The St. John's basketball team has reason to be optimistic about the future as Rick Pitino just finished his first season as head coach. The Red Storm had a decent year, but Pitino wants his squad to be a consistent NCAA Tournament team. Getting there is the goal next season for St. John's, recent transfer portal commit Vince Iwuchukwu should be able to help them out.
Vince Iwuchukwu is transferring from USC basketball after head coach Andy Enfield left to take the head coaching job at SMU. Any time a head coach leaves, there are bound to be transfer portal departures, and Iwuchukwu is one of them. He feels good about his decision to join St. John's basketball.
“Rick Pitino has a lot of faith in me and I have a lot of faith in him,” Iwuchukwu said, according to an article from ZagsBlog. “I got there Tuesday and left Wednesday, it was a good visit. We worked out, talked about basketball and talked about my future. It just feels like the right fit.”
St. John's has big goals, and so does Iwuchukwu. He wants to be able to help this team win and he wants to make deep runs in March and April.
“A hard-working player that just wants to win,” Iwuchukwu said in regards to what he brings to the table. “I want to win a championship there. I want to go to the Final Four. I want to win at St. John’s and it’s in my DNA to win, and I think Rick Pitino has that [goal] for the program as well and it’s just a no-brainer for me.”
It's clear that Iwichukwu liked the pitch that Rick Pitino gave him. He loves what Pitino's plan is for the program and he just wants to come in and help St. John's achieve their goals.
“I know Rick Pitino and the coaching staff have a great vision for the team and they’re going to bring the right people in to help us be a better program,” He added.
Iwuchukwu had an up and down career with USC and a big reason for it was a cardiac arrest incident that he suffered back in 2022. He has recovered well, however, and he played in 31 games this past season and averaged almost 16 minutes per game. It's been great to see him come back from such a scary incident.
Adding Vince Iwuchukwu was a no-brainer for Rick Pitino
This is a huge get for Pitino and the St. John's basketball team. Iwuchukwu has a ton of potential, and it didn't take Pitino long to realize that he wanted him to join the Red Storm.
“After putting Vince Iwuchukwu through a player development session, I knew we had to have him in a Johnnies uniform,” Pitino said in a tweet. “Awesome attitude and work ethic. 7’1, 250, agile, mobile, and shoots the heck out of it. Excited to have him with so much upside and potential!”
Iwuchukwu is excited about what the plan has that St. John's has as a team, but he is also excited for the plan that they have for him. He expects to grow a lot with the Red Storm.
“I’m looking forward to that [playing in the Big East and at Madison Square Garden], but I’m just looking forward to getting better every day,” Iwuchukwu said. “When that time comes to show how much I’ve grown as a player, I’m excited to have that happen.”
Next season should be an exciting one for St. John's basketball. They went 20-13 overall and 11-9 in conference play this past season and didn't quite qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm want to get there badly next year.
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