That’s ironic.
AJ Storr finds himself back in the same city where he started his college career for the biggest game of his life.
A year after leaving St. John’s, Storr is in New York City for his NCAA Tournament debut.
“I wish I could have played at Madison Square Garden,” he joked. “But it doesn’t really matter. My goal this weekend is to come to this moment in March Madness and live in this moment. It feels crazy just playing in this.”
Barclays Center will need a 6-foot-7 wing that can score.
It’s been a tumultuous 12 months for Stowe, from the time former coach Mike Anderson was fired to arriving at Wisconsin and leading the South’s fifth-seeded Badgers in scoring.
Storr said he had several conversations with Rick Pitino after taking the Johnny job, but was already in the transfer portal and almost ready to leave.
He ended up choosing Wisconsin, just over an hour’s drive from his hometown of Rockford, Illinois.
St. John’s loss was the Badgers’ gain.
Storr averaged a team-high 16.9 points and 3.9 rebounds for the Badgers.
He helped the Big Ten program return to the tournament after missing last March, providing a dynamic scoring option the side lacked.
In the Big Ten tournament, Stowe averaged 22.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, helping Wisconsin (22-13) overcome a late regular season slump to advance to the title game.
“AJ is a talent that you don’t see a lot in the Wisconsin locker room,” teammate Carter Gilmore said Friday before the Badgers’ first-round game against No. 12 James Madison. “When we saw him on the first day of practice, he jumped out right away and gave us an athletic boost. He can do a lot of things that other people obviously can’t do. He does a lot on the offensive side. He got us out of a situation and gave us the option defensively to protect their best player, their most athletic player. He brings what I think is the spirit of a dog.”
Storr, a consensus four-star recruit out of IMG Academy (Fla.), played a limited role in his one year at St. John’s under Anderson.
He averaged 8.8 points in 21.1 minutes for the Red Storm, but had a poor season in 2018-15.
This led to Anderson’s firing and Pitino’s hiring. Storr was given a big opportunity at the University of Wisconsin, where he was named to the All-Big Ten second team and had an outstanding performance.
“The more I get on the floor, the better I feel,” Storr said. “The more you repeat, the more comfortable you become. …I knew I could always [doing this]”
Although Storr is gone, he remains committed to his alma mater. He remains close with St. John’s winger Glen Taylor Jr. Glenn Taylor Jr., his high school teammate, transferred to Queen’s and was a part-time starter.
“It’s a shame they didn’t make it,” Storr said of the despised Johnny. “I wish they could have made it.”
Storr wants to make the most of his opportunities in dance. Before Friday night’s tip-off, he plans to scan the crowd for his mother, Annette Brandi, who was with him throughout the trip.
“I remember being a kid and sitting on the couch with my girlfriend watching ‘March Madness,’ and now we’re playing in it,” he recalled.
