The college basketball season has officially come to an end, but the St. John’s basketball program set another new benchmark on the way out.
The Red Storm were ranked No. 11 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season, making its highest ranking to end the season since the 1999-2000 campaign when it was No. 9. It’s the first time the Red Storm were included in the end of season poll since 2010-11.
Rick Pitino watched his team’s steady climb up the poll throughout the season, peaking at No. 5 in the nation entering the NCAA Tournament and closing the season with ten consecutive weeks of being ranked.
No other Big East program was included in the final rankings. Florida, the National Champions, were ranked No. 1 while Houston, Duke, Auburn, and Tennessee competed the Top 5.
St. John’s won 31 games this season, tying a program record for most victories a season, while winning its first Big East regular season championship since 1985 and first conference tournament title since 2000 – which also was the last time the program won an NCAA Tournament game prior to this year.
Pitino was named as the Big East Coach of the Year, Associated Press Coach of the Year, and Naismith Coach of the Year. He had won any of the honors previously in his illustrious career.
Its players also landed major honors in its standout season with RJ Luis landing the Big East Player of the Year as well as being named as a Second Team All-American. Zuby Ejiofor was tabbed with the conference’s Most Improved Player and a First Team All-Big East selection while Kadary Richmond was pegged to the Second Team All-Big East.
The Red Storm have already lost Richmond, Aaron Scott, and Deivon Smith from its roster while Brady Dunlap has announced his entry into the transfer portal and Luis declared for the NBA Draft as well as entering the portal, ending his time at St. John’s.
Arizona State guard Joson Sannon and Providence forward Bryce Hopkins have already committed to the Johnnies, which should set the program up with a lofty preseason ranking entering 2025-26.