Stuck here in the apartment for a stretch after a long-planned surgery on the bum wheel.

I’m well-stocked for the convalescence. I have a copy of the latest Gaitskill novel and a fridge full of Finback Oscillation 003. A co-worker handed me a bottle of Trinidadian rum from a recent carnival run and I’ve deliberately been staying away from Netflix so I have a fresh slate on that front.

Knowing I was gonna be on the shelf for a while, I spent my final fully mobile weekend for at least a couple weeks in all out fun mode. The unexpected highlight came last Sunday afternoon at the Garden. St. John’s rallied from 19 down to go ahead late in an incredibly exciting and emotional Big East contest against Seton Hall.

I got lucky purchasing a ticket well below face on Stub Hub and had a really awesome seat nine rows behind the hoop adjacent to the Hall bench.

This is Chris Mullin’s first season as head basketball coach at St. John’s. It’s been a brutally difficult rookie year for the hall of famer after his surprise decision to return to the university he personally helped bring its lone final four appearance in 1985. When Mullin watched his hapless squad lose by 32 at home in their exhibition opener to St. Thomas Aquinas last November, he had to know contention in the Big East Conference was a long ways off. That’s how it’s played out. St. John’s has just one win in their first fifteen conference contests.

I was actually in the minority of Johnnies fans who wanted previous head coach Steve Lavin to get an extension after taking St. John’s to the Dance last season. But the University – with almost certain backing from former coach Lou Carnesecca – saw a shot to land Mullin – and got a deal done. I still feel bad for Lavin given all of his wonderful qualities but he has remained classy about his removal and I’ve turned 180-degrees in the optimistic direction about what Mullin will do here.

He’s larger than life as he steps onto the Garden floor and appears totally committed to make inroads with this city’s complicated public/private/AAU maze of high school talent and the people who help steer kids to the college level. At the same time, Mullin will make the program’s integrity a top priority given his special bond with Looie and the University.

On Sunday against the Hall, Mullin often drifted halfway out onto the court to coach his undermanned squad. He preaches relentless man-to-man pressure on D – and rapid and constant ball movement going the other way.

It’s pretty apparent he’s gonna win basketball games when he can get some players. I was shocked at the energy level in the Garden as the Johnnies mounted their rally. It was really loud, really exciting. The game drew 13-thousand. Imagine what they’ll bring in when they’re winning under Mullin.

A turnover and questionable foul call against the Johnnies late helped Hall escape with a one-point victory but the way St. John’s fought back was a big moral victory for Mullin and a squad that has begun to scrap like their coach used to.

Since I’m stuck at home for a while, I’ll put up more frequent posts over the next 10 days or so. St. John’s plays at DePaul Thursday night. I’ll be listening to Minko’s call on the radio, rooting for Mullin and the Storm to get conference win #2.