There's new energy in Queens, New York for the first time since the early 1990s. St. John's Basketball has re-galvanized this basketball community before facing Alabama on Saturday. Head coach Rick Pitino is igniting the enthusiasm following the Red Storm's historic 2024-25 season.
St. John's is fifth in the nation for the first time since the 1990-91 season, when Malik Sealy led the Red Storm. Now fans around the Jamaican Queens campus are envisioning national title run. Especially after thrashing Quinnipiac to start the season and holding down the No.5 ranking.
But with the high ranking comes a bullseye plastered on the back of the Red Storm. It's not just the Crimson Tide seeking to rattle the top five rankings inside Madison Square Garden Saturday, but Big East teams want a piece of St. John's.
Still, Pitino has built a trending contender — one capable of becoming better than last year's talented crew for these reasons.
St. John's basketball bolstered the roster here
RJ Luis became a tough loss, as the leading scorer left for the portal and then the NBA Draft.
Except the two-time national championship winner reeled in the nation's top College Basketball Transfer Portal class, per 247Sports.
One impacted the Red Storm on Monday in Cincinnati transfer Dillon Mitchell. The four-star portal find and former Big East rival led all scorers with 18 points in 26 minutes. He showed his ball-hawking side on the floor already — turning this steal into a dunk.
D-MITCH GOIN' 🆙😁 pic.twitter.com/djtxrTo0As
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) November 4, 2025
He wasn't the only impact newcomer. Five-star transfer addition and former North Carolina Tar Heel Ian Jackson dropped 15. Bryce Hopkins is one more impact transfer with a lot of fanfare — and he chipped in eight points in coming from Providence. Shooting guard Joson Sanon (Arizona State transfer) dropped 14 points in 19 minutes off the bench.
St. John's already is receiving flashes of stardom from its transfers. Stanford transfer Oziyah Sellers rises as one more expected to add an extra shooting touch on the floor. Sellers was also at USC for two seasons but delivered his best season at The Farm (13.7 points per game) last season.
Overall, Pitino replaced Luis with more veteran leadership and talent already experienced in the power conference realm.
St. John's still brings back this impact performer
Zuby Ejiofor has stuck around the private Catholic school — already making it bad news for opponents.
The 6-foot-9 forward became known for banging inside and wearing defenses down in the paint. He's picking up where he left off, proven by this hammering transition dunk in front of two defenders.
ZZZUUUUUBBBBYYYYYY 💪 pic.twitter.com/4ZGne0bDWL
— St. John's Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) November 4, 2025
He scored 17 on the Bobcats and now has 29 games of hitting double digits in scoring the last two seasons. Ejiofor is more revered for pouring 33 points in the Big East semifinals against Marquette, plus delivered a 16-game streak of scoring 10 or more points.
Worse for future foes including those on the Atlantic Coast? Ejiofor already is showing cohesion with Mitchell, making this a feared forward tandem moving forward.
Rick Pitino has great success in season three
Pitino's teams trend higher in year three together as of late.
He left Iona in great standing — taking the Gaels to a 27-8 mark that included the regular season and tournament championship in the MAAC.
His third Louisville team entered the season No. 16 then shot up to No. 4. He also oversaw Louisville's transition to the Big East and later on the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Even Kentucky ascended in season three with Pitino — winning the Southeastern Conference tournament title following UK's NCAA Tournament ban over recruiting violations.
Season three in St. John's has higher expectations. But his team already looks stacked and loaded for a title run. St. John's has never won a national championship in its 119-season history. Pitino's crew built itself to become the first.
