Wednesday, October 16, 2024

St. John's Anticipates Another Big Season In Year 2 Of Pitino Regime

 

Rick Pitino working the sidelines during a game at Carnesecca Arena last season. Photo by Jason Schott.


The St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team held its Media Day at Carnesecca Arena on Tuesday, as the second season of the regime of Head Coach Rick Pitino commences.

Last season, St. John's won 20 games and made it to the Big East Tournament semifinals, where it lost a tight one to eventual champion Connecticut, and narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament.

St. John's received 91 votes in the Associated Press (AP) Preseason Top 25 poll, the second-most by teams on the outside of it, and was one of six teams from the Big East to receive votes. 

In the KenPom.com ratings, St. John's came in at No. 19, the second-highest for the Red Storm since the poll was created in 1997. Only the 1999-2000 team had a higher rating, at No. 7, ahead of a season in which it reached the Elite Eight.

Returning St. John's players are Zuby Ejiofor, RJ Luis Jr., Simeon Wilcher, Brady Dunlap, and Sadiku Ibine Ayo. 

Ejiofor was named one of the team's co-captain for this season, after the transfer from Kansas appeared in all 33 games last season, as he averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game.

Kadary Richmond, the All-Big East First Team selection who transferred from Seton Hall, was named the other captain.

"This was the players' vote and it was near unanimous," Pitino said on Tuesday. "Zuby was unanimous, and Kadary was near unanimous...[Richmond] practices hard all the time, he's a good leader and he's really a terrific guy. I love coaching him. Zuby is a highly-octane and brings it every single day. The players see that he's always in a great mood so I think they were two excellent choices. I think the coaches would have voted them as well."

On Thursday, St. John's heads to Rutgers to take on the No. 25 Scarlet Knights in a charity game supporting the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund and the V Foundation.

"Well, obviously Thursday is a big day for us to see where we're at," Pitino said. "We're playing a top 25 team, and what we wanted to do is raise a lot of money for Dick Vitale's Cancer Research for children. There's no better place than to play a sold-out place on the road to get ready for a season because Rutgers has a very distinct and strong home-court advantage. 

"Going on the road right away tells you about your team. It tells you who's mentally tough, who's physically tough, and who's ready for the likes of Baylor, Tennessee, Fordham, Georgia, and teams like that as you segue into the Big East. We're very excited about it and looking forward to see what we have."

Pitino said of the starting lineup heading into the season, "The team that we start against Rutgers won't necessarily be the team we start against Fordham, but I think probably with this basketball team, more than any team I've coached, with the exception of 1996 Kentucky, I think you'll see multiple starting lineups.

"I think you'll always see Kadary [Richmond] starting. I think you'll always see Zuby [Ejiofor] starting, more than likely you'll always see [Simeon Wilcher] starting, but that's it. Then the rest of it, flip a coin. To me, with this basketball team, who plays the most minutes will be the most valuable."

Wilcher was asked about missing the NCAA Tournament last season, and he said, "It motivates our group immensely because not a lot of us have had the chance to play in a March Madness. To be a few games short or a game short, whatever it was that kept the committee from putting us in there, we know how that feels and we just don't want to feel that again. We all want to [play in the NCAA Tournament] because that's the best part, it's what we all dreamt of and we all grew up watching. I think this year we have the team to do it."


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