# 1951–52 St. John's Redmen basketball team

The 1951–52 St. John's Redmen basketball team represented St. John's University during the 1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was coached by Frank McGuire in his fifth year at the school. St. John's home games are played at DeGray Gymnasium in Brooklyn, New York and Madison Square Garden and the team is a member of the Metropolitan New York Conference.

## Roster

| # | Name | Height | Position | Class | Hometown | Previous School(s) |
| | Dick Duckett | 6'0" | G | So. | Brooklyn, NY, United States | St. Francis Prep |
| | Frank Giancontieri | 5'10" | G | Jr. | Brooklyn, NY, United States | Bishop Loughlin HS |
| | Phil Sagona | 6'0" | G | So. | Brooklyn, NY, United States | St. John's Prep |
| | Jim McMorrow | 6'2" | G | So. | Brooklyn, NY, United States | St. Michael HS |
| | Jim Walsh | 6'5" | F | So. | Brooklyn, NY, United States | St. John's Prep |
| | Carl Peterson | 6'6" | F/C | So. | Bridgeport, CT, United States | Bullard-Havens Tech |
| | Jack McMahon | 6'1" | G | Sr. | Brooklyn, NY, United States | St. Michael HS |
| | Jim "Red" Davis | 6'7" | C | So. | Bronx, NY, United States | Manhattan Prep |
| 20 | Solly Walker | 6'4" | G/F | So. | Brooklyn, NY, United States | Boys HS |
| 21 | Ronnie MacGilvray | 6'1" | G | Sr. | Floral Park, NY, United States | Sewanhaka HS |
| 30 | Bob "Zeke" Zawoluk | 6'6" | F/C | Sr. | Brooklyn, NY, United States | St. Francis Prep |

## NCAA basketball tournament

* East
** St. John's 60, NC State 49
** St. John's 64, Kentucky 57
* Final Four
** St. John's 61, Illinois 59
** Kansas 80, St. John's 63

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/08/51* | | Arnold College | W 93-33 | 1-0 | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| 12/06/51* | | Brigham Young | W 66-52 | 2-0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/08/51* | | Washington & Jefferson | W 69-52 | 3-0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/12/51* | No. 2 | Wagner | W 63-47 | 4-0 | Sutter Gymnasium Staten Island, NY |
| 12/15/51* | No. 2 | Rhode Island | W 82-62 | 5-0 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/17/51* | No. 1 | at No. 2 Kentucky | L 40-81 | 5-1 | Memorial Coliseum Lexington, KY |
| 12/22/51* | No. 1 | Vanderbilt | W 69-54 | 6-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/27/51* | No. 7 | No. 12 Utah | W 69-57 | 7-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 12/29/51* | No. 7 | Dayton | W 62-60 | 8-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/05/52* | No. 8 | Saint Joseph's | W 59-57 | 9-1 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/10/52* | No. 12 | Loyola (IL) | L 64-68 | 9-2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/12/52 | No. 12 | vs. CCNY | W 71-46 | 10-2 (1-0) | 69th Regiment Armory New York, NY |
| 01/15/52 | | Manhattan | W 63-53 | 11-2 (2-0) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 01/19/52 | | vs. St. Francis (NY) | W 54-36 | 12-2 (3-0) | 69th Regiment Armory New York, NY |
| 01/26/52* | No. 15 | at Temple | W 54-44 | 13-2 | Convention Hall Philadelphia, PA |
| 01/30/52 | No. 15 | vs. No. 20 Fordham | W 69-56 | 14-2 (4-0) | 69th Regiment Armory New York, NY |
| 02/02/52* | No. 12 | at No. 13 Indiana | W 65-55 | 15-2 | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, IN |
| 02/04/52* | No. 12 | at Purdue | W 64-53 | 16-2 | Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, IN |
| 02/09/52* | No. 10 | at Niagara | W 59-55 | 17-2 | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo, NY |
| 02/14/52* | No. 10 | No. 4 St. Bonaventure | W 59-56 | 18-2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/19/52* | No. 8 | at U.S.M.M.A. | W 87-45 | 19-2 | U.S.M.M.A. Gymnasium Kings Point, NY |
| 02/21/52* | No. 8 | Cincinnati | W 76-64 | 20-2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 02/25/52* | No. 8 | No. 17 Holy Cross | L 70-75 | 20-3 | Boston Garden Boston, MA |
| 02/28/52 | No. 9 | NYU | W 78-75 | 21-3 (5-0) | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| 03/04/52 | No. 9 | Brooklyn College | W 64-51 | 22-3 (6-0) | DeGray Gymnasium Brooklyn, NY |
| National Invitation Tournament ||||||
| 03/10/52* | No. 10 | vs. La Salle NIT Quarterfinal | L 45-51 | 22-4 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/21/52* | No. 10 | vs. NC State East Regional First Round | W 60-49 | 23-4 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| 03/22/52* | No. 10 | vs. No. 1 Kentucky East Regional Second Round | W 64-57 | 24-4 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| 03/25/52* | No. 10 | vs. No. 2 Illinois National Semifinal | W 61-59 | 25-4 | Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA |
| 03/26/52* | No. 10 | vs. No. 8 Kansas National Championship | L 63-80 | 25-5 | Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA |
| Olympics ||||||
| 03/29/52* | No. 10 | vs. La Salle Olympic Tryouts | L 62-71 | 25-6 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## NBA draft

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1952 | 2 | 14 | Bob Zawoluk | Indianapolis Olympians |
| 1952 | 4 | 38 | Ronnie MacGilvray | Rochester Royals |
| 1952 | 6 | 58 | Jack McMahon | Rochester Royals |
| 1954 | 6 | 52 | Red Davis | Rochester Royals |
| 1954 | 7 | 62 | Solly Walker | New York Knicks |
| 1957 | 2 | 9 | Dick Duckett | Cincinnati Royals |