St. John’s basketball: Rick Pitino showers praise on freshmen duo

St. John’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino praised his freshmen on social media. 

It has been a roster comprised of a high amount of transfers for Rick Pitino as he enters his first season as the head coach of the St. John’s basketball team but the Hall of Famer still has a soft spot for his freshmen.

Pitino only brought in two prospects in his inaugural recruiting class in Queens, 4-star guard Simeon Wilcher and 3-star forward Brady Dunlap, and he took to Twitter to share some thoughts about the youngsters.

“People every day keep asking me about my two freshmen. Brady Dunlap and Simeon Wilcher,” Pitino tweeted.

“I don’t like their skills — I love them. PHD’s × 2! Passionate, Hungry, and Driven.”

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Dunlap, a former Notre Dame pledge, was the first of the duo to commit to the Red Storm after reopening his recruitment following the dismissal of head coach Mike Brey.

https://twitter.com/RealPitino/status/1681852797954953217?s=20

The 6-foot-7 forward is listed as the No. 154 player in the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, No. 35 small forward in the class, and No. 24 player in the state of California.

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Simeon Wilcher, like Brady Dunlap, was also committed to another program in North Carolina but requested his release from his National Letter of Intent after the Tar Heels made other roster transactions that might have taken away minutes from the Roselle Catholic (NJ) standout.

The 6-foot-4 guard is the No. 34 player in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, No. 4 player in New Jersey, and, listed as a combo guard, the No. 7 player at his position.

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“Awesome young men to coach,” Pitino concluded his social media remarks.

St. John’s made another addition in the transfer portal with the commitment from Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum, who reentered the portal after two months at Tennessee.

Iona transfer Quinn Slazinski opted to go back into the transfer portal following Ledlum’s decision.