College Hoops Top 50

Last Year: 20-13; 11-9, Fifth in the Big East Conference, No Postseason

Head Coach: Rick Pitino (Second Year)

Projected Starting Lineup

G Deivon Smith – 6’0″, 175 5th-year Senior

G Kadary Richmond – 6’6″, 205 5th-year Senior

W RJ Luis – 6’7″, 215 Junior

F Aaron Scott – 6’7″, 210 Senior

F/C Zuby Ejiofor – 6’9″, 240 Junior

Experienced Reserves

G Simeon Wilcher – 6’4″, 190 Sophomore

W Brady Dunlap – 6’7″, 190 Sophomore

F Sadiku Abine Ayo – 6’6″, 215 Junior

C Vincent Iwuchukwu – 7’1″, 250 Junior

Freshmen

G Lefteris Liotoupolos – 6’4″, 200 / Greece

G Jaiden Glover – 6’4″, 205 / Consensus Top 100 recruit

F Ruben Prey – 6’10”, 230 / Portugal

C Khaman Maker – 7’2″, 220

He’s still slick, folks.

Things didn’t go quite as planned last year for the Red Storm, but that sure hasn’t stopped their legendary head coach, Rick Pitino. In Pitino’s debut at St. John’s, he assembled an excellent transfer class which befit his iconic status as a program-builder and producer of NBA first-round picks.

All of that talent didn’t always translate all at the same time, though. On February 18th, the Johnnies were sitting at 14-12 overall and 6-9 in Big East play. A late six-game win streak got the Red Storm to 20 victories, but their season ended with a valiant effort against UConn in the conference tournament semifinals. Then, a whole bunch of that talent departed or ran out of eligibility.

Pitino needed to make a splash all over again, and it took until so long into the silly season of the transfer portal that people were questioning whether he still had it.

Then, the first week of May, Pitino struck, and on back-to-back days, no less. The Johnnies signed two of the most in-demand stars of any program in the country by landing established point guards Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith. After that, things started to fall into place.

Expectations have been cranked up accordingly, but that’s really nothing new for Pitino, and they certainly come with playing in one of the nation’s great conferences. A microcosm of the Big East itself last year, St. John’s was thiiiiis close to achieving greater things. This winter, the fire has been re-stoked, and the Johnnies’ intention is to let it burn well into March.

One of the nation’s best two-way players, Richmond is a fearsome force defensively, and last season he blossomed as an offensive weapon. At 6’6″, Richmond can guard nearly anyone but big post players, and he’s an elite stopper. He’s also a playmaker all over the floor who led the Big East (and ranked 14th nationally) with 77 steals last year, and paired with Smith, he should be unleashed as a full-court force like never before. The two dynamic lead guards can combine their efforts against different types of opponents, and should give Pitino all sorts of options to put the pressure on.

“They’re very good passers, high IQ passers. They get everybody involved. They like to share the ball and get others going.”

– RJ Luis on Kadary Richmond & Deivon Smith

“He [Smith] just never stops on both ends of the court, keeps going, gets after it,” Richmond said at a St. John’s NIL event this summer. “He’s very aggressive.”

With his ability to finish plays that originate anywhere on the floor at any time, Richmond has always relied most on getting to the rack for his points. He hasn’t always shot the ball efficiently, but when Richmond gets a head of steam there are few better at getting downhill with bad intentions and creating a look for himself or others. Turnovers have been a consistent problem and he’s used to dominating the ball, so Ruchmond will need to tighten things up in a few ways. Some of those things have been griped before about Smith. Thus, their ability to feed off of one another will be a central storyline to the Red Storms’ success this winter. For his part, Smith is excited by what he’s seen so far from Richmond.

“I feel like we feed off each other,” Smith told the New York Post this summer, speaking about his budding chemistry with Richmond. “We’ve been playing pretty good in practice. To play with another guard like that, another athlete, is going to show different aspects of my game.”

There are lingering raw feelings in a nearby state about Richmond’s decision to transfer within the conference and join St. John’s. A first-team All-Big East star at Seton Hall last year, Richmond enjoyed the best season of his career under Shaheen Holloway’s leadership and became the face of the program, leading the Pirates to an NIT championship. Conference matchups this season – especially the one in Orange, NJ – are going to be spicy. After trying out ahead of the NBA Draft, Richmond is hoping to address the most glaring deficiency in his game: the jump shot. Though he had converted 37.5% of his triple tries over his first three years (at low volume), Richmond tallied just 17 makes at career-worst 27.0% from distance last season. He’s feeling confident that the advice he got from scouts and subsequent work he’s put in this offseason will start to show with St. John’s.

