Justin Turri Makes Head Coaching Debut at Same Place He Dominated in High School

WEST ISLIP, N.Y. — The first brick of Justin Turri’s rebuild of the St. John’s men’s lacrosse program was laid in familiar soil.

Turri’s debut as the Red Storm head coach Saturday against Manhattan College was about 35 miles east from the school’s Queens campus at West Islip High School, where he played a starring role in the south shore town’s first family of lacrosse.

Turri knew nothing but success at West Islip. The Lions were 66-3 in his three years on the varsity team, winning a pair of state championships. He and his young brother Kyle, the defensive coordinator on Justin’s staff, also won a national championship at Duke in 2010.

Their father Bill, who played at Penn State, was West Islip’s defensive coordinator for more than three decades. His uncles, Tim (Cornell) and Ralph (Bucknell), also both played Division I lacrosse.

So, too, did their cousins, Troy (Cornell) and Tyler Turri (Lafayette).

Lacrosse royalty, indeed.

“They are embedded in West Islip athletics,” West Islip athletic director Tim Horan said.

When Turri was looking for a neutral site for the St. John’s season opener, having the game on Long Island was a no-brainer. Why not in the hometown where his parents still live?

“It’s a great facility. It’s kind of central for a lot of people on Long Island,” Turri said. “So, we thought with a good day, we’d get a pretty good crowd, and that turned out to be the case. It’s just a good day of lacrosse and a good experience for everybody.”

The game pitted dueling debuting head coaches who followed almost parallel paths in their career trajectories.

Turri was mentored by legendary Scotty Craig at West Islip before playing for John Danowski at Duke. Manhattan head coach John Odierna played for Dennis Bonn at Cold Spring Harbor on Nassau’s north shore and then Hank Janczyk, who retired as the second winningest coach in men’s lacrosse history, at Gettysburg.

“He was the first person that sparked my desire to be a coach,” Odierna said of Bonn, the only Long Island coach to win three consecutive New York State titles, which he accomplished from 2015-17. “He was a big tough love guy. Biggest critic, but biggest cheerleader, and I love him. I don’t have quite the edge he has, but I tried to model my coaching style after him — tough, but fair, but also find a way to keep it loose.”

Turri and Odierna first met the summer of their sophomore years of high school when they competed for the now defunct Long Island Metro Pilot.

As part of a close-knit Long Island lacrosse community, the two stayed in touch throughout the years and shared a moment about the irony of Saturday’s game being both of their head coaching debuts on the West Islip turf.

Odierna was the one celebrating afterward, with his Jaspers pulling out a 9-5 victory. Trailing by a goal early, Manhattan scored five consecutive goals to seize control early in the second quarter and the Jaspers never relinquished that lead.

The game was a chance for both programs to showcase lacrosse in arguably the sport’s most fertile breeding ground. Both coaches were part of powerhouse high school programs on Long Island before leaving the area to compete collegiately. They’re hoping to tap into their resources on Long Island to land perhaps the next Justin Turri, convincing them to stay home.

“You get to kind of feel like you’re getting away from home while still being close enough where you can go home anytime you want and have your parents watch you play,” Odierna said. “It is a unique challenge, though. There are so many great schools, especially in the Northeast, that have lacrosse, we’re trying to show we can offer a pretty unique experience right outside the greatest city in the world.”

Odierna is also looking to prove the Jaspers’ first MAAC championship in 20 years last spring wasn’t a fluke. Manhattan was picked to finish second in the 2023 MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll behind Marist.

“I’m just excited to watch what JT is going to do over there, and hopefully for us, we’ve got to establish that last year wasn’t a one-year deal,” Odierna said. “We weren’t a one-hit wonder. We want to be here. We’re here to stay. So, hopefully, this is a step in that direction.”

Turri said his pitch to potential recruits is a location just 10 miles from Manhattan, a prestigious business school and a supported program in a Big East athletics department.

“I think getting more guys to just get out to campus and see it is goal number one, which we’ve been starting to do,” Turri said. “Keeping guys not only from Long Island, but Westchester and Jersey and Philly and all the surrounding areas, just making sure they know we’re here and they know what we’re about.”

Turri, a former assistant coach at Michigan, Harvard, Army and Providence, was hired as the fourth head coach in St. John’s history in June. He replaced Jason Miller, who was 67-145 in 16 seasons, including 2-12 in 2022.

In the Big East preseason coaches’ poll, St. John’s was picked to finish last among the six teams in a conference that has one team in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I men’s rankings (No. 8 Georgetown) and two other teams (Denver and Villanova) also considered.

While the rebuild will be challenging, Horan, who was previously the varsity football coach at West Islip, is confident Turri — his former receiver-turned-quarterback — can get it done.

“It should become a pipeline right into their program at St. John’s. I think their ability to connect with Long Island coaches, and the tri-state area for that matter as well, will be a priceless asset for St. John’s University,” Horan said. “If you’re a mom or a dad, you want your son playing for Justin Turri and Kyle Turri.”