Transfer update of St. John's basketball players on Mike Anderson's final roster

Much was mostly forgotten about the St. John's basketball players on Mike Anderson's final roster in Queens despite seeing nine players enter the transfer portal.

Only two, Joel Soriano and Drissa Traore, remained with the Red Storm in Rick Pitino's first season with the Johnnies and fans got to see the familiar faces of Posh Alexander (Butler) and Dylan Addae-Wusu (Seton Hall) multiple times this season.

But what about everybody else? Many players found themselves back in the transfer portal this offseason with new homes as college basketball's landscape changes daily.

Joel Soriano exhausted all of his eligibility and is working on finding himself a professional basketball career while Drissa Traore was one of three players on last season's team to enter the portal. Traore committed to Rhode Island.

Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu also entered the portal for the second straight season and some speculated that the two would be looking reunite after three seasons in Queens, but Alexander committed to Dayton for his final year of eligibility while Addae-Wusu eventually withdrew his name from the transfer market and returned to Seton Hall.

Rafael Pinzon also entered the transfer portal after one season at Bryant before withdrawing his name to remain with the program. He will make his return to Queens this season on December 13 when St. John's hosts the Bulldogs.

One of the biggest names to enter the portal this offseason in the entire the sport was AJ Storr, who left Wisconsin after just one season. It was reported that Storr was asking for $1 million in NIL money as he entered the portal but settled around $750K to join the Kansas Jayhawks.

A lot of attention will be on Storr next season as Kansas will have National Championship aspirations.

St. John's fans will get to see another familiar face in the Big East after Kolby King, a reserve guard in his one year with the Red Storm, left Tulane and transferred to Butler. He averaged 10.4 points per game with the Green Wave this season.

Another seldom used freshman on Mike Anderson's final roster with the Johnnies, Mo Keita, will also be starting his third school in as many years after transferring from Tulane to Temple. Keita was initially expected to remain on Rick Pitino's roster before entering the portal in early May 2023.

Two players, Andre Curbelo (Southern Mississippi) and O'Mar Stanley (Boise State), did not enter the transfer portal this offseason. Curbelo's season started late as he was ineligible to play before the NCAA's transfer rule was suspended midway through the season. He only played in 12 games but averaged 13.6 points per contest.

Stanley excelled with the Broncos, averaging 12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He will be entering his fourth year of eligibility.

David Jones was one of the biggest surprises early in the season last year as Memphis skyrocketed into the Top-10 of the polls before nosediving and missing the NCAA Tournament. However, Jones averaged 21.8 points per game and could have returned to the Tigers for his final season of eligibility but elected to remain in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Mike Anderson had three players in his 2023 recruiting class before his firing, 4-star forward Brandon Gardner, junior college All-American Yaxel Lendeborg, and unranked prospect Harrison Reede.

Brandon Gardner was ravished by injuries this season after committing to USC following his release from his NLI with the Red Storm. He played in just one game and committed to Arizona State shortly after entering the portal.

Harrison Reede landed at Southern Utah and never played in a game this season. He committed this offseason to Incarnate Word after transferring.

Yaxel Lendeborg was probably the biggest miss that Rick Pitino had while making his first St. John's basketball roster. The 6-foot-9 forward would have been extremely coveted had he entered the transfer portal after his one season at UAB.

Lendeborg averaged 13.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while being named as the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, a First Team All-AAC selection, and the Most Valuable Player of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

As for Mike Anderson, he remains in a $45.6 million lawsuit against St. John's that was filed in May 2023 after he claims he was only fired with cause so the school did not have to pay him the rest of his contract and hire Rick Pitino.