The St. John’s basketball team got off to a great start in its offseason with two Top-20 additions from the transfer portal with Arizona State guard Joson Sannon and Providence forward Bryce Hopkins, but Rick Pitino still has at least one specific need he is eyeing.
“Certainly, it’s point guard right now, that’s No. 1,” he told reporters at the Final Four in San Antonio as he received the Associated Press Co-Coach of the Year.
St. John’s is losing standout guards Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith due to eligibility constraints and Simeon Wilcher, at the moment, projects more as a shooting guard than a point guard according to the Hall of Famer.
“We need two guards. We got to bring in two guards, but we need a point guard,” he continued.
St. John’s has been heavily involved with a number of guards that have entered the transfer portal, including Princeton’s Xaivian Lee. The two-time All-Ivy League selection is one of the most sought-after guards in the transfer portal although schools like Kentucky and Duke have not pursued the 6-foot-4 point guard.
North Carolina and Florida have been reported as contenders along with the Johnnies.
The Red Storm are also recruiting Stanford guard Oziyah Sellers, who was a teammate of Vince Iwuchukwu at USC for a season. Sellers shot 42.9-percent from 3-point range during his sophomore year with the Trojans and 40.1-percent last season for the Cardinal.
The Johnnies are slated to be hosting Sellers on a visit after the recruiting dead period ends following the Final Four and the hope is also to get Lee on campus.
A name that recently dropped in the transfer portal is North Carolina guard Ian Jackson. The former 5-star recruit from Our Savior Lutheran (NY) had been linked to St. John’s after Rick Pitino took over the program, but remainder committed to the Tar Heels. He shot 39.5-percent from downtown this season.
Expect St. John’s to add a wing from the portal, too. Illinois transfer Tre White included the Red Storm in his six finalists before committing to Kansas.
Players can no longer enter the transfer portal after Tuesday, April 22 unless there is a head coaching change at their school in which they would still have 30 days to enter the portal after the departure.