The pickings are slim for the St. John’s basketball team at center after its top transfer portal option, Massamba Diop, committed to Gonzaga over the Red Storm on Tuesday as they try to replace superstar Zuby Ejiofor in the middle.
Throughout the offseason, the Johnnies had interest in Kansas’ Flory Bidunga, Seton Hall Najai Hines, and Cincinnati’s Moustapha Thiam but nothing materialized.
Bidunga committed to Louisville on his first official visit of the offseason as did Hines with UConn. Thiam visited St. John’s but with the program invested in landing Diop, Thiam eventually committed to Michigan.
Now, St. John’s is backed into a corner at a position that Rick Pitino told its fanbase was of vast importance after being eliminated by Duke in the Sweet 16.
“If you look at all the teams remaining, there’s one common denominator,” Pitino said in a video sent to St. John’s fans on Sunday, March 29. “They all have seven-foot plus center and we did not. That’s something we’re looking at strongly right now.”
Currently the Red Storm have 6-foot-10 rising junior Ruben Prey on its roster, who is expected to play a much bigger role for the team this season, and recently landed 7-foot Serbian center Lazar Stojkovic, who is expected to be a depth piece in his first year on the team.
So where do the Johnnies go from here? Well, we break down some of the remaining top options left for St. John’s to pursue.
Luigi Suigo, Italy
A fast-rising name in college basketball circles, Luigi Suigo has been contacted by several high major programs about playing in the United States next season, but he also has an eye on his future.
Listed at 7-foot-3 and 19 years old, Suigo has declared for this June’s NBA Draft and is projected as an early second round by according to ESPN as its No. 36 prospect.
However, given the NIL resources St. John’s did not use on Massamba Diop, which would have been one of its largest offers in this era of college basketball, the Red Storm could try and lure the Italian standout to New York City with the chance to become a first-round pick next season in a much weaker draft.
The catch is that the NCAA deadline for players to withdraw and maintain their eligibility is May 27 while international players have until June 13 to pull their name out.
Alexandros Samodurov, Greece
Another international player that could be available to St. John’s that would have a slight connection to Rick Pitino as Alex Samodurov currently plays for Panathinaikos, the team Pitino coached in Greece after he was fired from Louisville.
Like Luigi Suigo, he also has declared for the 2026 NBA Draft while evaluating his options of playing college basketball next season at 21 years old. However, the 7-footer is ranked as the No. 76 player in the ESPN Top 100 prospects.
Vince Iwuchukwu, Georgetown
An old friend of St. John’s, Vince Iwuchukwu entered the transfer portal, but his situation is complicated.
Iwuchukwu is currently out of eligibility after spending two seasons at USC and two St. John’s and Georgetown, but he is currently seeking a waiver that would allow him to play one more year of college basketball after a cardiac arrest incident going into his freshman season at USC limited him to only 14 games.
The 7-foot-1 center had plans to stay at St. John’s last offseason, but the Red Storm’s acquisition of Dillon Mitchell put Iwuchukwu into the portal.
Are there hard feelings? Would Vince Iwuchukwu even want to return to the Red Storm? It’s all up for debate but memories have to be short in the transfer portal era and if he gets granted a 5th year, St. John’s has to explore the opportunity of a return.
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