“Being able to get more attempts off catch-and-shoots and stuff like that,” Richmond explained this summer. “And really being able to show the work I’ve been putting in on my jump shot.” He made the fourth-most free throws on the fifth-most attempts in the Big East, converting at a 80.7%, the best rate of his career. There is potential for Richmond to take the next step, and his new co-captain will help him get good looks along the way.

Despite their height difference, it’s the 6’1″ Smith who has proven to be a more regular triple-double threat. Richmond had one last year, a fantastic 21/11/11 performance against Creighton. Smith had five of them during his 21 starts last year, and finished one assist short of the feat in two other games. There’s going off, and there’s going off, and down the stretch last winter Smith absolutely combusted. He may be smaller but Smith is just as electric with the ball in his hands as Richmond. Though he hadn’t played a full season since his freshman year, Smith was invaluable for Utah, especially after injuries hit the backcourt around him.

Like Richmond, Smith will swat shots on the perimeter, and his vertical athleticism is elite at any height. He can also throw down dunks with eye-popping abandon, and Smith does a great deal of his best work near the basket. No matter who is coming out of ball screens for the Johnnies this year, they will be a powerful threat to get or set up baskets at the rim. He had been a 27.3% career shooter from the land of trey prior to last winter, but at Utah, Smith ripped off a career-high 29 triples in his 28 games played, and hit them at a 40.8% clip. If he can keep that up and Richmond can elevate his perimeter shot, there won’t be many ways to stop Pitino’s new star pairing.

“I feel like it’s very versatile. They can play the one or the two,” wing RJ Luis enthused, speaking about his new teammates at a press conference this summer. “They’re very good passers, high IQ passers. They get everybody involved. They like to share the ball and get others going…I’m very excited to play with them two, just the style of play, how fast they get up and down the court, their ability to move the ball.”

Luis is the team’s top returning scorer from last year, and the smooth 6’7″ wing knows good offense. He’s averaged double figures in both of his first two seasons, first at UMass and last year in New York. Unfortunately, his debut with the Red Storm was marred by injuries. He broke his hand just before the start of last season, and Luis also suffered a serious outburst of shin splints, which have bothered him for years. He opted to have e surgery on both legs this offseason, and after getting back onto the court this summer, Luis is feeling good.

“I got new legs,” he jested to reporters in July. “For me, the main thing is staying healthy.” When he’s right, Luis glides around the perimeter and gets into the paint effectively. He’s shown some ability to post up smaller players, and Luis significantly increased his rate of attempts near the rim from his freshman to his sophomore campaign. As a shooter, Luis has real potential, but it’s hard to elevate properly with two injured legs, and he sank just eight long balls at just 20.0% with the Johnnies after sinking 16 of them at 34.8% as a rookie. If Luis is good to go, he has the look of a very good complementary option for the star guards.

New to the Johnnies is Aaron Scott, who arrives from North Texas following a breakthrough year for the Mean Green. He has the sleek frame and athleticism of a wing, and Scott also has considerable experience playing in the paint, as he was a small-ball power forward for both Grant McCasland and then Ross Hodge. A defensive standout who can block shots and generally cause mayhem for the other team, Scott can guard an array of different scorers and plays the sort of abrasive defense Pitino loves to see. He’s not a volume chucker, but Scott is a capable jump shooter. He knocked down 44 deep balls last season, and Scott has made 38.1% of his triple tries since becoming a starter two years ago. He keeps the defense honest from mid-range, top, and Scott will drop the hammer on slashes in from the perimeter. Next to Luis, Scott should give Pitino very useful length and options to defend on the wings.

Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks)

78.8 – Points Per Game (52nd)

35.0% – Opponent 3FG Percentage (278th)

15.7 – Assists Per Game (41st)

17.7 – Opponent FT Attempts Per Game (255th)

5.5 – Blocks Per Game (10th)

The St. John’s institution that is Joel Soriano has run out of eligibility, and his departure leaves a considerable hole at the pivot for the Red Storm. His prospective heir, Zuby Ejiofor, was on the roster last year, and he made a noticeable impact last year off the bench. Still, competition has been brought in, and Pitino will give former Southern Cal big man Vincent Iwuchukwu a long look, as well.

Despite averaging just 11.5 minutes per game last winter, Ejiofor finished 12th in the Big East in blocks and 13th in offensive rebounds. He is an energetic, rambunctious big guy who plays with great strength and can hold his own against veteran post players. He’s also a powerful finisher deep in the paint, but the rest of Ejiofor’s offense is still a work in progress. He isn’t shy about trying an open jumper, and Ejiofor made a trio of triples last winter. 17 of the 46 shots he made last year were dunks, though, and Ejiofor shot just 32.1% on all shots away from the rim, per Bart Torvik. He uses his stout frame well in setting screens and rolling to the rim, and Ejiofor used great instincts around the offensive glass to convert 81.8% of his putback tries last year, per Hoop-Math. If he can grow as a face-up threat – and Ejiofor has looked good in fall camp – he could grow quickly into the type of post scorer that can stretch defenders out to the wing.

