Mike Anderson Out At St. John’s Amid Disappointing Results & Internal Turmoil

Anderson’s four years in Queens were marked by a 30-46 Big East record and no NCAA tournament appearances.

St. John’s University announced today that it is parting ways with Men’s Basketball head coach Mike Anderson and plans to conduct a national search for the program’s new leadership. Rick Pitino — who is the only coach in history to win NCAA national championships (one vacated) at two schools — is a target for the job, according to the New York Post.

The move comes less than a day after St. John’s (8) was eliminated from the Big East Tournament after squandering a 14-point lead over Marquette (1) in the quarterfinals. With the loss, the program was officially eliminated from NCAA tournament contention. Barring a surprise NIT selection, the Johnnies’ failure to make the semifinal round of their conference tournament ended their 2022-23 campaign.

“After fully evaluating the men’s basketball program, our University has decided a change is needed in both the leadership and direction of St. John’s Basketball,” said Mike Cragg, the St. John’s athletics director, in a press release. “We wish coach Mike Anderson and his family the best in their future.”

Anderson led St. John’s to a 68-56 overall record in his four seasons as head coach with no NCAA tournament appearances. Under his leadership, the Red Storm had a 30-46 record in conference play. Following a promising 2020-21 season that saw the Johnnies capture a winning record in league play, St. John’s extended Anderson to a six-year contract. There are four years left on that deal, with upwards of $10 million still owed to Anderson.

In the interim, the University confirmed that associate head coach Van Macon will lead the Men’s Basketball program.

Beyond the team’s on-court performance during his tenure, there have been questions about the program’s internal turmoil as well.

This season, Anderson issued multiple suspensions to St. John’s players for “not adhering to team standards.” Junior guard Andre Curbelo was suspended twice and did not travel with the team for one of their away games and sophomore guard Raphael Pinzon is currently indefinitely suspended. When Curbelo was asked why he wasn’t playing, he told reporters he didn’t know. Anderson declined to provide additional comment on the suspensions as well.

St. John’s President Brian Shanley, who has expressed his displeasure with the program’s on-court performance, told The Torch that he was “completely committed right now” to helping Anderson be successful in a January 2023 interview. However, he added that “we have to figure out how to win more games.”

Shanley hired Ed Cooley as the head coach of Providence while he was serving as the school’s president, and considered hiring Pitino for that job years ago.

A lawsuit filed by former St. John’s basketball coach Steve DeMeo in 2021 alleged that Anderson lost control of the team at the end of the 2020-21 season. “The public success of the St. John’s men’s basketball team on the court masked a tumultuous end to the season,” the suit stated. “Mr. Anderson lost control of the team and the players nearly revolted against him before the end of the season.”

At the time, the University categorically denied all allegations of wrongdoing, but declined to further comment on the pending litigation.

Pitino was also a candidate for the St. John’s job before Anderson was hired. But in the years since, Pitino was cleared of any wrongdoing at Louisville by the Independent Review Panel of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. The panel found that “no violation by [Pitino] occurred given that he demonstrated he promoted an atmosphere of compliance” in Louisville’s corruption case, that led to their national title being vacated.

With Pitino in the clear and a high-major job at St. John’s open, the next Red Storm Men’s Basketball coach might already be in New York.

Premium Meal Swipe Donations to be Allowed Next Semester

Student Government, Inc. updated their plans to allow premium meal swipe donations between students, aiming to finalize the plan by Fall 2023.

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As the 2022-2023 academic year comes to an end, Student Government, Inc. (SGi) at St. John’s University highlighted their hopes for next semester and shared news on scholarship funds at the assembly meeting on March 20.

SGi President Ethan Burrell provided updates on previously mentioned initiatives. SGi will meet with University faculty to discuss the plan to allow premium meal swipe donations.

At the Feb. 13 assembly meeting, SGi introduced their plan to enable the donation of premium meal swipes between St. John’s students. Initially claiming they do not see the plan being implemented within this academic year, Burrell now sees it po-

| March 22, 2023 tentially happening in the Fall 2023 semester.

“Hopefully we will get that done soon,” Burrell said.

SGi sold crewneck sweatshirts in the D’Angelo Center on March 16 at common hour to fund senior scholarships, which are need-based scholarships available to resident senior students at St. John’s. With crew necks selling for 20 dollars each, they raised “about a thousand dollars.” Scholarship applications open during the summer.

Burrell also stressed the importance of students attending student listening sessions. Listening sessions are hosted by Sarah Kelly — vice president for student success and retention strategy — and

Rachel Pereira — vice president of equity and inclusion. Burrell claimed that the plan to re-open the on-campus Taco Bell was initially introduced at one of the sessions by sophomore senator Paul Gaylor.

“For example, at the last listening session, Paul [Gaylor], had actually brought up Taco Bell, and Sarah [Kelly] talked about it,” he said. “So if you have any concerns, please talk about it there.”

The next student listening session was held March 30. during common hour in Room 206 of the D’Angelo Center. The event was limited to 125 first-year students.