Ed Cooley began his press conference enthusiastic about the opportunity to play at the Garden again.
Then Georgetown was told he might not be able to play there next year.
He didn’t seem too keen on it.
St. John’s is scheduled to play a league game at Carnesecca Arena on January 5, 2025, the 100th anniversary of Lou Carnesecca’s birth.
Coach Rick Pitino floated the idea of playing with the University of Connecticut, but the idea was rejected by the Big East. He cited Georgetown and Villanova as other possibilities.
“I’m going to do it on schedule. [do]” Cooley said after the Johnnys defeated Georgetown 86-78 in the teams’ final regular-season game at MSG. “I was born and raised in the Big East, it’s what I love and adore. If I have to play the game there, I’ll play the game. I’ll always respect Coach Carnesecca. ”
Cooley said he attended two St. John’s games in recent weeks and was impressed by what he saw, both of which were narrow wins for the Red Storm.
“They’re playing their best basketball down the stretch, and their coach is [Rick] Pitino did a great job of rallying his guys,” Cooley said. “There are several teams throughout the league.” [NCAA] It’s a tournament team and obviously they’re definitely a part of it. ”
St. John’s (19-12, 11-9) is firmly on the bubble and may need to win a game in next week’s Big East Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
St. John’s welcomed junior five-star wing Joeson Sannon from Vermont Academy for Saturday’s game. He is working to set up an official visit with Sanon, who recently visited Providence and Kentucky.
As part of Senior Day, Sean Conway started and went scoreless in eight minutes. …Chris Ledlum scored 14 points, marking the second time this year he has scored in double digits in three straight games.
