St. John's Basketball Coach Steve Lavin Ready to Return Red Storm Back to Glory

It’s quite possible that first year St. Johns head coach, Steve Lavin, views his new program as a puzzle. It seems Lavin has been adding new and critical pieces to his team, on a routine basis since taking over in April.

The latest addition came today with the announcement that Gene Keadey, who was a highly successful coach at Purdue for 27 seasons before retiring in 2005, will join the Red Storm as a special assistant.

The 74-year-old Keady has had a long and special bond with Lavin, dating all the way back to 1988, when he offered the young, up and coming coach, his first graduate assistant opportunity with the Boilermakers.

Lavin said that Keady will have a behind the scenes role that involves coordination of important facets of the program, rather than coaching.

The hiring of Lavin’s acclaimed mentor comes a day after St. Johns landed one of their most highly touted recruits in years, shooting guard D’Angelo Harrison, out of Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas.

Harrison is ranked as a four-star recruit, by both Rivals and Scout, and looks like he has the ability to make an immediate impact.

The Texas native is the third commitment from a very rich 2011 class, that also includes four star forwards Maurice Harkless and Jakarr Sampson.

When you look at the talent coming to St. Johns, you can fall into the trap of overlooking who's already in the program.

This is a team that is returning all five starters from a group that went 17-16 last season. They also made an NIT appearance and displayed the types of effort you would expect from a true riser in the Big East.

The most important returnee is 6‘6 small forward D.J. Kennedy, who averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds a game last season. Kennedy has the ability to be a standout player in the Big East and has the leadership intangibles to carry this squad when it's needed the most.

The senior swingman will be joined by guards Dwight Hardy and Paris Horne, along with forwards Malik Boothe and Sean Evans. Other contributors like Justin Burrell and Justin Brownlee help form one of the most experienced teams in the league.

Lavin already has a lot to work with, yet he still continues to add assets, which should only strengthen the program for the future.

The former UCLA coach, who spent the last seven years as an analyst and commentator for ESPN, will take some time getting his feet wet back in the college basketball game. However, his experience, knowledge and work ethic, should be a major boost to a program that was in dire need of rejuvenation.

This isn’t a team that will contend for a Big East Conference Championship this year, but the future is definitely bright and a berth in the NCAA tournament may not be out of the question.
 
With so much future talent on the way soon, 2010-2011 looks like it could just be the calm before the storm.