2015–16 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

2015–16 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball
2015–16 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	8–24 (1–17 Big East)
Head coach	Chris Mullin (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Barry Rohrssen; Matt Abdelmassih; Greg St. Jean;
Home arena	Carnesecca Arena; Madison Square Garden
	Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 6 Villanova	16	–	2	.889	35	–	5	.875
No. 9 Xavier	14	–	4	.778	28	–	5	.848
No. 20 Seton Hall †	12	–	6	.667	25	–	9	.735
Providence	10	–	8	.556	24	–	11	.686
Butler	10	–	8	.556	22	–	11	.667
Creighton	9	–	9	.500	20	–	15	.571
Marquette	8	–	10	.444	20	–	13	.606
Georgetown	7	–	11	.389	15	–	18	.455
DePaul	3	–	15	.167	9	–	22	.290
St. John's	1	–	17	.056	8	–	24	.250

† 2016 Big East tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2015–16 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represented St. John's University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by alumni and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Chris Mullin in his first year at the school. St. John's home games were played at Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden and was a member of the Big East Conference.

They finished the season with a record of 8–24, 1–17 in Big East play to finish in last place in conference. They lost to Marquette in the first round of the Big East tournament.

Previous season

The Red Storm finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 21–12, 10–8 in Big East play to finish in fifth place in conference. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament to Providence. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the second round to San Diego State.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Jamal Branch	0	G	6'3"	169	Senior	Kansas City, Missouri	Graduated
Phil Greene	1	G	6'2"	187	Senior	Chicago, Illinois	Graduated
Myles Stewart	2	G	6'5"	180	Freshman	Los Angeles, California	Transferred to Arizona State
D'Angelo Harrison	11	G	6'4"	202	Senior	Missouri City, Texas	Graduated
Chris Obekpa	12	F/C	6'10"	236	Junior	Makurdi, Nigeria	Transferred to UNLV
Sir'Dominic Pointer	15	G/F	6'5"	192	Senior	Detroit, Michigan	Graduated Drafted in 2015 NBA draft
Jay Henderson	22	G	6'5"	180	Freshman	Orlando, Florida	Transferred to Louisville
Rysheed Jordan	23	G	6'4"	193	Sophomore	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Drafted in 2015 NBA Development League Draft
Adonis De La Rosa	31	C	7'0"	322	Freshman	Bronx, New York	Transferred to Williston State
Joey De La Rosa	34	C	6'11"	249	Senior	Bronx, New York	Transferred to LU–Belleville
Khadim Ndiaye	35	F	6'6"	195	Senior	Queens, New York	Graduated

2015 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Marcus LoVett Jr. PG	Fort Wayne, ID	Morgan Park High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	May 21, 2015
Marcus LoVett Jr. PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 80
Kassoum Yakwe PF	Bamako, Mali	Our Savior New American (N.Y)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Aug 23, 2015
Kassoum Yakwe PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 80
Yankuba Sima C	Girona, Spain	Elev8 Sports Institute	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Apr 13, 2015
Yankuba Sima C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79
Malik Ellison SG	Voorhees, NJ	Life Center Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	May 1, 2015
Malik Ellison SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 77
Federico Mussini PG	Reggio Emilia, Italy	Liceo Scientifico Aldo Moro	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jun 29, 2015
Federico Mussini PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Transfer additions

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Durand Johnson	G/F	6'6"	210	Graduate student	Baltimore, Maryland	grad student transfer from Pittsburgh (1 yr immediate eligibility)
Ron Mvouika	G	6'6"	210	Graduate student	Paris, France	grad student transfer from Missouri State (1 yr immediate eligibility)
Tariq Owens	F	6'11"	190	Sophomore	Odenton, MD	transfer from Tennessee (3 yr eligibility remaining)
Darien Williams	F	6'8"	225	Junior	Cerritos, California	junior college transfer from City College of San Francisco (2 yrs immediate eligibility)

