The St. John’s Red Storm basketball team bounced back from a heartbreaking 83-82 loss to the No. 15 Iowa State Cyclones on Monday, responding Tuesday night in Las Vegas with one of the Red Storm’s most complete and determined performances of the season — a 96-81 win vs. the Baylor Bears that showcased resilience, balance, and poise on both ends of the floor.
The New York Post’s Zach Braziller took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) account, posting comments he captured from the senior transfer from Stanford following the win. The post highlighted the simplicity behind the 24-hour turnaround. Following the loss to the Cyclones the previous night, Pitino gave his players a short but powerful directive — one that senior Oziyah Sellers took to heart.
“Conversations have been pretty simple, him just saying, ‘shoot the ball.'”
Pitino’s approach wasn’t subtle. After the Red Storm’s 83-82 loss to Iowa State on Monday, he urged Sellers and fellow transfer guard Bryce Hopkins to be more assertive. The veteran coach said postgame that he “begged” both players to take more shots, and the result was exactly what he wanted — aggression, rhythm, and confidence.
Sellers responded with his best performance of the season, while Hopkins poured in 26 points to lead the way. Together, they combined for 48 points as the Red Storm shot 57.4% from the field and pulled away late behind their relentless tempo, sharp execution, and much-improved ball movement.
The win was a bounce-back moment for a St. John’s basketball team whose identity continues to evolve under the two-time NCAA champion, now in his third season leading the program since being hired in March 2023. With the tournament stage, a ranked opponent, and Pitino’s challenge in mind, the response couldn’t have been louder.
For Sellers, it was proof that the simplest message can sometimes lead to the biggest results — one confident “shoot the ball” at a time.
