NEW YORK — The weeks of talk about whether coach Norm Roberts would return to St. John’s ended Friday: He was fired after six seasons with the Red Storm — only two of them with a winning record.
“To say it was a difficult decision would be to minimize it,” St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch said. “Norm took over a program that was at a low point and at a time when there was a minimal amount of Big East level talent. Norm has restored integrity to our basketball program.”
But he didn’t win enough.
The Red Storm lost to Memphis in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday to finish the season at 17-16, giving Roberts an 81-101 record with the school. St. John’s has not been in the NCAA Tournament since 2002. St. John’s returns all five starters and 94 percent of the scoring from last season’s team.
Roberts took over at St. John’s when it was coming off a 6-21 season under Mike Jarvis and interim coach Kevin Clark that was marred by off-court issues that resulted in probation.
Roberts said he would “take a couple of deep breaths. . . . I’ll try to relax a little and enjoy my family. My older son turned 18 on March 12, and because of it being the end of the season, I barely said ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.”
Wyoming tops Nevada
LARAMIE — Aubrey Vandiver scored 22 points and Hillary Carlson tallied 14 of her 19 points in the second half as Wyoming pulled away from Nevada for a 74-53 victory in the opening round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
The Cowgirls (20-11) next face Texas Tech (18-14) on Tuesday in Laramie. The Lady Raiders beat Houston 80-77.
Life without Riley
TEMPE, Ariz. — An ill-advised slap to the back of an opponent’s head two years ago has become a major pain in the neck for Oklahoma State.
The Cowgirls will play Chattanooga tonight without Andrea Riley, the nation’s third- leading scorer.
Riley, who averages 26.6 points a game, is suspended for the opener for the slap to the head of LSU’s Erica White in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA delayed the suspension until Oklahoma State made it back to the tournament after missing out last season.
Coach Kurt Budke complained that Riley, a senior, is a far different person from she was two years ago.
“My wife said the other day it’s like having a 14-year-old make a mistake and telling them they can’t drive a car when they turn 16 because of that 2-year-old mistake,” he said.
