It’s been a frustratingly slow start to recruiting season for Rick Pitino’s team
Navigating the portal has been easier said than done for St. John’s.
It has been 35 days since the transfer portal opened, and St. John’s has landed a grand total of zero commits. Goose egg. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
St. John’s has five scholarships available after Cruz Davis, Drissa Traore, and Glenn Taylor, Jr. entered the transfer portal. Still, the Red Storm have been unable to sway any transfers to come to Queens so far this spring and they have faced fierce competition from the elite programs of college basketball.
Getting Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi appeared to be a virtual lock for St. John’s when he first entered the transfer portal. However, multiple high-major programs with wealthier NIL collectives, like Alabama and North Carolina, have since taken interest in Omoruyi.
Even conference rival Georgetown beat St. John’s to the punch and organized an official visit with Omoruyi before they could. Omoruyi cancelled a scheduled late March visit with St. John’s and has yet to reschedule, according to Zach Braziller.
Drexel center Amari Williams originally named St. John’s in his final three schools he was considering, but the three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year committed to Kentucky over the weekend.
The lack of activity has been frustrating, but progress is being made with multiple recruits. St. John’s are heavily interested in North Texas wing Aaron Scott and USC center Vince Iwuchukwu, who both took visits last week. St. John’s has also scheduled an official visit with Jackson State transfer and SWAC Player of the Year Ken Evans, Jr. for this Thursday, according to On3’s Jamie Shaw.