# 2008–09 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

The 2008–09 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represented St. John's University during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Norm Roberts in his fifth year at the school. St. John's home games are played at Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden and the team is a member of the Big East Conference.

## Off season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Eugene Lawrence | 4 | PG | 6'1" | 210 | Senior | Brooklyn, New York | Graduated |
| Larry Wright | 5 | SG | 6'2" | 172 | Sophomore | Saginaw, Michigan | Transferred to Oakland |
| Liam Biesty | 30 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Senior | Brooklyn, New York | Graduated |
| Mike Cavataio | 32 | SG | 6'4" | 190 | Freshman | Forest Hills, New York | Transferred to Holy Cross |
| Otoja Abit | 33 | F | 6'6" | 195 | Senior | Woodside, New York | Graduated |

### Class of 2008 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Quincy Roberts SG | Harrisburg, PA | Harrisburg High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Apr 29, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| TyShwan Edmondson PG | Hopkinsville, KY | University Heights Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Apr 30, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Phil Wait C | Manchester, ENG | Proctor Academy | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Jun 5, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 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: "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/14/08* 9:00pm, SNY | LIU Brooklyn | W 73–63 | 1–0 | Carnesecca Arena (4,914) Queens, NY |
| 11/17/08* 9:30pm | vs. Cornell NIT Season Tip-Off First Round | W 86–75 | 2–0 | Conte Forum (4,283) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 11/18/08* 7:30pm | vs. Boston College NIT Season Tip-Off Quarterfinals | L 70–82 | 2–1 | Conte Forum (4,462) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 11/22/08* 2:00pm | Howard | W 79–44 | 3–1 | Carnesecca Arena (3,153) Queens, NY |
| 11/24/08* 8:00pm | Eastern Michigan NIT Season Tip-Off Consolation | W 73–61 | 4–1 | Carnesecca Arena (893) Queens, NY |
| 11/25/08* 8:00pm | Loyola (IL) NIT Season Tip-Off Consolation | W 73–54 | 5–1 | Carnesecca Arena (959) Queens, NY |
| 12/01/08* 7:30pm | St. Francis (NY) | W 69–61 | 6–1 | Carnesecca Arena (2,960) Queens, NY |
| 12/08/08* 7:30pm | NJIT | W 82–54 | 7–1 | Carnesecca Arena (808) Queens, NY |
| 12/14/08* 4:00pm | Bethune-Cookman | W 77–59 | 8–1 | Carnesecca Arena (3,053) Queens, NY |
| 12/20/08* 4:30pm, MSG | Marist Aeropostale Holiday Festival Opening Round | W 65–44 | 9–1 | Madison Square Garden (4.713) New York, NY |
| 12/21/08* 2:30pm, MSG | Virginia Tech Aeropostale Holiday Festival Championship | L 67–81 | 9–2 | Madison Square Garden (N/A) New York, NY |
| 12/27/08* 12:00pm, ESPNU | Miami (FL) | L 56–70 | 9–3 | Madison Square Garden (4,998) New York, NY |
| 12/31/08 4:00pm, SNY | at Providence | L 54–75 | 9–4 (0–1) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (3,087) Providence, RI |
| 01/03/09 2:00pm, ESPNU | No. 7 Notre Dame | W 71–65 | 10–4 (1–1) | Madison Square Garden (9,807) New York, NY |
| 01/11/09 12:00pm, ESPNU | at No. 1 Pittsburgh | L 67–90 | 10–5 (1–2) | Petersen Events Center (12,508) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 01/15/09 7:00pm, ESPN | No. 4 Connecticut | L 55–67 | 10–6 (1–3) | Madison Square Garden (7,545) New York, NY |
| 01/18/09 12:00pm, SNY | at No. 23 Villanova | L 57–76 | 10–7 (1–4) | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, PA |
| 01/22/09 9:00pm, ESPNU | Cincinnati | L 60–71 | 10–8 (1–5) | Carnesecca Arena (4,123) Queens, NY |
| 01/24/09 7:00pm, MSG+ | Rutgers | W 70–59 | 11–8 (2–5) | Carnesecca Arena (7,890) Queens, NY |
| 01/28/09 7:00pm, SNY | at West Virginia | L 52–75 | 11–9 (2–6) | WVU Coliseum (6,583) Morgantown, WV |
| 02/01/09 2:00pm, ESPNU | South Florida | W 65–48 | 12–9 (3–6) | Carnesecca Arena (3,872) Queens, NY |
| 02/05/09 9:00pm, ESPN | at Seton Hall | L 81–91 | 12–10 (3–7) | Prudential Center (7,314) Newark, NJ |
| 02/08/09 1:30pm, MSG | No. 5 Louisville | L 47–60 | 12–11 (3–8) | Madison Square Garden (6,128) New York, NY |
| 02/11/09 7:30pm, ESPN 360 | at Cincinnati | L 61–71 | 12–12 (3–9) | Fifth Third Arena (8,159) Cincinnati, OH |
| 02/14/09 9:00pm, SNY | at No. 10 Marquette | L 59–73 | 12–13 (3–10) | Bradley Center (18,614) Milwaukee, WI |
| 02/19/09* 7:00pm, SNY | No. 9 Duke Aeropostale Classic | L 69–76 | 12–14 (3–10) | Madison Square Garden (13,800) New York, NY |
| 02/22/09 5:00pm, SNY | Seton Hall | W 70–65 | 13–14 (4–10) | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| 02/24/09 7:30pm, MSG | Syracuse | L 58–87 | 13–15 (4–11) | Madison Square Garden (11,148) New York, NY |
| 02/28/09 12:00pm, SNY | at DePaul | W 84–63 | 14–15 (5–11) | Allstate Arena (9,814) Rosemont, IL |
| 03/03/09 7:30pm, MSG | Georgetown | W 59–56 $^{OT}$ | 15–15 (6–11) | Madison Square Garden (N/A) New York, NY |
| 03/06/09 7:00pm, MSG | at Notre Dame | L 55–74 | 15–16 (6–12) | Joyce Convocation Center (11,028) Notre Dame, IN |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| 03/10/09 2:00pm | Georgetown | W 64–59 | 16–16 (6–12) | Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY |
| 03/11/09 2:00pm | No. 21 Marquette | L 45–74 | 16–17 (6–12) | Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY |
| CBI Tournament ||||||
| 03/18/09* 7:00pm | at Richmond First Round | L 69–75 | 16–18 (6–12) | Robins Center (2,171) Richmond, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||