Roughly 30 minutes before taking the podium at St. John’s media day, Rick Pitino is in his office, talking on the phone with his former player Daniss Jenkins. Pitino is beaming with pride because the 6-foot-4 guard, who is currently on a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons, put up 19 points and 6 assists in a recent preseason game.
It is hard to believe that it has been just two years since Jenkins was starring for Pitino and the Red Storm. Only two players remain from that 2023-24 roster: 6-foot-9 senior forward Zuby Ejiofor and 6-foot-7 senior forward Sadiku Ibine Ayo. This media day, the team is introducing a whopping 11 new players, seven transfers and four freshmen. Despite the heavy turnover, there has never been more buzz around the program. St. John’s will enter the season ranked No. 5 in the country and among the favorites to cut down the nets in April. On this mid-October afternoon at Carnesecca Arena, no one is running from those lofty expectations. “It’s national championship or bust — Coach Pitino says that pretty often,” said Ejiofor, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year. “We’re all ready to win.”
The talent of this group, which includes the nation’s No. 1-ranked transfer class (per 247Sports), is undeniable. The question is whether a roster with so little continuity can gel well enough to live up to the hype. With the season just a week away, there is tremendous optimism within the program that the answer is yes. “It’s hard to get a lot of guys on the same page and to understand what the goal is,” says Cincinnati transfer Dillon Mitchell, a 6-foot-8 senior forward. “But I think we’ve been able to accomplish that.”
That process started long before Mitchell and his teammates arrived in Queens. The first step toward building that camaraderie was recruiting the right players. As Pitino hit the portal — working with a substantial NIL budget — he prioritized two factors above all else: maturity and work ethic. “We looked at talent third,” he insists, even as the Red Storm signed a conference player of the year, multiple all-league selections and a pair of former McDonald’s All-Americans.
In the world of NIL and the portal, it is tougher than ever to get to know recruits before having to act. Thus, St. John’s is meticulous with its background research, gathering intel on each of its targets dating back to their early high school years. To further protect the program, Pitino is honest with players about his expectations and demands during campus visits. “If you’re not passionate, you don’t love this game and you don’t want to put time into this game, then don’t even think about coming here,” he tells them.
Those measures have left Pitino very pleased with the makeup of his 2025-26 squad. “In my 52 years, I’ve never seen 15 people like this as human beings, forgetting their athleticism, forgetting their basketball ability,” he says. “I’ve never seen anything like this. No moodiness, no ego about themselves. It’s about the team.”
“I think the coaches did a great job of assembling this group — everybody on this team has high character,” adds Idaho State transfer Dylan Darling, a 6-foot-1 junior point guard who was the 2024-25 Big Sky POY. “I thought for sure we’d have a couple of knuckleheads, but we don’t.”
Since reporting over the summer, players have adjusted to the program’s culture “much easier than last year,” Pitino says. They clicked off the court immediately, which can be attributed in part to several team-bonding activities organized by the staff, including dinners and baseball games. A large contingent went to an NBA YoungBoy concert at Barclays Center together in late September. “These are my guys,” says North Carolina transfer Ian Jackson, a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard. “I became super close to them early. It’s a whole bunch of good individuals.”
While Pitino is not as strict as he once was — “I get softer each year,” he says. “I’m the lovable grandfather now, rather than the disciplinarian.” — he is constantly pushing his players to embrace the “Mamba Mentality,” the intense mindset and work ethic embodied by Kobe Bryant. He bombards the team chat with motivational Mamba Mentality quotes, graphics and videos. “I probably send them 10 things a week on Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan,” he says, while scrolling through his phone for an example. He stops on an MJ quote that he shared earlier in the week: “To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.”
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“The other day it was a Mamba Mentality video and it was Kobe, but it was AI,” Darling says with a chuckle. “Coach had no clue.”
The purpose of these messages is not merely to inspire the players to work hard; Pitino views them as another chemistry-building tool. If the group shares and rallies around the same mentality, then it meshes more seamlessly. For the most part, that exercise has proven successful — although Pitino has been pushing 6-foot-7 senior forward Bryce Hopkins, a highly touted transfer from Providence who has battled knee injuries for the past two seasons, to ascend a level on the Mamba Mentality scale.
