Rick Pitino is changing the culture in St. John's basketball squad. He is now only left with double-double machine Joel Soriano and rarely-used forward Drissa Traore. The Red Storm experienced a purge as Pitino's coaching style forced most players to enter the transfer portal.

The new St. John's basketball coach predicted that his team would not have the luxury of continuity. He intentionally set the bar so high that nearly all of the previous squad members opted out. An unnamed started supposedly stuck around but missed a class and was late. The young player eventually entered the portal after the incident. Coach Pitino outlined why he treats his players this way in a statement with Seth Davis of The Athletic:

“I love doing it, and I’ve been doing it for over 30 years,” says Pitino with much delight on his tried and tested system.

He further hammered the point by setting his work with Donovan Mitchell in Louisville as an example.

“Our number one recruiting tool is player development. They hear stories about Donovan Mitchell coming to Louisville without a jump shot, and leaving as a great shooter. So I work them out on their visits, or at least I make them watch me work out my own guys. They all say they want to be pros, so I show them how I can help them get there,” he said alluding to Mitchell's success through his intense coaching.

St. John's basketball is in for a ride because Rick Pitino has lofty expectations for his new team.