The offseason is mostly in the books for the St. John’s basketball program and shortly the focus will shift to the court for summer workouts, but it won’t come before Rick Pitino will still have to find a replacement for key position on his staff.
After a short stint as the team’s general manager, the Red Storm will be looking for a full-time replacement for Tom Ostrom.
Ostrom became the interim GM for the Johnnies after the firing of Matt Abelmassih in mid-January.
“Thank you to Tom Ostrom for giving so much energy in helping us build our roster,” Rick Pitino said in a post on X on Thursday night.
“Worked tirelessly for months and refused to take a penny. Saying he’s a special man, doesn’t do him justice. [Thanks] Tom and the Johnnies thank you.”
St. John’s built a lot of its roster this offseason around international prospects, specifically British point guard Quinn Ellis, Senegal native Babacar Sane, and Montenegro forward Djordiije Jovanovic but landed transfer portal prospects like Syracuse’s Donnie Freeman, Columbia’s Avery Brown, and Mercer’s Kyle Cuffe Jr.
However, Ostrom was instrumental in helping the Red Storm land Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou, who withdrew from the NBA Draft and committed to the Johnnies at the late May deadline.
Prior to the appointment of Tom Ostrom, St. John’s associate head coach Steve Masiello handled a lot of the behind the scenes recruiting through the end of the season, something he will continue to be heavily involved in after the hiring of a full-time general manager.
The Red Storm are coming off of two straight seasons in which they won the outright Big East regular season and tournament championships, something that had never been done before and advanced to its first Sweet 16 since 1999.
Most expect the Johnnies to be one of the favorites, again, in the Big East entering the season primarily due to the addition of Yessoufou, who was projected as a late first round pick in the NBA Draft.
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