2016 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Shamorie Ponds PG	Brooklyn, NY	Thomas Jefferson High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 29, 2015
Shamorie Ponds PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 88
Richard Freudenberg SF	Munich, Germany	Bayern Munich	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Feb 4, 2016
Richard Freudenberg SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2015–16 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Malik Ellison	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Life Center Academy	Voorhees, NJ
F	1	Amar Alibegović	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	So	Istituto Tecnico Minerva	Rome, Italy
F	2	Christian Jones	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	RS Jr	IMG Academy	Arlington, TX
G	3	Marcus LoVett Jr. (I)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Morgan Park	Fort Wayne, IN
G	4	Federico Mussini	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Liceo Scientifico Aldo Moro	Reggio Emilia, Italy
G/F	5	Durand Johnson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	GS	Brewster Academy Pittsburgh	Baltimore, MD
G	10	Felix Balamou	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Our Savior New American School	Conakry, Guinea
F	11	Tariq Owens	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Mount Zion Prep Tennessee	Odenton, MD
G	12	Elijah Holifield (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Pace Academy	Atlanta, GA
F	14	Kassoum Yakwe	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Our Savior New American School	Bamako, Mali
G	23	Abdul Dial (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Cardinal Newman	West Palm Beach, Fla.
G/F	24	Ron Mvouika	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	GS	Huntington Prep Missouri State	Paris, France
C	35	Yankuba Sima	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Elev8 Sports Institute	Girona, Spain
F	45	Darien Williams	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	St. John Bosco City College of San Francisco	Cerritos, CA

Head coach

Chris Mullin (St. John's)

Assistant coach(es)

