# 1996–97 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

The 1996–97 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Fran Fraschilla in his first year at the school after replacing Brian Mahoney. 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 | Notes |
| Maurice Brown | 5 | G | 5'9" | Senior | Graduated |
| Thomas Bayne | 22 | F | 6'10" | Senior | Graduated |
| Derek Brown | 23 | G | 6'3" | RS Senior | Graduated |
| Rowan Barrett | 24 | G/F | 6'5" | Senior | Graduated. Entered 1997 NBA draft |
| Fred Lyson | 44 | G/F | 6'7" | RS Junior | Transferred |

### Class of 1996 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Lavor Postell SF | Albany, GA | Westover High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Chudney Gray PG | Bronx, NY | Rice High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Collin Charles PG | Toronto, Ontario | Eastern Commerce Collegiate Institute | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 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: "1996 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/23/96* | LIU Brooklyn | L 73-76 | 0-1 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 11/30/96* | Hofstra | W 77-54 | 1-1 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 12/03/96 | Miami (F.L.) | W 61-57 | 2-1 (1-0) | Miami Arena Miami, FL |
| 12/07/96 | No. 5 Villanova | L 70-82 | 2-2 (1-1) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/11/96* | No. 5 Michigan | L 61-76 | 2-3 | Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, NY |
| 12/15/96* | at No. 17 Minnesota | L 39-77 | 2-4 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| 12/21/96* | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 77-50 | 3-4 | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 12/26/96* | Manhattan ECAC Holiday Festival Semifinal | W 68-61 | 4-4 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/28/96* | Georgia Tech ECAC Holiday Festival Championship | W 67-55 | 5-4 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/02/97 | at Providence | W 77-67 | 5-5 (1-2) | Providence Civic Center Providence, RI |
| 01/04/97 | Pittsburgh | W 75-64 | 6-5 (2-2) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/08/97 | at Connecticut | W 71-67 $^{OT}$ | 7-5 (3-2) | Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| 01/12/97 | West Virginia | L 77-90 | 7-6 (3-3) | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 01/14/97* | at Niagara | W 62-40 | 8-6 | Gallagher Center Niagara, NY |
| 01/18/97 | at Pittsburgh | W 60-55 | 9-6 (4-3) | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, PA |
| 01/21/97 | at Georgetown | L 57-62 | 9-7 (4-4) | USAir Arena Landover, MD |
| 01/25/97 | Providence | L 59-72 | 9-8 (4-5) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/29/97 | Rutgers | L 47-49 | 9-9 (4-6) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/01/97 | Georgetown | L 68-71 | 9-10 (4-7) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/04/97 | at Notre Dame | L 70-75 | 9-11 (4-8) | Joyce Center Notre Dame, IN |
| 02/09/97 | Boston College | L 80-81 $^{OT}$ | 9-12 (4-9) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/12/97 | Syracuse | W 91-87 | 10-12 (5-9) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/15/97 | at Rutgers | W 73-58 | 11-12 (6-9) | Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, NJ |
| 02/19/97 | at No. 19 Villanova | L 54-65 | 11-13 (6-10) | CoreStates Center Philadelphia, PA |
| 02/22/97 | Miami (F.L.) | W 77-73 | 12-13 (7-10) | Alumni Hall Queens, NY |
| 02/26/97 | at Seton Hall | W 66-62 | 13-13 (8-10) | Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, NJ |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| 03/05/97 | vs. Miami (F.L.) Big East tournament first round | L 68-76 $^{OT}$ | 13-14 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||