Former St John's point guard back in the transfer portal, and a reunion might make sense

When Rick Pitino arrived at St. John’s after the 2022-23 college basketball season, Posh Alexander was one of 10 players from the Red Storm’s roster who fled the scene. After three seasons in Queens, Alexander spent his fourth year of college basketball playing for Thad Matta at Butler. Now he’s back in the portal with one year of eligibility remaining and a reunion could be on the table. 

Last season at Butler, Alexander averaged 11.3 points and 4.9 assists, but most importantly upped his shooting splits from 40/23/72 to 43/33/78. That greatly improved his efficiency, as did a 50% field goal percentage at the rim which allowed him to average 0.8 points per possession as a ball-screen handler which was 60th percentile in college basketball. 

While he is undersized and plays well below the rim, Alexander’s strength and savvy allow him to be an effective Big East point guard. Alexander’s proclivity to back down smaller guards in the low post is reminiscent of Jalen Brunson at Villanova. Though they’re very different players, and Alexander will likely never take the NBA by storm, he and Brunson could share Madison Square Garden next year. 

He did improve his shooting, but Alexander still turned the ball over 2.8 times per game, compared to 2.9 in his final year at St. John’s. He’s not the perfect point guard and previously decided not to play for Pitino when the veteran coach first arrived on campus. However, with Daniss Jenkins and Jordan Dingle both out of eligibility, Pitino should attempt to sell the Brooklyn native on a return. 

So far this offseason, Pitino has gotten commitments from 6-foot-6 wing Aaron Scott from North Texas and 7-foot center Vincent Iwuchukwu from USC in the transfer portal, along with a three-player high school recruiting class but his team is still without a primary initiator. Alexander, for his flaws, would fill that role. 

Last year, Jenkins led the Johnnies in assists at 5.4 per game, while no other player averaged more than 1.8. Four-star high school recruit Boogie Fland recently de-committed from Kentucky and seems interested in staying in New York, but even if St. John’s lands Fland, it’s unlikely that Pitino would hand the keys of his offense to an 18-year-old. 

Without a long-term solution at point guard, Alexander can bridge the gap to either Fland or whoever St. John’s settles on as the future of the backcourt. It may not happen, but a reunion makes too much sense for Pitino to not at least make the call.