St. John's Players Threaten Revolt

St. John's coach Norm Roberts has had "embattled" in front of his name for at least the past two years. He was hired after St. John's had been wracked with scandal and players being dismissed or leaving. The problem is that in his fifth year in charge little has changed. The crowds for home games have gotten smaller and increasingly hostile.

The president and athletic director at St. John's have only given vague endorsements of Roberts, and because of St. John's rich hoops history -- not to mention it being located in New York City -- rumors abound about Roberts' future. But Roberts can at least take solace in the fact that the players still back him.

The players, in fact, took the fight to the press. They let the media know that if Roberts gets fired, many of them will follow out the door.

If Norm Roberts is not retained as St. John's coach next season, that decision likely will trigger a mass exodus of players, The Post has learned.

"Paris [Horne] and I were just talking about that not too long ago," forward D.J. Kennedy told The Post. "He said he heard some people talking about Norm, his situation, and we know it's up to us. If we can win some big games down the stretch that will help him keep his job, and that's what we want."

Paris Horne and D.J. Kennedy are the leading scorers on the team and Kennedy is also the team's leading rebounder. Losing them, as well as possibly fellow sophomore Rob Thomas, would be a major setback.

Part of the problem, though, has been that St. John's has yet to build any depth to get past the rebuilding stage. Some of that is just bad luck with big injuries every year -- including Anthony Mason, Jr. this season -- but there have been a lot of transfers out of the program. That issue is on the coaching staff that brought them in.

The one thing that could guarantee the return of Roberts would be in recruiting. The Red Storm has as good of a chance as anyone of landing Lance Stephenson. Stephenson is one of the top recruits in the country and a local product. Roberts has repaired the relationships with NYC high schools and AAU coaches that were shredded by Mike Jarvis. Getting Stephenson, even if he is a one-and-done player, would be huge, and would guarantee Roberts another year, to the delight of his current players.