Just a couple of hours before St. John’s is set to host Cincinnati, the school announced that junior guard Malik Stith had withdrawn from the team for personal reasons.
The Johnnies are back to seven scholarship players, five of whom are freshmen.
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.
“For personal reasons Malik has chosen to no longer participate as a member of our basketball team,” head coach Steve Lavin said. “Beginning next week he will no longer be an active student-athlete, but he will continue to add value to our basketball family while working toward completing his St. John’s degree. We’ll miss Malik’s contributions on the court but we are pleased he will continue as a member of our basketball program in his new capacity with the Johnnies.”
“For personal reasons I have chosen to step aside as a member of the St. John’s basketball team,” said Stith. “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.”
Stith, the only returning varsity letterwinner on this year’s Red Storm squad, played in all 23 games to date, starting five, and averaging 14.6 minutes and 2.6 points per contest. He had contributed in 81 career contests and averaged 2.4 points per game.
