Mullin won the Wooden award in 1985.
Soriano and St. John’s Big Men
- Thread starter MattyHoops
- Start date
Hence, the only "other" one...
Sorry missed that.
No worries...
As do I with yours, it was “easily” I was commenting on, not any knock on Berry or your opinion. And just a personal viewpoint, and because I am a contrarian by nature
, I give no credence to subjective awards, mostly because there is no way any voter can see enough players, any sport, any award, for them to have any meaning to me. What I would agree on is that it is confirmation that Berry had a great year, but so do multiple players in any given year.To add, for me, it would be Mullin, Mel Davis and then Berry in the group for the 3rd slot; and all would have to have been players I saw play, so it very well may be him. Off the top of me head, may be between He, Artest and Sonny Dove but I would have to think back to see if there is anyone else I would put in the mix.
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I really enjoyed reading every post about Walter Berry. Let’s get the absolutes out of the way first .
In my opinion , Walter is second only to Chris Mullin as the best SJU BB player ever in my 65 years of watching Redmen Basketball .
A few comments , that don’t repeat all the accolades already posted about the Truth . Deserving as he was for all of them .
In the 1985 Final 4 game vs G’Town , I thought Louie , Mahoney , Rutledge all erred in not reacting well to the box and 1 on Mullin . Berry could not be contained by any of the Hoya defenders including Ewing, and I felt they made a mistake in not getting the ball to Berry on nearly every possession . Berry could have gotten Ewing in foul trouble very easily and the Hoyas would have had to abandon the box and 1 on Mullin .
Would it have changed that game ? Maybe it would have .
And , we would have been in the Championship game vs Nova , a team we beat 3 times that year
Next , the Auburn game . I don’t think it was so much Chuck Person as much as it was the Refs who called a awful game . With the objective to get Berry in foul trouble . Instead of giving him the respect of being College Player of the Year , they seemed interested in putting him on the Bench .
And , as others have said, Walter was hobbled a bit by a bum Ankle .
I don’t know if it had any effect on his ankle but , I seem to remember they had to teach Walter how to run better , up and down the Court .
Some of you may remember he had a funny stride and gait . I don’t know if it was a childhood injury or what , but he wasn’t getting his foot down squarely when he ran . I think the Spurs got that fixed ? I’m guessing here a bit .
I also disagree that Walter wouldn’t have had a great NBA career , despite the nay sayers .
The Truth had a unconventional game and skill set , which was tough to defend . Very tough ..
One thing I never knew is how did Walter get the moniker “ The Truth?”
Anyone know?
Happy New Year everyone .
In my opinion , Walter is second only to Chris Mullin as the best SJU BB player ever in my 65 years of watching Redmen Basketball .
A few comments , that don’t repeat all the accolades already posted about the Truth . Deserving as he was for all of them .
In the 1985 Final 4 game vs G’Town , I thought Louie , Mahoney , Rutledge all erred in not reacting well to the box and 1 on Mullin . Berry could not be contained by any of the Hoya defenders including Ewing, and I felt they made a mistake in not getting the ball to Berry on nearly every possession . Berry could have gotten Ewing in foul trouble very easily and the Hoyas would have had to abandon the box and 1 on Mullin .
Would it have changed that game ? Maybe it would have .
And , we would have been in the Championship game vs Nova , a team we beat 3 times that year
Next , the Auburn game . I don’t think it was so much Chuck Person as much as it was the Refs who called a awful game . With the objective to get Berry in foul trouble . Instead of giving him the respect of being College Player of the Year , they seemed interested in putting him on the Bench .
And , as others have said, Walter was hobbled a bit by a bum Ankle .
I don’t know if it had any effect on his ankle but , I seem to remember they had to teach Walter how to run better , up and down the Court .
Some of you may remember he had a funny stride and gait . I don’t know if it was a childhood injury or what , but he wasn’t getting his foot down squarely when he ran . I think the Spurs got that fixed ? I’m guessing here a bit .
I also disagree that Walter wouldn’t have had a great NBA career , despite the nay sayers .
The Truth had a unconventional game and skill set , which was tough to defend . Very tough ..
