Rick Pitino hype comes with clear St. John's NCAA Tournament goal

As it became clear a change was needed after another poor season, St. John’s president Rev. Brian Shanley surveyed the landscape.

His preference was a young coach with local ties who could ignite the dormant Johnnies. But Shanley didn’t see anyone who fit that criteria.

“Then I said to myself, I’ve got to talk to Rick [Pitino],” Shanley said. “It would be criminal not to explore things with him.”

It seemed like the perfect fit at the time. Looking back now, it feels like even more of a no-brainer. Pitino, 71, has provided a jolt to a school in desperate need of one.

He upgraded the talent on the roster, bringing in a strong haul through the transfer portal along with high school recruits Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap.

St. John’s is projected to be a tournament team, picked by the Big East coaches to finish fifth in the loaded conference.

It has buzz and hype, mostly due to the presence of the Hall of Fame coach who has won two national titles and reached seven Final Fours.

So much is different at St. John’s entering the season. It is recruiting at a national level. It has realistically high expectations to win its first NCAA Tournament game since 2000. It will play its most games at the Garden (eight) since 2014-15. Under Pitino, St. John’s feels like it matters again.

“St. John’s is one of the legendary names in college basketball,” Pitino said during his introductory press conference. “Has it fallen on tough times? Yes, it has, but now we’re ready to fall on great times. Raise this roof up, because St. John’s is going to be back, I guarantee that.”

The climb begins in earnest Tuesday night.

Why St. John’s will make the NCAA Tournament:

Start with the legendary coach, factor in this team’s depth, experience and shotmaking ability. A lot would have to go wrong for them not to make the tournament. There are so many options. Without transfers Jordan Dingle (Penn) and RJ Luis (UMass), for instance, Nahiem Alleyne (Connecticut) was St. John’s most effective scorer in the two exhibition games. Four-star freshmen Wilcher and Dunlap will come off the bench, playing minor roles initially. For a large part of the fall, returning star center Joel Soriano was getting beat out by Kansas transfer Zuby Ejiofor. Most of all, let’s not forget the coach has reached the tournament in 15 of the last 17 seasons his teams have been eligible.

Why St. John’s will miss the NCAA Tournament:

A disjointed preseason results in a slow start to the regular season. That costs St. John’s a major opportunity in the Charleston Classic — it has to get to the final to face Houston, by far the best team in the tournament. Dingle, Jenkins and Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum struggle against the athleticism of the Big East, and without a marquee non-conference victory, the Johnnies don’t make up enough ground during the league season.

3 Key Questions

Is there a go-to guy?

Pitino has acknowledged St. John’s may not have a great player. The two best players through preseason practices were Daniss Jenkins and Ledlum. After them, there have been a number of different guys, from Soriano to Dingle to Alleyne. Jenkins is the Johnnies’ top playmaker by a considerable margin, and Pitino trusts the Iona transfer, so the ball will frequently be in his hands in crunch time.

Will the new pieces take time to mesh?

It is virtually a completely new roster full of players learning a new system. Soriano is the only returning contributor. We saw potential problems in the preseason. In the win over Rutgers, St. John’s played a terrific first half and second overtime, and a shaky second half and first overtime. The Johnnies then lost to Division II Pace without Soriano, Dingle and Luis. One concern is this team doesn’t have much time to develop cohesion, facing Michigan in its second game of the year before the Charleston Classic immediately afterwards.

Is there enough depth in the frontcourt?

St. John’s is probably one big man short after Soriano and Ejiofor. Returning sophomore Drissa Traore, who rarely saw the floor a year ago, could play a role against big teams. But look for Pitino to frequently play small with three guards given the abundance of backcourt options.

X factor

Jordan Dingle

It hasn’t been a smooth preseason for Dingle. The Penn transfer dealt with a left shoulder injury that cost him a few weeks after missing time in the summer with knee and foot problems. But, the 6-foot-3 guard is the sport’s leading returning scorer at 23.4 points per game, and put up big numbers last year against the likes of Villanova, Temple and Missouri. He is a major mystery entering the season.

Games to watch:

Michigan (Nov. 13)

This will be one of those New York City sporting events you want to see in person, Pitino’s Madison Square Garden debut as St. John’s coach. It will be an intriguing early test for the new-look Red Storm. Michigan added key transfers Olivier Nkamhoua (Tennessee) and Nimari Burnett (Alabama) to a core that includes returning starters Terrance Williams II and Dug McDaniel.

At Connecticut (Dec. 23)

The last time Pitino saw the Huskies, they were running Iona out of MVP Arena in Albany, turning a two-point halftime deficit into a 24-point rout in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. A few days later, he was the new coach at St. John’s. The playing field won’t be as uneven now, particularly after Connecticut lost Andre Jackson Jr., Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins to the professional ranks.

Butler (Jan. 2)

Posh Alexander returns to Queens as the enemy, hoping to find his game in a different uniform. The former St. John’s star, who took a major step back as a junior last season, has received glowing reviews from his new coach and teammates. A grinder who always gave all-out effort, he deserves a warm welcome from the Red Storm faithful.

Anonymous coach’s take: “It sounds like Jenkins is a guy they have a lot of confidence in, based on coaching him and how he has played for them early on. Dingle, for me, it will be interesting to see how that translates. He was such a high-usage player at Penn. It won’t be that similar, in terms of the role he has at St. John’s. Can he transition to high major basketball playing alongside a lot of other talented guys and bring some shot making and some scoring? I think so. Having Soriano back is big. The kid’s good. He’s one of the best big men in the Big East. He rebounds like crazy. Ledlum is talented. He gives them something formidable at the 4. And Alleyne can really guard, if he finds some of the shooting consistency he had at Virginia Tech, you have a really good 3-and-D player. As it’s currently constructed, I absolutely think they can be a top-five team in the Big East. Based on sheer talent, they match up with anybody in the league.”

Prediction: 23-12, NCAA Tournament Second Round

I do expect some early struggles with such a new team that didn’t have a few key players for significant stretches of the preseason. Unlike recent years, though, adjustments will be made. Ledlum, Jenkins and Dingle prove to be quality Big East players, the fitter Soriano remains one of the best big men in the league and Wilcher comes on late, showing his tantalizing potential. The slow start hurts St. John’s tournament seed — it receives a No. 7 — but the Johnnies’ March Madness victory drought comes to an end.