Coming into this season, the Men’s Basketball program faced a daunting task. Last year’s graduating seniors accounted for 96.3 percent of the team’s scoring and 97.8 percent of its rebounding. How would the Red Storm replace that? The answer: a dynamic recruiting class loaded with young talent. Led by freshmen Maurice Harkless and D’Angelo Harrison, the Red Storm – dubbed the “Fresh Five” by fans and pundits – quickly showed why ESPN ranked them the No. 3 recruiting class in the country. Their up-tempo style and physical play led to a number of highlights, including a thrilling buzzer-beater to put away the Cincinnati Bearcats, an exciting victory over UCLA at Madison Square Garden and a wire-to-wire win over then-No. 18 Notre Dame. Along the way, Harkless became the first St. John’s player since 1980 to receive BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honors and decided to enter the 2012 NBA Draft to pursue his dream of playing professionally. Meanwhile, Harrison broke the program record for most points in a season by a freshman. Assistant Coach Mike Dunlap has done a masterful job filling in for Head Coach Steve Lavin, who has been recuperating from successful prostate cancer surgery he underwent in October. Though he hasn’t been on the sideline, Lavin has remained active on the recruiting trail and hopes to bring in another group of explosive players to complement the current team and propel the Johnnies to continued success.