Malik Stith leaves St. John's
St. John's Malik Stith drives around a St. Francis defender during the NCAA basketball game at Carnesecca Arena. (Nov. 22, 2011) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
For anyone who thought things couldn't get any worse for St. John's, they just did.
Reserve point guard Malik Stith has left the team, Red Storm coach Steve Lavin announced Wednesday.
The junior from Hempstead, who didn't play in Wednesday's 76-54 loss to Cincinnati at Madison Square Garden, averaged 2.6 points per game in 14.6 minutes this season.
Although Stith wasn't a major scorer for the Red Storm (10-14, 4-8) Big East, he was an important part of Lavin's seven-man rotation. Finding time to spell guards D'Angelo Harrison and Phil Greene.
Losing Stith will trim St. John's rotation to just six players.
“For personal reasons I have chosen to step aside as a member of the St. John’s basketball team,” Stith said in a statement. “Right now I feel that I need to do what is best for my family. I am grateful for the opportunities given to me at St. John’s and pleased to be able to continue to make progress toward my degree. Coach Lavin and I have met and talked over the past couple days about my future and the interest I have in contributing to the team as a student-worker."
Stith will remain a part of the St. John’s program as a student and will continue to make progress toward earning his degree in sport management.
