St. John’s Basketball faces growing expectations each season under Rick Pitino. But now the Red Storm must replace their top scorer for the third straight preseason. Plus find someone who can handle the dirty work too the way Zuby Ejiofor did.
Already, Pitino didn’t sound too pleased with Ejiofor’s potential replacement there.
St. John’s rolled to the relatively easy 81-52 rout of Drexel during preseason action on Wednesday. That exhibition game energized fans aiming to see what the 2026-27 product in Queens, New York aims to offer fans.
But again, Pitino sent an early warning to a potential replacement for the Atlanta Hawks NBA Draft pick.
Who Rick Pitino Hopes to See Improve
Pitino is banking on key returner Ruben Prey to step up. Prey played a smaller role for St. John’s during its march to a second straight Big East title. Now the big is expected to earn increased minutes and become a post scoring/defensive force that Ejiofor became.
Per Pitino’s words, Prey will need to build on his performance moving forward.
“I expect him to play a lot better tonight,” Pitino said via Torch Sports, the St. John’s independent student newspaper. “Ruben has the tough task of being measured up to Zuby Ejiofor. If he even wants to attempt that, it starts with the backboard.”
Pitino adds that he has seen flashes from the 6-foot-10 forward. But more is expected moving forward.
He’s been terrific in practice, but he has to pick it up,” Pitino said.
St. John’s Reloaded Outside of Luring Back Ruben Prey
Pitino welcomes back a few familiar faces from last season’s Sweet 16 team. Even though that Red Storm squad produced as many as four NBA prospects.
Outside of Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins landed in the draft. All three landed between No. 23 to No. 49 overall. Even Ozyiah Sellers landed on an NBA roster post draft too, signing with the New York Knicks‘ summer league roster.
St. John’s rose as one of the nation’s most aggressive teams in going after transfer portal talent following the round of 16 appearance. So the Red Storm swooped up Reed Bailey from Indiana to spark the next crop of Johnnies. But the IU big wasn’t even the Red Storm’s biggest offseason coup.
Pitino and St. John’s coaxed Tounde Yessofou to bypass the NBA Draft and come to them. The Baylor transfer threw down some fierce dunks to energize the crowd inside Lou Carnesecca Arena against Drexel. Pitino added a legacy addition too, with Syracuse guard Kyle Cuffe Jr. joining the Storm. Father Kyle Cuffe played for the Johnnies in the early 2000s.
Importance of Ruben Prey
Still, St. John’s needs a long and physical presence post Ejiofor. Teams especially in the Big East will attempt to wear down St. John’s inside.
Plus Ejiofor absorbed lots of contact down low and St. John’s pivoted more to three-point shooting to bail him out or spreading the floor in transition.
Turning Prey into the “Ejiofor” for the Red Storm comes into play here. St. John’s already delivered a small sample of its potential three-peat run in the Big East. But they’ll need Prey’s experience and length to spearhead a deeper run.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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