The program has also faced the challenge of getting its new pieces to gel on the court in a short time frame. Pitino admits that his teams have typically failed to be ready by opening day. The 2023-24 team with Daniss Jenkins, which narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament, lost two of its first four games and only beat North Texas by one. Last year, the Johnnies went 1-2 on a Feast Week trip to the Bahamas. Given the Red Storm’s loaded non-conference schedule in 2025-26, a sluggish start could be detrimental. St. John’s will play Alabama, Iowa State, Baylor, Ole Miss, Kentucky and possibly Houston (depending on the results of the Players Era Festival) before Christmas.
In an effort to rapidly establish on-court chemistry, St. John’s has concentrated more on team development, rather than player development, throughout the offseason. The focus has been less on refining individual skill sets and more on teaching newcomers the system. “There are still some things we have to clean up,” Jackson says. “Obviously it’s 11 new guys, so it’s not going to be perfect. But for me, it’s been good. I don’t think it’s been too big of a challenge. It’s happening. I feel it happening.”
The process has been a roller coaster for every player, making it especially tricky for Pitino to figure out a rotation. Consider Jackson, a former five-star recruit from the Bronx who was ranked as the No. 7 player in the portal by 247Sports. The presumption was that Jackson would assume the starting point guard position, replacing former All-Big East Second Teamer Kadary Richmond. However, the staff quickly realized that it was not Jackson’s niche. Even after transitioning to the wing, Jackson was not playing well at the beginning of the summer. “He was like the ninth man,” Pitino says. “I was worried — him being a New Yorker with all the pressure of playing in the Garden, being this All-American. But he has responded.”
Jackson, whom Pitino calls “a gym rat,” spent a lot of extra time breaking down film with associate head coach Steve Masiello and assistant coach Bob Walsh. He gradually became more comfortable in the system, adjusting to his heightened role. He climbed from ninth man to the top three and was by far the most improved player in training camp, according to Pitino.
Overall, the lineup has been tinkered with close to 15 times. On numerous occasions, Pitino thought he had a starting five, only to watch them get dismantled by the reserves at the ensuing practice. After much trial and error (and injuries to freshmen Kelvin Odih and Imran Suljanovic), the staff eventually landed on a first unit, though nothing is set in stone.
Stanford transfer Oziyah Sellers, a 6-foot-5 senior, has emerged as the primary point guard; Jackson and 6-foot-5 sophomore Joson Sanon, a transfer from Arizona State, form an exciting duo on the wings; and Ejiofor will be joined in the frontcourt by either Mitchell or Hopkins, depending on the matchup. That group has an impressive mix of shooting, athleticism and versatility. Darling, Ayo, 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Ruben Prey and 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Lefteris Liotopoulos will play roles off the bench. Through the many tweaks, Pitino has developed a strong sense for the combinations that work. While the team has more offensive firepower than last year, it is expected to take a step back defensively.
St. John’s looked solid in a highly competitive exhibition against No. 7 Michigan on Saturday, ultimately losing 96-94 in overtime. The defense forced 22 turnovers but allowed the Wolverines to shoot 52.2 percent from the field and grab 16 offensive rebounds. Five players scored in double figures for the Red Storm, led by Ejiofor’s 24. Of course, there are weaknesses to address before Nov. 3, when the Johnnies open the regular season at home against Quinnipiac. They are still searching for complete cohesiveness. “That’s been the toughest thing so far,” Pitino stressed. “We’re not a together team defensively.”
And yet, Pitino’s confidence in this team and its ability to mesh hasn’t wavered, more so because of its character than its talent. The endless Mamba Mentality messages — real and AI — seem to be getting through. “I don’t think I’ve had as much fun in coaching as I have with these guys,” Pitino said. “They all act like pros. They carry themselves the right way. They play hard. They practice hard. They’re a fun group to be around. They compete. So I don’t have any question marks with them.”
