The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

New York Post: Roberts will not be retained by St. John’s

The New York Post is reporting that St. John’s will not retain head basketball coach Norm Roberts, according to sources high in the athletic department, the board of trustees, and in the booster sector.

“He has as much as integrity as anyone I’ve known,” one source told the Post. “He is as classy as anyone I’ve ever known. That’s what makes this so hard.”

Roberts lost his 100th game yesterday in the second round of the Big East tournament, a 57-55 defeat at the hands of Marquette. Despite winning 17 games this season – the most in a season during the Roberts era – it is likely that St. John’s would not reach the NIT tournament, therefore not reaching a postseason tournament in each season under Roberts.

According to the Post, Roberts’ buyout will likely be in the range of $700,000-$800,000. Roberts’ agent Dennis Coleman interrupted a phone conversation with the Post to take a call from one of his college basketball-coaching clients, then did not return phone calls or texts.

The Post also reported that Virginia Tech Head Coach Seth Greenberg – a two-time ACC Coach of the Year with ties to St. John’s – and Hofstra coach Tom Pecora lead the list of potential head coaching candidates, in addition to Siena’s Fran McCaffery, Iona’s Kevin Willard, and Harvard’s Tommy Amaker. Sources told the Post that former New York Knick and St. John’s player Mark Jackson has also expressed interest in the job, despite having no coaching experience.

Update: Seth Davis of CBS Sports and Adam Zagoria of SNY are both reporting via their Twitter accounts that no final decision will be made until after the season ends.

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