It was a magical year for St. John's. This is the first season of many.
The first Big East regular season title since 1985.
A trip to the first 25-win season and Big East Tournament Championship Game since 2000.
Johnny was the first Big East Player of the Year honor since 1986.
Zach Braziler of the post counts down his top five favorite moments:
November 22nd: Fans have Egiofort's back
The night before, Zuby Ejiofor missed two free throws in 4.1 seconds in double overtime that allowed Baylor's Jeremy Roach to beat St. John's with Buzzer.
It was crushed as much as it would have lost in November.
Egiofor took it very hard and smashed the court like he sacrificed St. John's season.
The following night at the Bahamas Tournament, the strong conditions for Red Storm fans were there for Egiofort.
Previously, after a one-sided victory over Virginia, they chanted his name.
It was a heartwarming moment.
“Sometimes, when you're in a place just for a year, you're looking for something you like about the place and since I'm here tonight I've found something I like about St. John's,” director Rick Pipeno said that night.
December 7th: Games after Carnesecca dies
The sad week ended with a celebration.
On November 30th, Lucarnecca passed away at the age of 99.
A week later, St. John's praised him with a Kansas 17-point paste in an arena named after the Hall of Fame coach.
Pitino wore a tailor sweater similar to what Carnesecca is known to him, and his players performed like one of Carnesecca's teams.
The sold-out crowd included Felipe Lopez and Walter Berry, with Egiofort exploding with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
“I don't think I'd forgive myself if I lost this game,” Pitino said. “It was really important to get Lou win.”
December 20th: Ejiofor defeats Providence with a buzzer
This was the first real sign that this team was unique.
It was flattened at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, the terrifying home of this program.
St. John's escaped from the floor and dragged 16 points in the first half.
At Halftime, Pitino was lit up by the team, as shown in Vice TV Docuseries “Pitino: Red Storm Rising.”
“Digit and become a basketball player. Dig! Every time you miss a shot, the game shrinks. We don't mind the shot you missed. Play F-King Defense!” he barged during the clip that went viral.
Johnny came back the whole time and won it with Egiofort's offensive rebound, followed by Horn.
This will be the first of two buzzer barters that beat Marquette on the final day of the regular season.
February 7: Johnny stunned Connecticut with Gumpell
The start felt like an old St. John's.
Overwhelmed by two-time defending champions at the sold-out Gumpel Pavilion, he lost 14 points.
But these Johnny once again proved they were different and rallyed with that big early deficit to win in front of the fans at UConn Arena for the first time in 25 years.
RJ Luis Jr. was a star, icing the game with a baseline jump shot, pushing the lead to four with 11 seconds left.
It felt like the Torch had passed away in Big East this season. Last year's dominant team lost to this year's version.
It concluded a huge week. This included a home victory over Marquette, who was ranked 11th at the time.
March 12: Lewis won the Player of the Year Award
Lewis joined Walter Berry and Chris Marin as the only Johnny to win Big East Player of the Year honors.
Check out the latest Big East rankings and cents. John's statistics
During the speech, Lewis shed tears and turned to his mother, Maria, who was the first to start crying.
It was an emotional moment for the 6-foot-7 star junior who worked on a terrible shin splint a year ago.
Last season, he was limited due to a leg injury, but returned another player after surgery. It was even more explosive than before his injury.
“Crying to the doctor [Martin] O'Malley, he gave me a new foot,” Lewis joked after winning the award.
