Sports Illustrated’s Men’s College Basketball Preseason Top 25: No. 6 St. John’s

Through Oct. 31, Sports Illustrated will count down its preseason assemblage hoops Top 25 pinch overviews of each team. Here are nan afloat rankings truthful far.

Rick Pitino has brought St. John’s backmost to nationalist relevance. 

A programme that was dormant for truthful agelong anterior to Pitino’s presence won 30 games, swept nan Big East regular-season and tourney trophies, and possibly astir importantly had nan metropolis of New York buzzing astir assemblage hoops again. The play whitethorn person ended sooner than expected successful shocking manner to Arkansas successful nan Round of 32, but St. John’s has proven it has nan resources (and evidently nan coach) to person staying powerfulness astatine nan apical of nan sport.

The offseason astatine St. John’s was active. Big East Player of nan Year RJ Luis Jr. deed nan portal earlier yet staying successful nan NBA draft, pinch things astatine St. John’s seemingly souring successful existent clip successful nan closing minutes of that Arkansas defeat. But pinch nan talent accessible to St. John’s successful nan portal, nan nonaccomplishment of Luis (regardless of really bully he was past season) is manageable. I’d reason St. John’s kept its astir important subordinate successful Zuby Ejiofor, a two-way unit astir nan rim and an basal constituent of St. John’s fierce defense. He whitethorn ne'er anchor an discourtesy fixed his limitations arsenic a station scorer, but he’s an elite secondary action connected that extremity and 1 of nan champion bigs successful nan country. 

Much of nan remainder of nan roster is caller faces, but this is simply a deeper and much talented group apical to bottommost than past season. And that should scare nan remainder of assemblage basketball. 

PG: Oziyah Sellers
SG: Ian Jackson
SF: Joson Sanon
PF: Bryce Hopkins
C: Zuby Ejiofor
Key Reserves: PG Dylan Darling, G Kelvin Odih, F Dillon Mitchell

Key Additions 

It’s nary concealed St. John’s was 1 of nan worst shooting teams successful nan state past season. It classed successful nan bottommost 25 nationally successful some three-point complaint and percentage. That shouldn’t be a problem this play pinch its caller personnel. Oziyah Sellers (Stanford) is simply a sharpshooter who made 40% from heavy past season. Ian Jackson comes successful from North Carolina pinch a estimation arsenic much scorer than axenic shooter, but his three-point changeable mightiness beryllium nan champion portion of his crippled astatine this point. He made astir 60 threes astatine 40% past season. Another erstwhile elite enlistee pinch shotmaking juice is Joson Sanon, whose difficult changeable fare astatine Arizona State made being businesslike a challenge, but he’s a talented shooter pinch awesome touch. Dylan Darling also changeable it good astatine his erstwhile stop. It’s difficult to ideate this squad taking tons of threes, but they should beryllium importantly improved connected that end. 

Stanford transportation defender Oziyah Sellers changeable 40% from three-point past season. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Up front, St. John’s boosted its size, physicality and athleticism. Bryce Hopkins has already proven he’s an All–Big East–caliber subordinate astatine Providence. He has hardly played complete nan past 2 years owed to a knee injury, but he’s different ascendant rebounder and beingness unit up front. Dillon Mitchell has bounced astir and is connected schoolhouse No. 3, but his protect upside is elite because of his freakish athleticism. 

Last season, St. John’s had ample playmaking acquisition (Deivon Smith and Kadary Richmond) and almost nary shooting. Now, St. John’s has ample shooting/scoring … and almost nary constituent defender play. Pitino referred to Jackson arsenic a apt action astatine that spot erstwhile he committed, but he’s very overmuch a score-first subordinate who posted conscionable a 7% assistance complaint past season. This summer, Pitino said, “There are nary constituent guards anymore,” and suggested immoderate shape of positionless hoops that galore teams successful nan NBA deploy. And successful nan fall, Pitino said he expects Sellers, who has a whopping 71 assists successful 93 profession assemblage games, to beryllium nan starting PG. Consider maine skeptical of this PG-less approach, particularly pinch each 3 of Jackson, Sanon and Sellers having posted highly debased assistance rates passim their career. That leaves things successful nan hands of Darling, an undersized existent level wide who struggled to get connected nan level astatine Washington State but starred a twelvemonth agone astatine Idaho State. Don’t beryllium amazed if, almost by default, Darling becomes an basal portion … moreover if it intends taking a much talented subordinate disconnected nan floor. 

The Bottom Line 

Pitino’s elite protect strategy pinch this magnitude of size and athleticism fundamentally ensures this group will beryllium 1 of nan astir imposing teams connected that extremity of nan level this season. That mixed pinch nan added three-point shooting raises nan ceiling of this group higher than past season’s team, though shaky constituent defender play could beryllium what holds Pitino’s squad backmost from a existent breakthrough successful March.  

More College Basketball connected Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s caller assemblage sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, beneath aliases connected Apple and Spotify. Watch nan show connected SI’s YouTube channel.