While he was a freshman at USC, Iwuchukwu endured a less-publicized but equally scary cardiac incident to the episode which sidelined his Trojan teammate Bronny James. As a sophomore Iwuchukwu was healthy, but USC ended up being sort of a mess. His own production was sporadic, and after hitting the portal this spring, the young pivot made an immediate impression on Pitino.

“After putting Vince Iwuchukwu through a player development session, I knew we had to have him in a Johnnies uniform,” Pitino declared on social media this summer. “Excited to have him with so much upside and potential!” At 7’1″, Iwuchukwu has attractive raw skills and the makings of a useful jumper. He’s solid in the post, but Iwuchukwu is hoping to move more smoothly and have a greater effect as a rim protector as a junior. He knows how to finish a lob, and Iwuchukwu converted 17 putback stabs at an 81.2% mark last year. Given their talent, size, and ability to turn good feeds and lost possessions into cheap points, both of Pitino’s budding bigs should be able to produce numbers. How much they can grow their games beyond all that could have a lot to say about this team’s ultimate potential.

Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on

N Tennessee/Virginia – November 22

N Baylor – November 21

vs Kansas State – December 7

v New Mexico – November 17

N Georgia – November 24

The team’s only two freshmen last year were Brady Dunlap and Simeon Wilcher, a pair of young perimeter scorers who should earn significantly larger roles as sophomores. While he averaged just over nine minutes per contest, Wilcher shot the ball very well as a rookie. A consensus Top 50 prospect last fall, Wilcher only scored in double figures once all year. Even so, like a great pinch-hitter in baseball, Wilcher didn’t waste the shots he got to take. He also showed good awareness and vision as a passer, and figures to develop those skills further with the proven playmakers ahead of him. Wilcher should be a help in stretching the floor for his veteran counterparts, and St. John’s will need steady outside shooting. With his own fluid form on the perimeter, Dunlap is every bit as promising a young shooter, and he has the advantage of standing 6’7″. He posted back-to-back games of 13 and 15 points in wins over Villanova and Butler in January, but Dunlap was streaky much of the time. Injury issues of his own hampered Dunlap, but his skills and confidence are undimmed. Said Pitino of Dunlap, “I never worry about his confidence. He thinks he’s Jerry West when he goes out there.”

The Johnnies’ top-rated freshman this year is considered another genuine knock-down shooter. 4-star rookie Jaiden Glover has been hailed as one of the top deep threats in his class, and the 6’5″ youngster can do more than just launch. He’s a good defender who can guard all over the perimeter, and Glover’s quick hands and feet allow him to be in the right place at the right time. As he expands his drive game and ability to score as effectively around the paint as he does from the outside, Glover should become a very valuable all-around player.

His classmate Khaman Maker is another seven-footer, and he can really get from end to end in a hurry. Though his offensive skills aren’t quite on par with his impact rebounding the ball and defending at this point, Maker has intriguing tools. He moves well for his size and is coordinated with good timing as a shot blocker. How many minutes he will get in competition with the veterans is still a mystery, but Pitino sees Maker developing into a good one. Letters Liotoupolos and Rùben Prey are another pair of rookies who were born overseas, and Pitino likes their skills long-term. Prey is a face-up big from Portugal, while Liotoupolos turned in a string performance this summer as a playmaking guard for Greece at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket tournament. Iona transfer Sadiku Abine Ayo is also back after playing just five games before an injury took him out last winter.

If this year’s Red Storm is to avoid the ups and downs of last season, they’re going to need the young shooters to make their shots. Richmond and Smith are going to be very effective at getting their buddies good looks, and the Johnnies can be a top offensive outfit if things click. There’s something to be said for a year’s development, too. Guys like Ejiofor, Wilcher, Luis, and Dunlap have shown progress, and this team’s cohesion means that St. John’s is going to force the issue on opponents.

“We’re a lot faster than we were last year, the tempo of our offense is going to be a lot faster,” Wilcher said this summer. “We have a whole bunch of freak athletes and people that can get up and down the floor.
“It’s going to be hard for people to stop this year. I feel like we can do really big things.” It won’t be easy in a league full of teams that are hungry to advance in March, but St. John’s has developed a strong young core, and the veterans who will lead them are ready to stand out.