Soriano and St. John’s Big Men

room112 said:
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?
Click to expand...
I’ve seen photos of Walter at some events. I’m sure some posters closer to the program can provide details.

Walter also completed his degree at SJU back in 2010. Same class as Anthony Mason Jr. (Norm’s final season. Too bad he couldn’t use his final year of eligibility. 😀

galleries

St. John's Universityâ?<sup>TM</sup>s 140th Commencement Exercises, May 16, 2010: Walter Berry., 1986 National Player Of The Year Walter Berry Among STJ Grads At 140th Commencement
redstormsports.com redstormsports.com
 
room112 said:
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?
Click to expand...
Very good question . Maybe RP can get him to attend something ?

Walter , come around and see the love the old timers have for you . One of our All Time Greats .

I recall Walter at the foul line in the 1986 BE Final Vs Syracuse . I think we were down 1 or tied when Berry went to the line .
Pearl Washington brushed past him as he was ready to shoot and I’m sure the Pearl didn’t say , “ make both , Truth.”

But , Berry did and then blocked Pearl’s drive after the Rowan shot .
 
room112 said:
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?
Click to expand...
I know he was at the Mullin introductory press conference at Carnesecca.
 
IDRAFT said:
I know he was at the Mullin introductory press conference at Carnesecca.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure he was at a game at Carnesecca a few years ago when there was a Walter Berry bobble head give away. My memory isn't always great but I think I recall that he was at the game and stood up and waved to the fans during a time out.
 
espken said:
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.
Click to expand...
Yes it was the same ankle.
Quick Walter story, he twisted his ankle in a Saturday game at Alumni Hall. Was not that bad but our team MD asked me to put Walter on crutches . The next day we had a press conference prior to the infamous Georgetown game in our training room. The place is packed with press and Walter is already there as he just received treatment. Most of the press are already writing him off for the game. As soon as the press conference is done and all left the training room, Walter hands me back the crutches and says “I don’t need these dumb things” and walks out perfectly fine. We board the bus and head to Landover. He practiced fine the next day and then helps the Redmen to one of our greatest victories.

In that Auburn game, Chuck “the Rifleman” Person was really miffed that Berry won the Player of the Year award. So the game starts, Walter at 75% could not guard him, Person runs past our bench and tells our Coaches “better take out Berry, I’m making your boy look bad”. So they put Willie Glass on him, that didn’t work, then they tried Shelton Jones and Person says to Lou “that won’t work either” after he sunk another bomb on us. So then Ron Rowan asked to be put on him, and he really muscled Person away from the basket and at least slowed him down. Losing that Auburn game felt like losing that ‘83 game to Georgia all over again in the NCAA’s.
 
espken said:
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.
Click to expand...

Our great 86 team was worn down by then. Those starters played almost 40 mins a night for the entire season. There was hardly a bench to go to.
 
Alumni Hall said:
Yes it was the same ankle.
Quick Walter story, he twisted his ankle in a Saturday game at Alumni Hall. Was not that bad but our team MD asked me to put Walter on crutches . The next day we had a press conference prior to the infamous Georgetown game in our training room. The place is packed with press and Walter is already there as he just received treatment. Most of the press are already writing him off for the game. As soon as the press conference is done and all left the training room, Walter hands me back the crutches and says “I don’t need these dumb things” and walks out perfectly fine. We board the bus and head to Landover. He practiced fine the next day and then helps the Redmen to one of our greatest victories.
Click to expand...

I remember seeing highlights of our win versus Boston College and hearing Berry twisted his ankle and didn't return. I was nervous as heck wondering if he'd suit up against Georgetown as it was a quick turnaround (we played BC on a Saturday and would play the Hoyas on Monday). I had an older brother and several friends in school who were Hoya fans and losing to them was unacceptable, lol. Of course, I didn't want the Johnnies to lose to anyone, but I DID NOT want us to lose to Georgetown (which we didn't in our second matchup with them I'm '85-'86 to complete the season sweep).
 
lycidas said:
I taught in the College Acceptance Program at St. John’s for over 30 years. It was a legitimate program, an academic boot camp for kids who were victims of badly failing NYC public schools. The program was instituted as an answer to other colleges beginning open enrollment in an attempt to maintain academic standards at St. John’s.

St. John’s did not initiate the program for Walter Berry, but I did teach him when he went through it (along with Ronnie Plair, Johnny Franco, Jason Williams and a few thousand other students).

Walter’s high school transcript was a mess, largely because he attended five different public high schools, where he was exploited for his basketball ability. He once told me that he told a coach, I’ve got to leave to get to a class and was told to get his ass back into the gym where it belonged.

