By Anthony Bosco
Although university officials have taken great pains to avoid blaming any member of the coaching staff for the scandal in Pittsburgh last week, former St. John’s head coach Mike Jarvis has been singled out by fans and the press as the main reason the basketball program finds itself in such a sorry state.
Jarvis was fired six games into the current season following the worst start for the Red Storm men’s basketball team in more than 80 years.
“At this point Mike is no longer part of St. John’s, so let others (place the blame),” said University President Rev. Donald Harrington. “But that’s the best way I think I can say that. What I have to do is analyze the program as best I can so we can avoid these pitfalls in the future.”
Jarvis, who recruited all the members of the current team, spoke publicly this past week about the latest Red Storm controversy. Six players were expelled or suspended for their involvement in a Feb. 4 incident involving an after-hours trip to an adult club following a league loss to Pittsburgh.
“It’s not about any one individual. It’s about everybody,” Jarvis said in one published report. “A coach is a parent. Take the name ‘coach’ out and substitute ‘parent’ and vice versa. If the kids do well, the kids get the credit. If the kids don’t do well, the parents get the blame.”
Jarvis did not return phone calls from the TimesLedger.
When questioned about Jarvis’ culpability for the state of the program, Harrington chose not to point a finger of blame at the former coach.
“I don’t know,” Harrington said. “Obviously we have not had the success we’ve had in the past. But I also know that the face of St. John’s is much more than this.”
Jarvis replaced Fran Fraschilla as head coach of the Red Storm six years ago, taking over a team that was on the upswing following several seasons of mediocre play.
In his first season at the helm, Jarvis coached a team Fraschilla had put together to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, the best showing for any St. John’s team since 1985, when Lou Carnesecca coached Chris Mullin, Walter Berry and Mark Jackson to the Final Four.
But then things quickly started to go south.
Sophomore Erick Barkley was suspended twice during Jarvis’ second season for violating NCAA regulations pertaining to player benefits. The team won the Big East Tournament but lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Jarvis then landed two of the nation’s top recruits in Darius Miles and Omar Cook, who both signed letters of intent, but only Cook would play for St. John’s, with Miles opting to head straight for the NBA. The season, however, turned out to be a great disappointment for Red Storm fans as the team finished 14-15 on the year, which at that point had been the only losing season of Jarvis’ career.
Cook left St. John’s after just one season but did not play in an NBA game until this past month, signing a 10-day contract with the Portland Trailblazers.
In the 2001-02 season, Jarvis, with the help of Marcus Hatten, got the team winning again, guiding the Storm to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round to Wisconsin.
St. John’s finished with a 21-13 record a season ago, including the team’s record sixth National Invitation Tournament championship.
Criticism has been heaped on Jarvis by fans and the sports media for alienating prominent local high school coaches and for his perceived lack of ability to keep the metropolitan area’s top prep players home.
Jarvis’ reliance on junior college transfers, such as Bootsy Thornton, Hatten and Reynolds, has also been a sore point for fans, as has been the premature exodus of players from within the St. John’s fold.
The bevy of transfers who have left the Jamaica campus under Jarvis’ watch began with Collin Charles after the 1998-99 season. The following year guard Heath Orvis transferred after just a single season with the team.
A year later Jack Wolfinger departed following a run-in with the coaching staff over playing time, followed by Alpha Bangura the following season for similar reasons. And just this past off-season, three Jarvis recruits, Eric King, Tim Doyle and Tristan Smith, transferred out of St. John’s.
All indications from players and coaches are that none of the current members of the team are expected to leave the school early.
“It’s fair to say that we’re focused on the future and ensuring that St. John’s University is proud of the basketball program, and we’re working to make that happen,” said athletic director Dave Wegrzyn.
“The team receives a significant amount of support and since the coaching change that we made in December, we have enhanced those support services,” he said. “So we will continue to provide what we feel is the proper guidance, counseling and education for our students that are remaining on the team.”
In the 92-year history of the program, St. John’s ranks fifth among all colleges in wins.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
