Transfer portal visits beginning to accumulate for St. John's basketball

Patrolling the transfer portal was one of the reasons the St. John's basketball team declined an NIT berth after being snubbed from the NCAA Tournament and the Red Storm are about to get very busy.

Despite the portal being open for nine days, there hasn't been much activity surrounding the Johnnies, but that is going to change soon.

Bensely Joseph, a transfer from Miami, visited St. John's on Sunday and has been one of the top targets in the portal for the Red Storm. The 6-foot-2 guard played three seasons for the Hurricanes and started 27-of-32 games this year.

He averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 36.4-percent from 3-point range. Based on other needs and additions that Rick Pitino makes this offseason, the 6-foot-2 guard could be a nice player to come off the bench for the Johnnies next season.

St. John's biggest transfer portal target, Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi, had tentative plans to take an unofficial visit to Queens this week but a scheduling conflict forced the trip to be canceled. However, there are still plans for an official visit to take place next week.

Omoruyi would immediately become the Red Storm's starting center next season, filling the void left by captain Joel Soriano. The two-time Big Ten All-Defensive Team selection had his worst statistical season since his freshman year, averaging 10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest, but did post a career-high 2.9 blocks per game.

DJ Davis, a Butler transfer, is also a player that has been linked to the Johnnies and there are plans for him to visit Queens next week. He started his career at UC Irvine berore playing for the Bulldogs last season and averaging 13.5 points per game on 35-percent shooting from 3-point range.

Davis has also declared for the NBA Draft as he enters the transfer portal.

St. John's has seen two players, Cruz Davis and Drissa Traore, enter the transfer portal while they also are looking to replace six players who no longer have eligibility remaining.

There are other players that the Johnnies could target if they enter the transfer portal, which closes on May 1. Players have until May 29 to remove their name from the NBA Draft in order to stay eligible in college.