Bolstered by five returning letter winners and a No. 8 national recruiting class, St. John’s University was picked to finish 10th in the preseason poll voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Louisville, the defending Big East Tournament champions and an NCAA Final Four squad a year ago, was chosen as the unanimous conference favorites. Syracuse, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Georgetown rounded out the top five spots in the poll.
“As one of the youngest teams in the nation, it’s not surprising that many preseason polls and publications have St. John’s listed between 10th and 15th in the league,” said Head Coach Steve Lavin. “At St. John’s, our goals each season include competing for the Big East Championship and participating in the NCAA Tournament. Most importantly, as a team, we aspire to be playing our best basketball in the month of March.”
A Big East All-Rookie selection last season, D’Angelo Harrison was named to the Preseason All-Big East Second Team. The guard led all Big East freshmen in scoring last season and ranked third among rookies in the country with 17 points per game. Harrison is the first preseason all-conference selection since D.J. Kennedy, who earned second team honors in 2010-11.
Peyton Siva of Louisville was selected as the Preseason Big East Player of the Year.
