Before St. John’s rocked the college basketball world yesterday by knocking off one of the three remaining undefeated teams in the nation, some of the greatest players to ever wear the red and white expressed their confidence that it was only a matter of time before the Red Storm are back among the nation’s elite.

“First of all, it’s gonna happen, for sure,” said Chris Mullin, one of 10 former players and coaches to receive Legacy Honors from the university. “We’re on the right track. It is important, not only for the school itself, it’s important for the city.”

“When you are a part of a team that plays well in New York City, as a college student, there’s nothing like it.”

At halftime, the 10 honorees had banners bearing their names raised to the façade of the upper deck of the Garden.

“[This] raises the stakes for the New York City recruit,” said Mark Jackson. “Because now they can dream about hanging up in the rafters next to Lou Carnesecca and Joe Lapchick and Chris Mullin.”