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2024, was supposed to be the year for St. John’s.
With the program in flux after another disappointing season in 2023, the University went all in on Rick Pitino.
Besides the Big-Man Captain, Joel Soriano, and Forward Drissa Traore, Pitino brought in a completely new roster. Ivy-league transfers such as Jordan Dingle and Chris Ledlum were the headliners. Additionally, he added several players from his previous stint in Iona, with Daniss Jenkins being the standout.
St. John’s finished with a 20-13 overall record and 11-9 in the conference, good enough to finish 5th in the Big East. With a historic victory over Seton Hall in the second round of the Big East Tournament, it seemed like St. John’s would go dancing for the first time since 2019.
Well, the committee had other plans.
With several upsets occurring over the weekend, it hurt the hopes of the middle Big East tournament teams like St. John’s, Seton Hall, and Providence. However, it was still expected St. John’s and and those teams would be in the field. Unfortunately for the Johnnies, they missed the tournament and additionally weren’t mentioned in the first four out, unlike Seton Hall. The Red Storm would have had to upset UConn and then win the entire Big East Tournament for an automatic bid.
The committee only selected three Big East teams, shocking many college basketball fanatics and angering Big East fanbases. Pitino doesn't want to hear about NET anymore because it’s “fraudulent,” and judging how the selections played out, who could blame him? Teams like Virginia, Boise State, FAU’s seeding left people scratching their head.
Pitino declined an invite to the NIT and will focus on recruiting for next season. He anticipates bringing in 7-10 new players to the program. Year One of Pitino is over, and while it was an enjoyable season filled with potential, fans of the university will have to continue to wait for that tournament win and even longer for tournament contention.