The St. John's basketball team will be seeing the return of head coach Rick Pitino on Saturday afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET, FOX) against No. 17 Marquette after he missed Tuesday's loss to Seton Hall with COVID, but there will still be missing parts for the Johnnies when tipoff rolls around.
Jordan Dingle, who also missed the Red Storm's defeat, will not be ready to play as he continues to recover from the virus, Pitino said on Friday morning.
"He feels like I felt two days ago," Pitino stated.
All other players are expected to play for St. John's as none have become ill throughout the week.
The Hall of Famer was noncommittal on the availability of Dingle for Wednesday night's (8:30 p.m. ET, FoxSports1) game against Villanova, citing that he has become out of shape after being bedridden since his positive test.
St. John's will also be without assistant coaches Van Macon, Ricky Johns, and Taliek Brown on Saturday because of COVID.
"I think I'll be okay," Pitino joked when asked how he would operate without three of his coaches on the bench.
"Back in the day when I was Hubie Brown's assistant , I did the scouting, I did the charts...there was nobody next to me. Richie Adubato was on the road," he added.
"I know we have a lot of assistants today, but I remember those days of being with just Hubie and me on the bench."
Associate head coach Steve Masiello, who served as the acting head coach during Rick Pitino's absence, and assistant coach Bob Walsh will be on the sidelines.
Sophomore guard Cruz Davis has rejoined the team but will not play for the remainder of the season, according to Pitino. Davis suffered a setback from his broken hand and has no feeling in his finger.
St. John's will apply for a medical redshirt after doctors said it could take between eight and twelve months for the feeling to return.
Davis played in just four games this season for the Johnnies.