Pitt assistant basketball coach Barry Rohrssen spent the day in New York yesterday interviewing with St. John's athletic officials about the position of associate head coach on Norm Roberts' staff.

Rohrssen, Roberts and St. John's athletic director Dave Wegrzyn were at the Knicks-Nets NBA playoff game last night at Madison Square Garden. Rohrssen did not return phone calls yesterday from the Post-Gazette.

One Pitt athletic official said the situation would have some resolution "in the next couple of days."

The St. John's program is attempting to rebuild and could use Rohrssen, Pitt's ace recruiter in the five New York boroughs, to help keep New York's top talent at home. He is chiefly responsible for landing New York talent, including point guard Carl Krauser and forward Chris Taft.

Rohrssen must weight the allure of going home and a significant increase in pay against the ongoing NCAA investigation at St. John's concerning allegations made by former player Abe Keita that he received monthly payments of $300 during his time at the school. The New York Post reported in editions yesterday that St. John's is bracing for possible sanctions including loss of scholarships and probation. Not to mention his status at Pitt, where he has established himself as one of the top recruiters in the country at a top-10 program.

Pitt is expected to come back with a counter offer to keep Rohrssen. Money shouldn't be an issue for Pitt. The school was prepared to pay Ben Howland $1.5 million to remain at Pitt last year at this time. Even with the school reworking coach Jamie Dixon's contract there would be money left over to keep Rohrssen.

Pitt has one of the top seniors in the country scheduled for a visit this weekend. Alex Galindo is one of the top small forwards still looking for a school, but Rohrssen has handled most of Galindo's recruitment.