Hofstra 81 – St. John’s 64

It is going to take more than the big hearts and deep pockets of some very well-meaning alumni to get the St. John’s basketball program back to respectability. Much more.

On the day that St. John’s announced grand plans to build a state-of-the-art practice facility and renovate Alumni Hall, the Red Storm went out and stunk up the old bandbox, dropping an embarrassing 81-64 decision to Hofstra.

“We all should be disgraced,” senior Andre Stanley said.

If St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis thinks he’s getting an extension after his team got steamrolled in front of the very people who foot the bill, he’s gravely mistaken. Truth is, St. John’s already has started thinking about life after Jarvis.

“Mike will be evaluated at the end of the season, just as all of our coaches go through an evaluation,” St. John’s president Father Donald Harrington said before the game. “There is some concern about the wins and losses. And there are concerns about some of the off-the-court issues.”

Those issues involve the recent arrest of senior guard Willie Shaw on possession of marijuana charges. Shaw tested positive for marijuana use prior to the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

Forward Grady Reynolds was arrested last year for assaulting a female swimmer. Those charges were dropped when Reynolds agreed to get anger management counseling.

Jarvis said he did not believe Harrington had made such a statement.

“If you could give me a copy of what he said, I’d be glad to respond,” Jarvis said.

Whoever the next coach is at St. John’s, he will have the benefit of the generosity of alums such as James Riley, the lead benefactor of a $23 million project that will help St. John’s compete in the Big East, which adds powers Cincinnati, Louisville and Marquette in 2005, the year Riley Field House is to open.

“Even if the Big East had stayed the same, we would have built a new facility but because of what’s happened, it’s even more necessary,” Harrington said. “The Big East will be the best league in the country and we expect to be there with the top programs.”

Right now, however, St. John’s is a bottom feeder. The loss, the worst here since 1963 when Loyola of Chicago spanked the Johnnies, 83-60, drops the Red Storm to 1-3 with a potentially embarrassing nationally televised game Saturday at Duke. The Pride (2-3) won for the first time in Alumni Hall.

“St. John’s is what New York City basketball is all about,” Hofstra coach Tom Pecora said.

Not anymore. When Carlos Rivera put in a layup with 18:22 left, Hofstra had a 50-24 lead. The first chants of, “Fire Jarvis!” had arrived.

“The best I can offer is that I would prefer we were 2-1, not 1-2,” Jim Pellow, executive vice president of St. John’s and the man who dots the i’s told The Post before the game.

How about 2-2 instead of 1-3?