St. John’s basketball officially welcomes 2024 recruiting class

The St. John’s basketball team has officially welcomed its 2024 recruiting class. 

Three new players will officially be joining the St. John’s basketball team next season as the program has announced its recruiting class.

Rick Pitino has signed Greek prospect Lefteris Liotopoulos, 4-star center Khaman Maker, and 4-star sign Jaiden Glover.

The class ranks No. 38 in the country, according to 247Sports, although Liotopoulos is not listed in the individual rankings because he is an international prospect, but does rank as On3‘s No. 35 shooting guard.

“Lefteris is the best young player in Greece who really understands everything that goes into our offenses in terms of movement, cutting and shooting,” Rick Pitino, who coached in Greece for three years, said in a statement.

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Liotopoulos, who is the first international prospect to commit to St. John’s since Pitino took overt he program, averaged 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this summer playing for Greece’s U18 national team at the 2023 FIBA European Championship.

Khaman Maker, the 7-foot-1 center from Las Vegas, should be a much needed presence for the Red Storm next season.

Pitino has documented how poor the frontcourt is for the Red Storm this season and it will not get better with the pending graduations of Joel Soriano and Chris Ledlum.

“Khaman is a young man with great potential,” the Hall of Famer said. “He is an elite shot blocker who will only get stronger and better each month of the season.”

Maker is ranked as the No. 125 prospect in the Class of 2024, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and posted 6.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks per game this summer at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam.

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The highest ranked recruit in the St. John’s basketball class is Jaiden Glover, a super athletic wing from The Patrick School (NJ).

Glover is the No. 56 player in the 247Sports Composite ranking and has seen a steady increase in his evaluations since he began his high school career at Roselle Catholic (NJ), the same program that produced current Red Storm freshman Simeon Wilcher.

“We are big believers in size and shooting ability with backcourt players,” Rick Pitino explained.

“Jaiden is an outstanding perimeter shooter and a terrific athlete with excellent size.”

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The Red Storm, behind Wilcher and 4-star wing Brady Dunlap, had the No. 27 recruiting class in the country last season, despite Pitino landing both players very late in the cycle.

St. John’s was rumored to be involved with 5-star North Carolina commit Ian Jackson since the hiring of Pitino, but Jackson recently signed his National Letter of Intent with the Tar Heels.

Wilcher had been previously signed with North Carolina before he requested his release from his NLI and eventually landed in Queens.

The Red Storm also hosted Long Island Lutheran (NY) 5-star standout VJ Edgecombe this week on an official visit but have an uphill battle against Duke and the G-League Ignite.