NEW YORK -- Chris Mullins first season as coach at St. Johns ended with an 8-24 record, including 1-17 in the Big East. Along the way there was a school-record 16-game losing streak and the Red Storm closed the season by losing 21 of their last 22 games.Whatever Year 2 brings will have a different look because of the depth the team will have this season. There are backups at every position and the players and coaching staff have had a summer together. And there are some pretty good players joining the program.The talent level has improved tremendously, Mullin said Thursday at St. Johns media day. Our focus has been on practice, daily improvement and working together. The biggest advantage has been the guys who returned know what were looking to do within our system. That experience is invaluable.Guard Federico Mussini leads the returners and his role will change dramatically with depth allowing him to spend time away from the point where he put in a lot of time last season.Shamorie Ponds was chosen Big East preseason freshmen of the year by the coaches, and redshirt freshman Marcus LoVett is eligible after sitting out last season. Sophomore Malik Ellison is hoping for an injury-free season.Every one of us can play both guard positions, Mussini said. When we play together, anyone of us can control the ball and that will allow us to run more.Kassoum Yakwe and Yankuba Sima both added some weight over the summer and they will be joined up front by Tennessee transfer Tariq Owens, junior college swingman Bashir Ahmed and freshman Richard Freudenberg from Germany.That means Mullin will have a lot more options.One of the biggest advantages we will have this year is being able to play multiple lineups, he said. We practice different lineups to see who functions well together and weve liked a lot of different combinations. We might want to force another team to play big or small and we have the ability to do that now.The Red Storm were picked eighth in the 10-team conference by the coaches, ahead of Providence and DePaul.THE SCHEDULEThe Red Storm open the season at home Nov. 11 against Bethune-Cookman. Theres a trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis where they open with Michigan State. The last game of the nonconference schedule is Dec. 21 at Syracuse. Big East play opens Dec. 29 at home against Butler.THE STAFFMullin had to replace assistant coach Barry Rohrssen, who left the program, and he did it by promoting Mitch Richmond.Not many college coaching staffs can brag it has two Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers but Mullin and Richmond, longtime teammates with the Golden State Warriors, have the rings.Everybody learns from them every day, LoVett said. They have so much experience and its great just to sit and talk with them.STRAIGHT SHOOTERMullin is considered one of the best shooters to ever let it go and it appears nothing has changed since he stopped playing. Word around campus is nobody has even come close to beating him a game of H-O-R-S-E.He makes everything, Freudenberg said.He is the best shooter in the gym every day, Ellison said.He doesnt even warm up and he makes 10 in a row, LoVett said.Owens thought for a second about the question if Mullin could still shoot. He smiled and simply replied, Is water wet? Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. NFL Authentic Jerseys . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. http://www.nflauthenticwholesalejerseys.com/ . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Wholesale NFL Stitched Jerseys . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. Cheap Jerseys Online . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Italian mens pursuit team was added to the track cycling program at the Olympics on Friday, after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the decision to bar Russias squad from competing.Kiril Sveshnikov, Dmitry Sokolov and Dmitry Strakhov appealed to CAS after they were included in the McLaren report that detailed state-directed doping across numerous winter and summer sports.Their pursuit teammate Sergey Shilov was cleared to compete in Saturdays road race and presumably could have ridden on the track. Teammate Viktor Manakov had never beeen implicated.dddddddddddd.Cyclings governing body, the UCI, told The Associated Press that it consulted with the IOC before reallocating Russias vacated team pursuit spot to Italy.Italian riders Filippo Ganna, Liam Bertazzo, Simone Consonni and Francesco Lamon will fly to Brazil this weekend to join teammate Elia Viviani, who is already in Rio de Janeiro to contest the omnium.The qualifying round of the mens team pursuit is Thursday. ' ' '