One thing I never knew is how did Walter get the moniker “ The Truth?”
Anyone know?
Happy New Year everyone .
Youa re right, many great players wore our uniform, and these lists are always subjective (and jaded by who we saw or did not see). I often have amusing arguments with my son and nephews about the merits of players form other eras versus the current crop. StJ has an illustrious history, (hopefully we can get some of the luster back going forward).As do I with yours, it was “easily” I was commenting on, not any knock on Berry or your opinion. And just a personal viewpoint, and because I am a contrarian by nature
To add, for me, it would be Mullin, Mel Davis and then Berry in the group for the 3rd slot; and all would have to have been players I saw play, so it very well may be him. Off the top of me head, may be between He, Artest and Sonny Dove but I would have to think back to see if there is anyone else I would put in the mix.
Great points. If I recall correctly (others will be able to better recollect and confirm), The Truth was the monicker that the other players at Rucker or other city playgrounds gave to him, because his game was, well... THE TRUTH on the court.
Thanks RMW. Now I know how the Truth became the The Truth .
I don’t know , since I’m in SCarolina but , if it hasn’t happened already under the RP regime , but the School should invite Walter to a Game , maybe even at the Garden and give him a Special Introduction .
It’s too bad , we didn’t have Berry for , at least , 3 full years .
Thanks to you and Gonzalo for reminding us of the humanity of our alumni athletes. Merry Christmas, Sterling.
The first game I took my sons to at MSG was the NIT semifinal against the University of St. Louis in 1989. We won and a freshman named Malik Sealy was a standout.
Yes it was his nickname from NYC playgrounds. I played with a guy who claimed he was there the day it was coined, primarily based on Walter himself after one dominant display telling others that on the court, he stood for Truth, Justice and something that over time became lost to history but was not the American way. Not sure how reliable this story is but this is what I was told !
I am pretty sure Newsman wrote a beautiful post many years ago about how he went to visit Bob Z in a home where he was living prior to his death. This was the period when Norm was coach. More than demonstrated what a great guy Newsman was and is.
As for the final 4 game perhaps Jackson should have started over Moses, perhaps Shelton Jones should have started over Willie Glass, perhaps Chris Mullin should have been prepared and ready to play the most important game of his career, perhaps Louie should have had a different game plan.
Berry wasn’t hobbled against Auburn , he had a severe ankle sprain. Had it not been the NCAA tournament he would not have played. As others pointed out Person and Morris were really on their game that afternoon while the National Player of the Year was at best 50% and we had next to no bench. A fantastic coaching job that season by Lou who got the absolute best of the thin lineup he had.
Walter’s ineligiility in 83-84 hurt SJU that season but also in 84-85 He was a very good player in 84-85 but was a great player in 85-86. Mullin and Wennington were gone in 85-86 and Walter assumed more offensive responsibilities but he was an improved player that year,among the best in college.
I often wondered had he been allowed to play at SJU in83-84 and got that experience would his improvement coming in to 84-85 resulted in a national championship?
I often wondered had he been allowed to play at SJU in83-84 and got that experience would his improvement coming in to 84-85 resulted in a national championship?
What makes you think Mullin wasn’t prepared, because he was double teamed by the premier defensive team in the country every time he touched the ball?
What compounded the failure to address the box-and-one defense is the fact that it was the 3rd time they employed it
Less than 48 hours vs Auburn, Walter rolled his ankle in our first round matchup against Montana State. He remained in the game but clearly was hampered.
One month earlier at home against BC, Walter severely sprained his ankle in the first half. He did not return to that game, but 2 days later on Big Monday at the Capital Centre, the Truth led all scorers with 22 points in the win vs the Hoyas. Maybe our esteemed poster @Alumni Hall can confirm it was the very same ankle. I believe it was.
With all of this talk about Walter Berry, it makes me think of the fact that I don't believe I've ever seen him around our program over the past two decades. We've seen tons of former players come back and spend time around the program, but I can't recall seeing Walter often, if at all. Anyone know why this is?
carmineabbatiello
Well-known member
A Berry autograph is a revered, central piece in the Abbatielo sports memorabilia collection in the den.