St. John's and Lavin part ways

Queens, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - St. John's and men's basketball coach Steve Lavin mutually agreed to part ways on Friday.

Lavin spent the past five years at St. John's, guiding the Red Storm to a record of 92-72 with a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT berths.

"Coach Lavin returned high expectations to our men's basketball program and represented St. John's in a positive way," said athletic director Chris Monasch in a statement Friday. "We appreciate his commitment to the program and to our student-athletes over the past five years. He infused excitement back into the program, brought us to the postseason four times and recruited student-athletes who excelled on the court, inside the classroom and within the community."

St. John's reached the NCAA Tournament in his first season of 2010-11 and again this past season. The Red Storm finished 21-12 this year, bowing out to San Diego State in its NCAA opener last week.

Lavin battled prostate cancer during his tenure at St. John's, but there was no word as to whether any health issues played a role in his departure.

"I'm grateful for my time teaching at St. John's University," said Lavin. "I will take with me the lasting friendships forged during my tenure as head coach. I'm proud of our results both on and off the court -- in particular our memorable runs to the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and 2015. Most importantly, I take pride in our performance in the classroom having graduated our student athletes who will represent the institution in a first class manner."

Prior to taking the St. John's job, Lavin spent seven seasons out of coaching as a college basketball television analyst following a successful seven-year run at UCLA. He was 145-78 from 1996-97 through 2002-03 with the Bruins.

UCLA earned NCAA Tournament appearances in each of Lavin's first six seasons, going as far as the Elite Eight in his first season of 1997.