Barry Rohrssen
Matt Abdelmassih
Greg St. Jean
Mitch Richmond (special asst.)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2015* 7:00 pm	St. Thomas Aquinas	L 58–90		16 – Mussini	11 – Jones	3 – Tied	Carnesecca Arena (4,058) Queens, NY
Nov 7, 2015* 4:00 pm	Sonoma State	W 64–46		16 – Sima	16 – Sima	1 – Tied	Carnesecca Arena (3,902) Queens, NY
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015* 6:00 pm, FS1	Wagner	W 66–57	1–0	18 – Mussini	8 – Tied	3 – Tied	Carnesecca Arena (4,677) Queens, NY
Nov 16, 2015* 7:00 pm, FS1	UMBC Maui Invitational opening round	W 75–53	2–0	18 – Mussini	9 – Sima	6 – Mussini	Carnesecca Arena (4,098) Queens, NY
Nov 19, 2015* 7:00 pm, FS1	Rutgers Gavitt Tipoff Games	W 61–59	3–0	13 – Tied	11 – Balamou	7 – Balamou	Carnesecca Arena (4,540) Queens, NY
Nov 23, 2015* 2:30 pm, ESPN2	vs. No. 19 Vanderbilt Maui Invitational quarterfinals	L 55–92	3–1	14 – Mussini	5 – Jones	2 – Mussini	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI
Nov 24, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN2	vs. No. 13 Indiana Maui Invitational consolation second round	L 73–83	3–2	17 – Tied	7 – Sima	4 – Balamou	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI
Nov 25, 2015* 2:30 pm, ESPNU	vs. Chaminade Maui Invitational 7th place game	W 100–93	4–2	24 – Mussini	11 – Jones	6 – Mussini	Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI
Dec 2, 2015* 7:00 pm	at Fordham	L 57–73	4–3	14 – Balamou	5 – Tied	5 – Balamou	Rose Hill Gymnasium (3,068) Bronx, NY
Dec 6, 2015* 11 am, FS1	St. Francis Brooklyn Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival	W 63–56	5–3	19 – Johnson	10 – Sima	6 – Mussini	Madison Square Garden (7,196) New York City, NY
Dec 9, 2015* 5:00 pm, FS1	Niagara	W 48–44	6–3	11 – Mussini	8 – Mvouika	4 – Balamou	Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY
Dec 13, 2015* 12:00 pm, FS1	Syracuse	W 84–72	7–3	17 – Mussini	9 – Alibegovic	5 – Mvouika	Madison Square Garden (13,473) New York City, NY
Dec 18, 2015* 7:00 pm, FS1	Incarnate Word	L 51–73	7–4	15 – Johnson	6 – Johnson	3 – Tied	Carnesecca Arena (4,120) Queens, NY
Dec 20, 2015* 12:00 pm, FS1	NJIT	L 74–83	7–5	20 – Mussini	14 – Sima	4 – Mvouika	Carnesecca Arena (4,414) Queens, NY
Dec 22, 2015* 9:00 pm, CBSSN	vs. No. 25 South Carolina Hall of Fame Shootout	L 61–75	7–6	16 – Johnson	5 – Johnson	3 – Mussini	Mohegan Sun Arena (2,355) Uncasville, CT
Big East regular season
Dec 31, 2015 2:00 pm, FS1	Creighton	L 70–80	7–7 (0–1)	17 – Ellison	9 – Jones	5 – Balamou	Carnesecca Arena (4,633) Queens, NY
Jan 2, 2016 3:30 pm, FS1	at No. 12 Providence Big East New Year's Marathon	L 65–83	7–8 (0–2)	14 – Sima	8 – Sima	3 – Balamou	Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,410) Providence, RI
Jan 6, 2016 9:00 pm, FS1	No. 10 Xavier	L 66–74	7–9 (0–3)	19 – Tied	5 – Tied	3 – Johnson	Carnesecca Arena (4,168) Queens, NY
Jan 9, 2016 2:00 pm, FSN	at Marquette	L 75–81	7–10 (0–4)	18 – Johnson	11 – Yakwe	5 – Mvouika	BMO Harris Bradley Center (13,468) Milwaukee, WI
Jan 13, 2016 6:30 pm, FS1	Georgetown	L 73–93	7–11 (0–5)	15 – Mvouika	8 – Yakwe	4 – Mussini	Madison Square Garden (7,837) New York City, NY
Jan 16, 2016 12:00 pm, FS1	at No. 23 Butler	L 58–78	7–12 (0–6)	14 – Mussini	8 – Yakwe	2 – Tied	Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,144) Indianapolis, IN
Jan 24, 2016 3:45 pm, CBSSN	Marquette	L 73–78	7–13 (0–7)	20 – Johnson	8 – Yakwe	3 – Tied	Carnesecca Arena (1,032) Queens, NY
Jan 27, 2016 7:00 pm, FS1	at Seton Hall	L 60–79	7–14 (0–8)	15 – Jones	10 – Yakwe	6 – Ellison	Prudential Center (6,767) Newark, NJ
Jan 31, 2016 12:00 pm, FOX	No. 6 Villanova	L 53–68	7–15 (0–9)	13 – Johnson	10 – Mvouika	6 – Mvouika	Madison Square Garden (12,713) New York City, NY
Feb 3, 2016 6:30 pm, FS1	at No. 6 Xavier	L 83–90	7–16 (0–10)	20 – Balamou	7 – Yakwe	3 – Tied	Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH
Feb 6, 2016 4:30 pm, FSN	Butler	L 56–89	7–17 (0–11)	11 – Yakwe	5 – Sima	3 – Sima	Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY
Feb 8, 2016 7:00 pm, FS1	at Georgetown	L 67–92	7–18 (0–12)	14 – Jones	9 – Jones	3 – Ellison	Verizon Center (5,369) Washington, D.C.
Feb 13, 2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN	at No. 1 Villanova	L 63–73	7–19 (0–13)	18 – Alibegovic	6 – Alibegovic	5 – Ellison	Wells Fargo Center (18,052) Philadelphia, PA
Feb 17, 2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN	DePaul	W 80–65	8–19 (1–13)	18 – Johnson	11 – Yakwe	5 – Balamou	Carnesecca Arena (5,010) Queens, NY
Feb 21, 2016 12:00 pm, FS1	Seton Hall	L 61–62	8–20 (1–14)	16 – Yakwe	15 – Yakwe	3 – Ellison	Madison Square Garden (13,204) New York City, NY
Feb 25, 2016 9:00 pm, FS1	at DePaul	L 75–83	8–21 (1–15)	20 – Mvouika	6 – Tied	7 – Balamou	Allstate Arena (4,817) Rosemont, IL
Feb 28, 2016 2:30 pm, FS1	at Creighton	L 59–100	8–22 (1–16)	17 – Jones	6 – Johnson	4 – Tied	CenturyLink Center (17,351) Omaha, NE
Mar 5, 2016 12:30 pm, FS1	Providence	L 76–90	8–23 (1–17)	15 – Johnson	12 – Jones	5 – Tied	Madison Square Garden (10,079) New York City, NY
Big East tournament
Mar 9, 2016 9:30 pm, FS1	vs. Marquette First round	L 93–101	8–24	29 – Jones	7 – Jones	5 – Ellison	Madison Square Garden (12,604) New York City, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.