The St. John’s basketball coaching staff will be without one of its assistants entering the 2025-26 season after it was announced that Van Macon will be stepping away from the program to pursue professional opportunities.
Macon joined the Red Storm coaching staff when Mike Anderson was hired in 2019 and was the only person to remain on the staff when Anderson was fired in 2023 and school hired Rick Pitino.
He spent a total of six seasons with the Johnnies and was an associate head coach for the final two seasons under Anderson’s tenure. Macon helped the program land New York recruits like Posh Alexander, Dylan Addae-Wusu, and Julian Champagnie.
“We greatly appreciate Van Macon’s contributions to St. John’s Basketball and wish him the best in his future endeavors,” Pitino said in a statement released by the program.
The Queens native missed a portion of this year while dealing with a health related issue but returned to the bench late in the regular season as St. John’s would win the Big East regular season and tournament championships.
Prior to arriving at St. John’s, Van Macon spent time at Saint Louis, Rutgers, and Hofstra among others.
There are no other coaching changes expected with Rick Pitino’s staff as Steve Masiello will remain as the associate head coach with Bob Walsh, Taliek Brown, and Ricky Johns continuing their roles as assistant coaches.
“I put together a great, great [coaching] staff,” Pitino explained after the Red Storm defeated UConn in Storrs this February.
“That’s been the key to my whole career. The only time it didn’t go well is when I hired the wrong staff, but I’ve hired a great staff…if I want to give myself a pat on the back, I’ve hired great people, fabulous people, and this staff is absolutely fabulous.”