St. John’s Is Hoping Berry Is Enough Against UCLA

Walter Berry knows that he has a big job ahead of him this season as the No. 1 player on a St. John’s basketball team that Coach Lou Carnesecca says is a year away.

The 6-8, 215-pound Berry knows that he won’t always be able to flash his immeasurable skills when he has to leave his natural position, big forward, to play center or even small forward.

It was a lot easier last season when Chris Mullin, now with the Golden State Warriors, was leading the Redmen into the Final Four, and when Bill Wennington, now with the Dallas Mavericks, was handling the big men inside.

But nobody said it would be easy. Berry has been down this road before. When things don’t seem to be going just right, there’s only one thing to do.

“I just take a positive attitude, look at it as a challenge and make the best of things,� Berry said. “I’ve been doing that all my life.�

After Berry had led Benjamin Franklin High School to the New York City title in 1982, he wanted to play for St. John’s. But his high school academic background was so lacking that he had to be farmed out to San Jacinto Junior College in Texas.

He didn’t like that much, but he made the best of it. He led San Jacinto to the national junior college championship, averaging 28.9 points and 14 rebounds a game. He was named junior college player of the year.

Last season, he was right where he wanted to be, playing with a team that made him look good and that was challenging for the title, finishing with a record of 31-4.

This season, it’s back to the drawing board.

Last season, St. John’s beat UCLA, 88-69, at Madison Square Garden. Today, when St. John’s makes its first appearance at Pauley Pavilion to play UCLA in a nationally televised game at 12:45 p.m., Berry expects a changed scenario.

“I think it’s going to be a very tough game for us,� he said. “We’re coming into their home, and we’re a whole different team without Chris Mullin and Bill Wennington.�

That is, repeatedly, Carnesecca’s message. “I don’t want to sound like a coach crying, but I really do think we’re a year away,� Carnesecca said. “If we can keep them all together and go along normally--and if the coach doesn’t go berserk--I think, eventually, we’ll be a very good team.

“But don’t expect the same kind of game against UCLA that we had last year. Be kind to an old coach, please. This is not the same team.�

Of course, Mullin is very difficult to replace. As UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard pointed out, “He’s turning around the Golden State Warriors. Imagine what he does for a college team.�

But it is also difficult to replace Wennington. As Hazzard keeps reminding, there are not a whole lot of good big men out there.

St. John’s is now trying to bring along 6-8 sophomore Shelton Jones at forward, but Berry has to move over and help out more than would be ideal.

As long as the Bruins are facing a team with the same problem at center that they have, Hazzard has chosen this game to make 6-8 sophomore Craig Jackson the starting center in place of 6-10 junior Jack Haley.

“Craig has earned it with his performance in the last three ball games, and I think Jack Haley will be better coming off the bench,� he said. “He seems to be so wound up at the start of every game.

“Haley has been playing well in practice since the decision, and I think he’ll respond well. We’re going to need him.

“But I think Craig will be more effective for us. There really aren’t that many teams with centers bigger than Craig. . . . It’s not his natural position, but he wants to play. We’re not asking him to play a deep pivot that we would want to post up and power in with.�

So the teams will be about the same size inside.

But the Bruins don’t have anyone inside with the presence of Walter Berry.

Hazzard said: “They look to go to Berry most of the time. They like a medium pace, and then they power inside to Berry and have him jump over someone, which he is capable of doing.�

Berry is averaging 24.3 points and 12.8 rebounds a game for the Redmen.

The Bruins’ strengths lie in their guards and the outside shooting of Reggie Miller.

Carnesecca said: “This will be a good test for us. There are some teams in our league who will run like UCLA and shoot that quick shot.

“I really think you should expect a good game.�

Bruin Notes Today’s game will be broadcast locally, starting at 12:45 p.m., on KMPC (710) and televised nationally by CBS (Channel 2). . . . St. John’s is a member of the seven-year-old Big East Conference. Last season, St. John’s won the regular-season title with a record of 15-1 and finished second in the postseason tournament. . . . UCLA leads the series with St. John’s, 2-1, but the two victories were in the 1955-56 and 1968-69 seasons. . . . UCLA has won three straight games--over St. Mary’s, Temple and Cal State Long Beach, all at home--since losing the opener at North Carolina. St. John’s has won three straight--over Wagner, Columbia and Farleigh Dickinson--since losing to Duke, 71-70. St. John’s won its first two games, over Navy and West Virginia.