The mission is to not give the selection committee the opportunity to disrespect you next year.
To do that, Rick Pitino and St. John’s will need to have a big offseason and bring in difference-makers to strengthen their young returning core.
It all started in earnest on Monday, just hours after Johnny skipped the NCAA Tournament.
They will lose several key contributors, most notably star point guard Danis Jenkins, center Joel Soriano, power forward Chris Ledrum, and shooting guard Jordan Dingle.
Reserves Nahiem Alleyne and Sean Conway will also be ineligible.
According to sources, the plan is to add four more transfers. At the top of the list are big men who protect the rim, physical power forwards with great size, and multiple scoring guards.
This is where Matt Abdelmassi, who was hired as the program’s general manager last July, will be very important, and several schools are now taking advantage of this new position in the transfer portal era. He previously served as an assistant coach at St. John’s, Iowa State and Nebraska and is highly regarded for his work on transfers.
It’s clearly an easier task than last spring, when Pitino completely flipped the roster, leaving only Soriano and Dorissa Traore.
It was difficult to get everyone on the same page, and St. John’s didn’t hit its stride until the final few weeks of the season.
By then it was already too late. Having a base of returning players would definitely be a step in the right direction.
Pitino held an exit meeting with his players on Monday.
Officials say they are confident sophomore Zuby Ejiofor and freshmen Brady Dunlap and Simeon Wilcher will return.
All three showed flashes of potential throughout the season, especially Wilcher, a top-40 prospect out of Roselle Catholic (N.J.), who started playing well in the second half of the year.
RJ Lewis and Glen Taylor Jr. are less certain, but neither currently plans to enter the portal.
Lewis may have the biggest upside of anyone on the roster as a 6-foot-7 wing who averaged 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds this season as a part-time starter.
He was at his best at the end of the year, recording 18 points and nine rebounds in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals against Seton Hall.
Lewis has also been inconsistent, which probably has something to do with not being able to practice often due to nagging shin splints.
St. John’s has signed three freshmen for next year: four-star wing Jaden Glover, four-star center Carman Maker and Greek guard Lefteris Liotopoulos.
Glover, ranked No. 57 in his class by 247Sports, is considered the most ready to contribute right away, especially on the defensive end.
The Johnnys expressed interest in high-scoring Hofstra wing Darling Stone Duvar on Monday, one of the biggest players to enter the portal.
Duver, 6-8, averaged 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and shot 39.9 percent from 3-point range for the Pride.
Duvall scored 23 points in a nonconference game against St. John’s on December 30th.
He fits the mold of the kind of player Pitino wants to add: athletic and long.
St. John’s has had too much trouble protecting the ball this year.
The Hall of Fame coach said multiple times during the season that next year’s team would be bigger and more athletic.
Another name to keep an eye on is Bensley Joseph of Miami (Fla.). The 6-2 sophomore guard averaged 9.6 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals against the disappointing Hurricanes. Officials say he entered the portal on Monday afternoon and is being targeted.
We will see big moves in the coming days and weeks. St. John’s season may have ended Sunday night, but Pitino and others are beginning a new effort to avoid a similar fate next year.
