In the The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith, author Peter Carey's protagonist overcomes severe odds to carve out a satisfactory life. The novel was published in 1994 to cheers from Manhattan's literary set.
|  | | Mike Jarvis will have his third different starting point guard in four years at St. John's. |
In The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith, St. John's Style, which is due for release this fall, coach Mike Jarvis' protagonist will try to help the Red Storm carve out a satisfactory season. Will there be cheers at Madison Square Garden? We'll see. It depends largely on Tristan Smith, the Red Storm's incoming freshman point guard who -- thankfully -- has very little in common with Carey's fictitious 3-foot-6 main character.
The real-life Tristan Smith stands 6-1 and was supposed to be an understudy this year to sophomore Omar Cook. Instead, he probably will become the third starting point guard in Jarvis' four years at St. John's, even though the first two -- Erick Barkley and Cook -- still would have college eligibility had they not left early for the NBA.
"It's going to be very, very, very challenging," Jarvis says of having to break in a new point guard again. "Probably more for the team than for me. It's part of what makes coaching fun, in a crazy way."
Smith certainly will have help from another recruit, 6-2 junior college hotshot Marcus Hatten, but Hatten has been a scoring wing guard everywhere he has been, and Jarvis needs Hatten to be a potent scorer at St. John's, too. Jarvis says another option is moving 6-6 small forward Willie Shaw to the point, but admits "that would really hurt (Shaw)."
Which leaves Smith, an unsung recruit rated No. 297 in the country by Prep Stars, as perhaps the most important player on the St. John's roster, and by definition one of the most important players in the Big East.
That's a lot for a freshman who chose St. John's over, among others, Hartford, Boston University and Texas A&M. But Smith arrives at a time when St. John's needs all the help it can get from its point guard. Other than Cook, the Red Storm was absolutely lost when it came to protecting the basketball last season, the rest of the roster totaling nearly twice as many turnovers (324) as assists (180).
The Red Storm will be competitive because Jarvis won't have it any other way, but for the team to return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence, Smith (and Hatten) will have to take care of the basketball. Shaw can't shoot threes, Anthony Glover can't muscle up a short jumper and Hatten can't do his thing if the ball is going the other direction.
"We're going to look at both kids (Hatten and Smith) to play both guard positions, but I think for Tristan, that eventually will be his primary position," Jarvis says. "He's a natural point guard."
Jarvis' original plan was for Smith to serve as Cook's understudy and occasional partner for a year. While the rest of Red Storm Nation may be more than a little queasy at the idea of the unheralded Smith running the offense for 30-plus minutes a game, Smith has no qualms.
"I'm not just a straight-up backup," Smith told New York City and New Jersey High Hoops. "That was a big question in my eyes. (Jarvis) said he had no worries about playing me and Omar together."
But Cook is gone, taking his 252 assists -- second in the country last season -- and 15.3-point scoring average to the NBA, where an immediate fate similar to Barkley's could wait. Barkley barely played this season for Portland, getting into just eight games.
Then again, it's not like Cook put St. John's over the top, anyway. Sure he was their best player, their leader -- but only led them to a 14-15 record.
Is Smith a better player? Of course not. Will he win more? Perhaps. Smith won big at Amityville (N.Y.) High, where his teams were a combined 52-4 with state titles his junior and senior seasons. He averaged 23.1 points, 7.8 assists and 4.1 steals as a senior.
But the step from Amityville to Madison Square Garden will be a doozy, making for an unusual life for Tristan Smith.
Boston College the favorite
Seen last summer as a middle-of-the-pack team, Boston College won't be able to sneak up on anyone this season after going 27-5 overall, 13-3 in the Big East, and winning the 2001 conference title by two games.
The Eagles lose some premium talent, namely wing guards Xavier Singletary and Kenny Harley -- the team's top two rebounders, and two of the top three scorers -- but All-American Troy Bell returns. And that's good enough for us to anoint the Eagles, who also have back three other regulars and bring in star recruit Jermaine Watson, as the preseason favorite.
Jarvis all but agrees.
"Boston College has Troy Bell back -- Boston College will be exceptional," Jarvis says. "But Connecticut and Syracuse are always good, Notre Dame should be good, Providence, Pittsburgh. The whole league, top to bottom, there's no one you can say, 'We know we'll win that game.' I thought last year was the best it's been in a long time, but I think next year will be even more competitive."
Yes. But it says here, Boston College remains the team to beat. How bold, right?
Around the Big East
Hard to believe, but new Seton Hall coach Louis Orr is the first former Big East player to become a head coach in the 22-year-old league.
Freshman of the year next year? It could be West Virginia's Jonathan Hargett, who might just score 20-plus points per game. Another solid candidate to watch is another point guard, Notre Dame's Chris Thomas.
New Rutgers coach Gary Waters would be in a lot better shape if he had Dahntay Jones for his senior season. Instead, Jones is about to embark on a redshirt junior year at Duke, where coach Mike Krzyzewski says stardom awaits.
Gregg Doyel covers college basketball for The Charlotte Observer and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
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