Princeton Tigers

St. John's to honor late AP basketball writer Jim O'Connell

Published Dec. 7, 2018 4:55 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) — St. John's will honor the late Hall of Fame basketball writer Jim O'Connell of The Associated Press with a patch on game uniforms Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

O'Connell, an alumnus, was a fixture covering sports at the Garden. He died in July at 64.

St. John's players will wear a red patch featuring his nickname "Oc" for the Holiday Festival game against Princeton. The Garden also will place a permanent plaque at his workspace in the media room.

Athletic director Mike Cragg calls this a "very special opportunity for us to pay respect to Oc and celebrate his legacy with his family at a place he loved covering college basketball."

O'Connell had been the AP's national college basketball writer since 1987. He was a former president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. In 2002, he was honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with the Curt Gowdy Award.

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