Walter was a willing and capable student in CAP who did everything he had to to legitimately qualify for entrance to St. John’s. After an NBA career that was curtailed because of his unwillingness to adjust to rookie hazing, he went on to a long and very successful career playing professionally in Europe. He remains one of the best to ever play for St. John’s and a National Player of the Year.
Click to expand...
Also back then, SJU had a 2 year degree program in the St. Vincent’s college, which Walter was originally enrolled in. Students enrolled in that program were ineligible for NCAA sports. So one day, I get called into a meeting where SJU was looking into starting an athletics program for those 2 yr students just to keep Berry enrolled. They were going to compete against all the other local JC programs like Queensboro, Nassau, Suffolk. Their plan was to have asst coaches coach those teams and Rutledge was going to coach the SJ JC hoops team. They were going to sponsor hoops, baseball and soccer and a few women’s teams. For practical reasons (lack of facilities and financially) we didn’t think we could pull it off. But the NCAA also got wind of this and informed SJU of the rule that a 4 year institution could not sponsor both 2 yr and 4 yr athletic teams. That would have given us a huge advantage which the other Big East schools bitched about. We could keep the 2 yr academic programs (which were the same exact classes. I taught the sports med class and we did not know who was a 2 yr or 4 yr student, and yes Walter was in my class). So when we took the NCAA to court, our previous University attorney Herb Swartzman declared “we will take down the NCAA”. Well that didn’t happen and Walter took the next plane to San Jacinto.
 
As has already been stated in this thread, Walter earned 30 undergraduate credits at St. John’s in addition to 30 at San Jacinto before playing for us.

It’s already been pointed out that he received his degree from St. John’s in 2010, in a graduating group that included Anthony Mason Jr.
 
Correct you are again, thank g d for that late night meeting at the diner where Rutledge tilted the scales once again in our favour before signing day.

I remember doing summer school after work at night during the summer of 1982. And I had previously read about the NY State player of the year who attending Benjamin Franklin High but lacked the grades to get into college. And there was Coach Rutledge standing around at 9 pm each evening talking to a very tall slim young man. One day I went to ask him who he was talking to and he said Walter Berry, he was surprised I knew who he was.

Berry’s recruitment was exceptionally long. 81-82, his senior year of high school, 82-83 he was a student at SJU as described by Alumni Hall, and while he was a student that year he was given a great deal of attention by Rutledge to ensure he was comfortable and succeeding in the classroom. September 83 it started all again when he had to go to San Jacinto, and while we had a great team that year as others have pointed out Rutledge had to go back and forth to San Jacinto.

An amazing recruiting job by Coach Rutledge.
 
Last edited:
redmannorth said:
Correct you are again, thank g d for that late night meeting at the diner where Rutledge tilted the scales once again in our favour before signing day.
I remember doing summer school after work at night during the summer of 1982. And I had previously read about the NY State player of the year who attending Benjamin Franklin High but lacked the grades to get into college. And there was Coach Rutledge standing around at 9 pm each evening talking to a very tall slim young man. One day I went to ask him who he was talking to and he said Walter Berry, he was surprised I knew who he was.
Berry’s recruitment was exceptionally long. 81-82, his senior year of high school, 82-83 he was a student at SJU as described by Alumni Hall, and while he was a student that year he was given a great deal of attention by Rutledge to ensure he was comfortable and succeeding in the classroom. September 83 it started all again when he had to go to San Jacinto, and while we had a great team that year as others have pointed out Rutledge had to go back and forth to San Jacinto.
An amazing recruiting job by Coach Rutledge.
Click to expand...
There is a crazy story that Berry told with a knock on his hotel door and a bag filled with cash. (Not sju). He opened the bag, laid on his bed tossing the bills in the air and rejoicing. "I'm rich!! I'm rich!!!" Then the phone rang. Berry answered and the voice on the other end identified himself as an ncaa official, and he was caught and his career would be over if he didn't return the money immediately. In a panic, Berry called the bag giver and returned the cash. He chose st. Johns.

Years later, Berry found out the caller wasn't from the ncaa, but from someone who became a very close friend.

Guess who. I won't say yes or no. But i did hear Berry tell this story.
 
redmannorth said:
Correct you are again, thank g d for that late night meeting at the diner where Rutledge tilted the scales once again in our favour before signing day.
I remember doing summer school after work at night during the summer of 1982. And I had previously read about the NY State player of the year who attending iBenjamin Franklin High but lacked the grades to get into college. And there was Coach Rutledge standing around at 9 pm each evening talking to a very tall slim young man. One day I went to ask him who he was talking to and he said Walter Berry, he was surprised I knew who he was.
Berry’s recruitment was exceptionally long. 81-82, his senior year of high school, 82-83 he was a student at SJU as described by Alumni Hall, and while he was a student that year he was given a great deal of attention by Rutledge to ensure he was comfortable and succeeding in the classroom. September 83 it started all again when he had to go to San Jacinto, and while we had a great team that year as others have pointed out Rutledge had to
Click to expand...
 
Attention Kranmars , a Colleague has slipped here on Paragraphing . He’s a Moderator and above my pay grade .

Can you bring him back into Compliance ? Gently and without a heavy hand ?
 
It was actually poor spacing on his paragraphs that led them to run on as if they weren’t paragraphs .

I think he can easily correct with just a nod and a wink .

Happy New Year . Let’s go Redmen .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top