Report: St. John's, Steve Lavin close to extension

The upward swing of the St. John's basketball program looks set to continue.

Rather than let Steve Lavin enter the 2015-16 season as a lame duck - and likely welcoming speculation of interest from bigger suitors - St. John's is in the process of finalizing an extension with their head coach. While the deal is being finalized, the number of years is still being discussed, according to a report from Andy Katz of ESPN.

Lavin has some leverage, having just led the Red Storm to the NCAA tournament with a 21-12 record and 10-8 mark in the Big East. In five seasons at the helm, Lavin has taken St. John's to two NCAA tournament appearances and a pair of NIT berths, with the former marking the school's first since 2002.

Prior to landing with St. John's, Lavin spent seven seasons at UCLA, making the tournament six times. He owns a 226-133 career record.

St. John's has the No. 40-ranked incoming recruiting class for 2015, according to 247Sports.