison | Madison Square Garden (8,723) New York City, NY |
| Feb 1, 2017 7:00 pm, FS2 | | Marquette | W 86–72 | 11–13 (5–6) | 23 – Ahmed | 11 – Owens | 5 – Tied | Madison Square Garden (14,201) New York City, NY |
| Feb 4, 2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 4 Villanova | L 79–92 | 11–14 (5–7) | 23 – Lovett | 7 – Ahmed | 6 – Lovett | Wells Fargo Center (18,562) Philadelphia, PA |
| Feb 11, 2017 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Seton Hall | W 78–70 | 12–14 (6–7) | 19 – LoVett | 12 – Owens | 6 – LoVett | Madison Square Garden (9,027) New York City, NY |
| Feb 15, 2017 8:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 24 Butler | L 86–110 | 12–15 (6–8) | 20 – Mussini | 6 – Owens | 4 – Ponds | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,719) Indianapolis, IN |
| Feb 21, 2017 8:00 pm, FS1 | | at Marquette | L 71–93 | 12–16 (6–9) | 21 – Ahmed | 7 – Ponds | 6 – Ponds | BMO Harris Bradley Center (13,370) Milwaukee, WI |
| Feb 25, 2017 12:00 pm, FSN | | Georgetown | W 86–80 | 13–16 (7–9) | 24 – Ponds | 6 – Tied | 4 – Lovett | Madison Square Garden (11,277) New York City, NY |
| Feb 28, 2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Creighton | L 68–82 | 13–17 (7–10) | 16 – Ponds | 7 – Ahmed | 3 – Tied | CenturyLink Center (17,006) Omaha, NE |
| Mar 4, 2017 12:00 pm, FS2 | | Providence | L 75–86 | 13–18 (7–11) | 29 – Ponds | 7 – Tied | 2 – Freudenberg | Madison Square Garden (8,826) New York City, NY |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 2017 7:00 pm, FS1 | (8) | vs. (9) Georgetown First round | W 74–73 | 14–18 | 17 – Ponds | 8 – Ellison | 6 – Ellison | Madison Square Garden (14,803) New York, NY |
| Mar 9, 2017 12:00 pm, FS1 | (8) | vs. (1) No. 2 Villanova Quarterfinals | L 67–108 | 14–19 | 12 – Tied | 4 – Tied | 5 – Lovett | Madison Square Garden (17,324) New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||