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Steve Lavin parts ways with St. John’s

Head coach Steve Lavin of the St. John's Red Storm reacts after a play in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2015 in New York City.
Head coach Steve Lavin of the St. John’s Red Storm reacts after a play in the second half against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2015 in New York City. Photo Credit: Getty Images / Saul Loeb

Steve Lavin is out after five seasons as head coach of the St. John’s men’s basketball team, the school announced Friday.

The school said they “mutually agreed to part ways” with one year remaining on Lavin’s initial six-year contract.

“Coach Lavin returned high expectations to our men’s basketball program and represented St. John’s in a positive way,” St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch said in a statement. “We appreciate his commitment to the program and to our student-athletes over the past five years. Our student-athletes represented the University well, especially our five-member senior class who excelled on the court, inside the classroom and within the community.”

Lavin arrived at St. John’s in 2010 as the program’s 19th head coach. That season,he led the team to a 21-12 record and NCAA Tournament berth. Lavin was named the District II Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award.

Despite delivering the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class to St. John’s the following year, Lavin and the Red Storm didn’t return to the NCAA Tournament until 2015, losing to San Diego State in the round of 64.

In Lavin’s five seasons with the Red Storm, he had three 20-win seasons, two NCAA bids, two NIT bids and an improved record of graduating the players who use up their eligibility.

St. John’s is 92-72 (.561) during Lavin’s tenure, including the 2011-12 season when Lavin coached just four games while receiving treatment for prostate cancer.