By Dylan Butler
Estep was looking forward to returning nine players from a team that went 11-18 (5-11 in the Big East) and bringing in her first recruiting class, which included Shemika Stevens, one of the top point guards in New York City who filled a huge void for the Red Storm.
But Stevens, from Philip Randolph High School, did not meet academic requirements for freshman participation and will sit her first year.
“That was a blow for us because not only do you lose a position that you needed, but you also lose such a quality player,” Estep said. “We have made the adjustment to knowing that she won't be able to play this year, but you still sit back and wonder, what it would have been like to have one true point guard.”
Also gone is one of Estep's top returnees, Aiysha Smith, who was third on the team in scoring with 9.5 points per game and led the team with 7.1 rebounds per game. She opted to leave St. John's and return to her native Michigan just before the start of the school year for an undisclosed reason.
“It came to us at a time where we could not really replace her,” Estep said. “We're moving forward, we respect Aiysha's decision.”
As a result, the Red Storm are picked to finish 11th out of the conference's 14 teams.
“You have to respect the fact this is other people's opinions,” Estep said. “I do believe once everyone found out about Aiysha's decision, that affected the ranking. We're going to use it as a motivational tool for us. We're going to take that preseason poll and try and improve on it and make it a higher number when the season concludes.”
Without the 6-foot-2 Smith, as well as graduating seniors Tanya Mrdjen (6-foot-4) and 6-foot-1 Ana Pericic, the Red Storm are a much smaller team, reminicent of Mike Jarvis' squad last year.
“When you look at our men's program last year, they did a tremendous job overcoming [size disadvantage],” she said. “I really enjoyed watching how they conquered day in and day out and that's what I want these young ladies to understand. You can't always measure it by how tall you are, but I think you have to measure it by how big your heart is. That's what we're going to try and measure each game by.”
The Red Storm will rely on guard play from senior Latasha Thompson, who led the team in scoring, averaging 13.2 points per game, and newcomer Rasheedah Brown, a junior college transfer from Independence Community College in Kansas. The bulk of the post play will rest on the shoulders of 5-foot-10 Tynisha Myles, who averaged 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 29 games last year.
“Along with Tynisha Myles, our perimeter is going to be very important to us. If you look at our offensive sets, our point guard is really involved as far as looking to be part of the scoring,” Estep said. “Latasha Thompson enjoys that so she is looking forward to being the backup point guard again and [Brown] can hit the threes, she can get you off the dribble, she creates not only for herself, but for her teammates.”
Estep's squad should get a shot of adrenaline once the Big East regular season begins in January when the Red Storm expect to see the return of Giani Bowles, a 5-foot-5 junior guard who was second on the team in scoring, averaging 1.1 points per game. She is recovering from a torn ACL in her left knee which she suffered in St. John's 75-62 win over Pittsburgh in the first round of the Big East tournament.
To prepare for the tough conference slate, which features defending national champions Connecticut, as well as NCAA tournament teams Rutgers, who joined the Huskies as a Final Four participant, Boston College and Notre Dame, Estep has assembled a tough non-conference schedule, which includes Old Dominion, St. Peter's and St. Joseph, all of which were in the 2000 NCAA tournament.
The Red Storm takes on the New York Gazelles in an exhibition game Sunday at 2 p.m. at Alumni Hall. St. John's will also play Hungarian Team next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before opening the season at home against St. Francis (N.Y.) on Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
