Senior guard Nahiem Alleyne was a key contributor off the bench for the UConn Huskies in their run to the national title in 2023, and now he will be a member of the Huskies' Big East conference rival in the St. John's Red Storm, he announced on Twitter.

St. John's basketball head coach Rick Pitino has brought in some players to replenish the team's roster, and Nahiem Alleyne is the latest one. Alleyne has experience starting at a high level with the Virginia Tech basketball program in the ACC, even though he did sparingly with the UConn Huskies. Alleyne was likely going to have a similar role if he had stayed at UConn for one more year, so the St. John's basketball program makes sense from a playing time perspective. It does not hurt that he is going to one of the greatest coaches to do it in Rick Pitino.

Alleyne averaged 26 minutes per game in his freshman year at Virginia Tech basketball, according to sports reference. His sophomore year, he averaged 28.4 minutes per game, and 31.1 minutes per game in his senior year, starting all 36 games he played. At UConn, he averaged 18 minutes per game, a clear decrease in playing time. While he was there, he accepted his role and performed well in the second half of the season and in the NCAA Tournament. It is very possible, that UConn does not win the national championship without Alleyne's contributions.

For Rick Pitino, Alleyne will be a key contributor in his first season. Alleyne hopes to help St. John's basketball get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.