No Place I'd Rather Be …

Send us Fan Mail This week juniors Zach Longueville and Kooper Vaughn sit down with the guys to talk about the team, what makes them such a tight group and a little about their own paths to collegeville. ... This season of "No Place I'd Rather Be ..." is sponsored by the Sexton Family Foundation, helping usher in the next generation of leaders. And Sixth Man Enterprises, creating a...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we venture into new territory as we welcome Steve Fritz … yes, that Steve Fritz … the one who played at St. Thomas University from 1967-71 … joined the coaching staff under Tom Feely … took over the program in 1980 … won an NCAA Division III championship in his final season as head coach in 2011 after 40 seasons on the bench … 31 of those as head coach … during that tenure...

Send us Fan Mail We are back and excited to bring you the conclusion of our time with Bill Sexton and his son Jim. If you haven’t listened to the first part of our conversation you should know how this works by now. What are you waiting for? Do it now … go ahead. For the rest of you, today we hear more from the man who has left an indelible mark in Collegeville from the time he first graced the ca...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Holidays! We’re off this week, but wanted to take the time to say we hope you all are getting exactly what you need from this holiday season. We’ll be back next week to bring to you the conclusion of our two-part episode with Bill Sexton, which leaves you plenty of time to get all caught up before then. All episodes of No Place I'd Rather Be ...  are available on your f...

Send us Fan Mail From time to time certain names carry certain reputations which tend to to precede their owner. There are fewer names, however, which are so ubiquitous it’s hard to imagine them being attached to an actual human being. The subject of the next two episodes of our show happens to be among the latter. When it comes to St. John’s University, the Sexton name can be found all over campu...

Send us Fan Mail Senior team managers Ryan Engel and Tommy Ornburg take some time during their trip to Florida to talk to the guys about their journey to Collegeville, the responsibilities and challenges of the manager role, what makes it all worth it as well as some plans for after graduation.   ... This season of "No Place I'd Rather Be ..." is sponsored by the Sexton Family Found...

Send us Fan Mail Last week we heard all about what set the class of '79 apart from the rest. If you haven’t, go back and listen to last week’s episode first. Because today, as the conversation shifts to their senior season, we get a glimpse at just how special that group was, as we relive one of the greatest games during one of the greatest seasons in the history of basketball in Minnesota. A...

Send us Fan Mail St. John's University seniors Brandon Adelman, J.T. Gaffney and Connor Schwob sit down with the guys this week to talk continue with the theme of new offense and scoring a bunch as well what to do over the holiday break and plans for after graduation.  ... This season of "No Place I'd Rather Be ..." is sponsored by the Sexton Family Foundation, helping usher in...

Send us Fan Mail Frank Wachlarowicz … John Patterson … Dan Smith … Ted Nowak … Pat McKenzie … Paul Wotta … and John Harvey … never before or since has a single class contributed to more on-court success than that of the class of '79. It’s the stuff of legends. Running the table in the conference all the way to 27-straight wins. Frank breaking the all-time scoring record during what has been h...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we break new ground as we welcome two current players to the show. Ryan Thissen and Blake Berg take some time to talk to the guys about the team's new offensive approach, their own telepathic defense and what got them to Collegeville in the first place.  ... This season of "No Place I'd Rather Be ..." is sponsored by the Sexton Family Foundation, helping...

Send us Fan Mail Frank Wachlarowicz's accomplishments on the court set him in a class all by himself. His 2,357 career points remained the pinnacle of Minnesota collegiate basketball for roughly four decades and is still atop the MIAC and SJU record books. His 1,093 career rebounds and 162 free throws in a season also remain as school and conference records. And his 640-point season and 565 c...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome everyone to season two of No Place I'd Rather Be ... we kick things off today as we debut a new segment "On the Court" with St. John's University head basketball coach Pat McKenzie as he breaks things down after the first four games of the season. Check back each Wednesday for a new episode featuring Coach McKenzie, assistant coaches and players. 

Send us Fan Mail We're back! Season two of No Place I'd Rather Be is just around the corner and we wanted give you all a preview of what's in store this season. 

Send us Fan Mail Coach Smith and Paul Bernabie talk about their new book "St. John's University Basketball: Building a Tradition of Team and answer some questions during a September book signing event in the Twin Cities. Their book is available for purchase through the St. John's University Bookstore. Click here to order online. 

Send us Fan Mail Frank Wachlarowicz rewrote the record books at St. John's, the MIAC and the state  during his four years as a starter for Coach Smith, leaving Collegeville with the most points ever by a collegiate basketball player in the state of Minnesota. But his legacy will always be much more than numbers on a stat sheet. Today, on the season one finale of No Place I'd Rather Be, w...

Send us Fan Mail Tim McNamara, class of '77, worked closely with Coach Smith for four years.  He saw it all while in his role as team manager and remembers it all as well. An incredible wealth of information on Johnnie basketball in general and a bonafide expert on the happenings during his tenure, Tim Mac indulges us with just some of those stories and gives a little insight into the behind-...

Send us Fan Mail With the regular season wrapped up and only two episodes left in season one, we get right to it for today's episode. The Johnnies vs. the Tommies. We hear from Dave Johnson, class of '69, Vic Moore, class of '72, and Steve Ward, class of '75 about some of the glory days of the rivalry.  We get three first-hand accounts of an event from March 1972 that stands as...

Send us Fan Mail Athletic director, golf coach, assistant basketball coach just to name a few of the spaces today's guest has occupied over the course of his long-tenured St. John's career. Those who know St. John's, know Bob Alpers. In this fast break episode, we hear about Bob's first experience at SJU, joining the basketball program and some creative weight distribution. 

Send us Fan Mail It wasn't just a basketball coach St. John's hired back in 1964. It was much more. It was the Family Smith. The Smiths were just as much a part of the basketball program as the players throughout the years. On today's episode we hear from a very special guest with a unique perspective of St. John's basketball over the decades -- Adrienne Smith -- who is joined...

Send us Fan Mail For today's Fast Break episode we have one of the very first people to meet Coach  Smith during the interview process for the head basketball coaching position at St. John's -- Joe Mucha. Joe was an instrumental piece in the foundation of what Johnnie basketball would be in the coming decades. In today's Fast Break episode, we hear from Joe about his decision to com...

Send us Fan Mail Context is important. Despite what this podcast may have led you to believe so far, there was much more going on besides basketball. The world at large, as it tends to do, forced students to grow their awareness and social consciousness well beyond the basketball court. In this episode, we learn what that looked like for those involved with Johnnie basketball through the late 60s...

Send us Fan Mail Paul Bernabei was one of the first players to play four full years under Coach Smith. League MVP his senior season, Bernabei was a crucial piece of the Johnnies'  first MIAC Basketball Championship during the 1968-69 season. In this Fast Break episode you will hear Paul talk about his journey to Saint John's, the support he received from his parents as well as some of hi...

Send us Fan Mail No introduction necessary. Includes some content not quite suitable for children. Enjoy.

Send us Fan Mail Everyone who was kind enough to sit down and share their stories left us with the best kind of problem -- too many great stories. With so much amazing content from all of our guests, we've decided to share with you all a shorter, singularly focused episode featuring one of the many integral members of the Johnnie Basketball family. Look for Fastbreak episodes every Thursday f...

Send us Fan Mail On today's episode, we delve into some of the influences Coach Smith had as he made his way through the ranks as a player, assistant coach and eventually head coach at St. John's. But first, we talk to assistant coach Sam Dittberner, who gives us an update on Johnnie basketball.