St. John’s traveled to Duke and was handed a 91-61 loss by the second-ranked team in the country last Saturday.
They could’ve used Erick Barkley and some of the players from the 2000 Red Storm team that stunned the Blue Devils 19 years ago.
On Feb. 26, 2000, St. John’s came away with an 83-82 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium against second-ranked Duke, ending the Blue Devils’ 64-game winning streak against unranked opponents.
“We had to damn near be perfect,” Barkley told the Chronicle Monday. “That’s the only way you beat Duke. You’ve got to minimize your mistakes, you have to make shots and of course you have to play defense.”
When asked what he remembered most about the day, Barkely replied, “How loud those kids are.”
He recalled Duke stars Shane Battier, Chris Carrawell and Nate James coming into the St. John’s locker room asking if they wanted the “Cameron Crazies” behind the Red Storm bench to calm down.
“We were like, ‘Yes, man.’ It was crazy,” Barkley said. “That atmosphere down there, it’s just all college basketball.”
There was a revenge factor as Duke had defeated St. John’s in overtime at Madison Square Garden the year before.
“That was just the competitive nature that I had in myself and what I tried to put in my teammates,” Barkley said.
St. John’s handled themselves well in a back-and-forth game in front of a wild crowd and national TV audience.
“The game was a nail-biter but the main thing in that type of environment is to keep your cool,” Barkley said.
The Red Storm led 81-79 when James hit a corner three with 45 seconds remaining to put Duke up 82-81.
At the other end, Bootsy Thornton hit a go-ahead jumper with 13 seconds left to give St. John’s the lead.
Duke had one last chance but Carrawell’s shot was off the mark.
“That was scary,” Barkley said.
“There is no time left,” Jim Nantz said on CBS. “St. John’s has stunned Duke on it’s home floor.”
Billy Packer added, “Excellent college basketball game.”
“We were tough,” Barkley said. “We had one of those teams where we never gave up. We played every possession like it was our last ... it was something we were built for.”
Barkley finished with 14 points, eight assists and three steals in the wild game, which featured 12 lead changes. Thornton had 22 points for the Red Storm.
St. John’s, who had also beaten Syracuse and Connecticut during the week, caught fire and would go on to win the Big East Tournament, still the last conference title for the squad.
Barkley gives credit to head coach Mike Jarvis for keeping the players team-oriented.
“He did a great job by doing that because it was tough, especially with the group that he had with us because everyone had a different personality,” Barkley said.
The 2000 team, with Thornton, Barkley, Lavor Postell, Reggie Jessie and Anthony Glover, is still the last to win an NCAA Tournament game.
Perhaps the current Red Storm can end the 19-year drought but Barkley thinks whether they even make the tournament will come down to the wire.
“I believe they will have to do well in the Big East Tournament,” Barkley said.
The win at Duke has taken on greater significance in the college basketball landscape with each passing year. Duke has now won 147 straight nonconference games at home since that loss in 2000.
Last week, Barkley posted a picture on Facebook of himself celebrating the win, which brought out memories from his friends. Jarvis posted, “One of the greatest days I ever experienced, one I will never forget. Thank you and our incredible Team.”
It will be at least another season that St. John’s gets to say they were the last non-conference team to win at Cameron.
“Just to pull a win out at Duke, it will go down in the history books,” Barkley said. “It will never be forgotten about.”
http://m.qchron.com/mobile/editions...cle_9bcd4760-d97e-578f-b60f-82ffcec2a949.html
They could’ve used Erick Barkley and some of the players from the 2000 Red Storm team that stunned the Blue Devils 19 years ago.
On Feb. 26, 2000, St. John’s came away with an 83-82 win at Cameron Indoor Stadium against second-ranked Duke, ending the Blue Devils’ 64-game winning streak against unranked opponents.
“We had to damn near be perfect,” Barkley told the Chronicle Monday. “That’s the only way you beat Duke. You’ve got to minimize your mistakes, you have to make shots and of course you have to play defense.”
When asked what he remembered most about the day, Barkely replied, “How loud those kids are.”
He recalled Duke stars Shane Battier, Chris Carrawell and Nate James coming into the St. John’s locker room asking if they wanted the “Cameron Crazies” behind the Red Storm bench to calm down.
“We were like, ‘Yes, man.’ It was crazy,” Barkley said. “That atmosphere down there, it’s just all college basketball.”
There was a revenge factor as Duke had defeated St. John’s in overtime at Madison Square Garden the year before.
“That was just the competitive nature that I had in myself and what I tried to put in my teammates,” Barkley said.
St. John’s handled themselves well in a back-and-forth game in front of a wild crowd and national TV audience.
“The game was a nail-biter but the main thing in that type of environment is to keep your cool,” Barkley said.
The Red Storm led 81-79 when James hit a corner three with 45 seconds remaining to put Duke up 82-81.
At the other end, Bootsy Thornton hit a go-ahead jumper with 13 seconds left to give St. John’s the lead.
Duke had one last chance but Carrawell’s shot was off the mark.
“That was scary,” Barkley said.
“There is no time left,” Jim Nantz said on CBS. “St. John’s has stunned Duke on it’s home floor.”
Billy Packer added, “Excellent college basketball game.”
“We were tough,” Barkley said. “We had one of those teams where we never gave up. We played every possession like it was our last ... it was something we were built for.”
Barkley finished with 14 points, eight assists and three steals in the wild game, which featured 12 lead changes. Thornton had 22 points for the Red Storm.
St. John’s, who had also beaten Syracuse and Connecticut during the week, caught fire and would go on to win the Big East Tournament, still the last conference title for the squad.
Barkley gives credit to head coach Mike Jarvis for keeping the players team-oriented.
“He did a great job by doing that because it was tough, especially with the group that he had with us because everyone had a different personality,” Barkley said.
The 2000 team, with Thornton, Barkley, Lavor Postell, Reggie Jessie and Anthony Glover, is still the last to win an NCAA Tournament game.
Perhaps the current Red Storm can end the 19-year drought but Barkley thinks whether they even make the tournament will come down to the wire.
“I believe they will have to do well in the Big East Tournament,” Barkley said.
The win at Duke has taken on greater significance in the college basketball landscape with each passing year. Duke has now won 147 straight nonconference games at home since that loss in 2000.
Last week, Barkley posted a picture on Facebook of himself celebrating the win, which brought out memories from his friends. Jarvis posted, “One of the greatest days I ever experienced, one I will never forget. Thank you and our incredible Team.”
It will be at least another season that St. John’s gets to say they were the last non-conference team to win at Cameron.
“Just to pull a win out at Duke, it will go down in the history books,” Barkley said. “It will never be forgotten about.”
http://m.qchron.com/mobile/editions...cle_9bcd4760-d97e-578f-b60f-82ffcec2a949.html
