For St. John’s head coach Mike Jarvis, this Friday’s matchup with Wisconsin in Washington, D.C., seems like destiny. Jarvis, who coached at George Washington before taking over the St. John’s program four seasons ago, has expressed excitement at the chance to head back to a city he still calls home and get a chance to face Bo Ryan’s Badgers.
“I will always refer to D.C. as home,” said Jarvis. “I’m very blessed — I have three great homes in Boston, D.C. and New York. For me, to be coming home to participate in the NCAA tournament with a team that wasn’t supposed to be here during the week of the birth of my first grandchild — how could it get any better than that?”
Adding to the magic of this weekend’s game is the relationship between Jarvis and the Ryan family. Jarvis became familiar with the Ryan family through Bo’s father when Bo was coaching and winning championships at Platteville.
“I remember sitting with Bo’s dad at the Final Four, when [Bo] was winning all those championships before going to Wisconsin and talking about how great a job his son had done and how deserving of a Division I head job he was,” commented Jarvis. “Never realizing then that I would someday coach against him.”
The two coaches got to know each other by chance when they ended up sitting next to each other at basketball awards dinners. Ryan joked that at the time he believed there must be some reason they were always assigned to sit together and that apparently this matchup must have been the reason.
Coach Jarvis agreed there must have been some reason, and that he has a great respect for Ryan. Moreover, he is pleased to finally get an opportunity to play against his friend.
“I believe in destiny because who could have ever written the script for my family and this week? As far as Bo and myself, like I said, I got to know his dad and to love the family,” said Jarvis. “I think it is great that the both of us are in the tournament.”
Both Jarvis and Ryan have spent extensive time coaching at the high school level and have served in several college coaching positions before receiving their division head coaching starts.
“I think our careers are very similar,” commented Jarvis. “It took both of us a long time to get to the division college level, and we are both appreciative, and we just try to work as hard as we can and do the best job we can.”
Guard play rules St. John’s
Strong backcourt play is often talked about as the most important asset a team can have in making a tournament run. This would appear to bode well for the Red Storm, who are led in scoring, assists and steals by all-Big East point guard Marcus Hatten. However, while Jarvis agrees Hatten is the strength of the team, he feels that St. John’s does not have as strong of a backcourt as they need to really be known for great guard play.
“They talk about guards as in plural, and to be honest with you, we are about a year away from being in that category,” commented Jarvis. “The reality is that we are not very deep in the backcourt, and we have gone as far as we have gone this year, offensively, mainly due to one guy. Marcus Hatten is playing out of position; I’d feel a lot better if I had another guy like him.”
Hatten, who is better suited to play the shooting guard, has been the staple of St. John’s offense this season.
“I am very surprised by how well [Hatten] has adjusted [to point guard],” said Jarvis. “The pressure that he has been under this entire year has been incredible, and I believe that one of the reasons that we’re in the tournament is a repayment for him. He has had a phenomenal year.”
The rest of the team, according to Jarvis, has been inconsistent, and as a result, he will go deep into his bench if need be. The only player guaranteed minutes is Hatten.
“I don’t try to give anybody minutes,” said Jarvis. “If I can play Hatten 40 minutes, I will. If I have other players who are equal in ability, then why not play two or three guys? If a guy is playing well, he plays. If a guy is playing bad, unless it is Marcus, he won’t play.”
