St. John’s has produced some tremendous student-athletes that have vaulted their way into the public, turning their favorite sport into a career. Kieran McArdle, Moe Harkless, Nadirah McKenith and Tim Parker are the latest to make headlines for the Red Storm.
Former St. John’s lacrosse attacker Kieran McArdle had a historic season in his final year with the program back in 2013.
McArdle was named United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) second team All-American, the highest individual award ever given to a lacrosse player in school history.
The 6’1” native of Ronkonkoma, N.Y. became the first St. John’s player to be named Big East Attack Player of the Year and led the team to a 9-4 overall record during that 2013 season. He also earned his first USILA All-American honor during his junior season, which was the first time a Johnnie earned that award since 1986.
McArdle’s outstanding college career helped him become the fifth overall pick in the Major League Lacrosse (MLL) draft in 2014 by the Florida Launch. The attacker broke the MLL rookie goal record scoring 31 total goals during the 2014 season, including the best game of his young career against Boston on July 26 (five goals and five assists, career high 10 points).
Moe Harkless, former St. John’s men’s basketball star, was a four star recruit and a part of a dynamic first recruiting class for Steve Lavin that also featured D’Angelo Harrison, Phil Greene, Sir’Dominic Pointer and JaKarr Sampson, among others.
His career at St. John’s lasted just one season, but he averaged 15.5 points per game, grabbed 8.6 rebounds per game and shot just over 50 percent from the field.
The Johnnies went just 13-19 during Harkless’ freshman season and shortly after the season he declared for the NBA Draft. The 6’9” Forest Hills native was a first round selection (15th overall) by the Magic back in 2012 and he currently has three seasons of experience on the pro level.
Harkless doesn’t log many minutes but he has a fantastic upside with his long length, ability to make an impact in the paint defensively and his knack for scoring. The small forward is currently averaging 6.9 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game and 0.6 blocks per game in only 22.9 minutes (per outing) during his career so far.
5’7” guard from Newark, N.J., Nadirah McKenith, was an outstanding talent at St. John’s as a part of the St. John’s women’s basketball team. McKenith led the Big East conference in assists (165) during her senior season, which helped her earn All-Big East First Team honors.
She accomplished a very difficult feat in college basketball by posting a triple-double versus Georgetown (Feb. 9, 2013) that surely showed WNBA scouts her motor and ability to command an up-tempo offense.
The Washington Mystics selected McKenith with the 17th pick in the second round of the 2013 WNBA Draft and averaged 2.8 points per game in her first season on the job. She continues to develop at the pro level and needs to improve her on-ball defense, but the way she makes her teammates better is contiguous. Being 5 foot 7 is not easy (average height in the WNBA is 6 feet), but McKenith has been excellent so far in her limited opportunities.
Tim Parker, who graduated last year from St. John’s, was a tremendous leader on the Men’s Soccer team. His communication on the pitch was something that was easily observed by fans and his desire and passion also stood out.
During his career with the Red Storm, Parker started 79 of 80 games, had two game winning goals, led the program to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a Big East Tournament championship back in 2011.
Parker was elected captain during his senior season and scored one goal before moving onto Major League Soccer (MLS). Parker was taken 13th overall by the Vancouver Whitecaps in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft but has not currently logged any significant minutes at the pro ranks. With a need at defender, Vancouver is looking to develop Parker for the future and the former Johnnie has the perfect drive, character and energy to make the team proud of their selection.
All four of these names have given other St. John’s student-athletes hope, as well as give an indication of the strong Division I programs that the Johnnies built.
