St. John’s annual Red Storm Tip-off event was held in Carnesecca Arena on Oct. 18, ushering in the rapidly approaching basketball season. Players and students competed in games for rewards, student groups energized the crowd with lively performances and rapper Quavo ended the night with some of his most well-known hits.
Doors opened at 6:30 p.m. and those that arrived early were met with music by DJ Zeke and the opportunity for t-shirt giveaways. Performances by the St. John’s cheer and dance team prepared the crowd for the preceding excitement.
Lucky students were also selected to play in games such as musical chairs that required participants to make a layup before sitting down and a $10,000 full-court putt.
When it was finally time for players to storm the court, they were met with deafening cheers from a rowdy crowd. Each player was introduced one at a time and was accompanied by a song of their choice.
Whether it be junior Tara Daye’s pre-planned dance number with the dance team or senior Lashae Dwyer doing the “shmoney” dance with the team mascot, they certainly brought enthusiasm.
Both head coaches were the final names called and following behind women’s coach Joe Tartamella was his son, star of the night, JJ. When given a microphone, he delivered a perfect rendition of the first verse of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.”
Tartamella proclaimed the event as “one of [his] favorite nights of the year” and asked fans to show just as much excitement for the women’s team as they are for the men.
The last to speak was the men’s head coach Rick Pitino. Off a 91-85 win against No. 25 Rutgers University in their first exhibition game the previous night, he still said the team “have a lot to learn.” His closing words prophesied a “special run this year” and hoped that the fans will rally behind the team.
The teams broke into groups of three to compete in some small games like a race to score 100 points. Sophomore Brady Dunlap sank a half-court prayer to win, which received a large cheer from fans.
To close out the night, Quavo took the stage and performed songs such as “Walk It Talk It,” “Stir Fry” and smash hit “Bad and Boujee,” which has over 900 million streams on Spotify.
The Grammy-nominated artist joined fans in the bleachers during his final two songs, leading to an explosion of excitement from an already passionate crowd.
Both the men’s and women’s basketball season begins on Nov. 4 but they will each have one more exhibition game before their season opener. The men’s team will host Towson University on Oct. 26 and the women’s team will play Pace University at home on Oct. 21.
