Rick Pitino didn’t sugarcoat it.
Less than three weeks after his storybook St. John’s season came to a sudden end, the Hall of Fame coach acknowledged a shortcoming that’s helped drive his roster building this spring.
“We need shooting as much as anything,” Pitino said.
St. John’s finished 31-5 and won the Big East’s regular season and conference tournament championships, but the team’s shooting deficiencies proved costly in an upset loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament’s second round.
The second-seeded Red Storm went just 2-of-22 (9.1%) on 3-point attempts in that 75-66 defeat to the 10th-seeded Razorbacks.
It served as an extreme representation of a St. John’s team that ranked last in the Big East — and 339th among Division I teams — by shooting 30.1% from 3-point range last season.
“Houston and us, we were the two best defensive teams, but it’s the offensive teams that really go far in the [NCAA] Tournament,” Pitino said last week at Citi Field, where the Mets celebrated the Red Storm’s resurgent season.
“You have to have a great offense, and we were not a great offensive basketball team this year.”
But St. John’s has made strides to upgrade its shooting.
First, Pitino landed wing Joson Sanon, a transfer from Arizona State who shot 36.9% on 3-pointers as a freshman. That clip was better than any St. John’s player who appeared in more than 10 games or averaged more than eight minutes per game.
Then on Wednesday, Pitino added Oziyah Sellers, a transfer from Stanford who shot 40.1% on 3-point attempts as a junior.
It was the second season in a row in which Sellers, a 6-5 guard, shot better than 40% on 3-pointers, as he made 42.9% of his attempts in 2023-24 with USC.
“Not only does he bring great experience and tremendous outside shooting but his workout on his visit was incredible,” Pitino said in a statement. “Oziyah has terrific size and an unbelievable attitude. He’s a great addition.”
Sellers also made 89.7% of his free-throw attempts last season — a welcome sight for a St. John’s team that shot 69.1% from the line. Sanon made 71.4% of his free throws.
And St. John’s isn’t done yet.
Ian Jackson, a former five-star recruit from the Bronx, has been linked to St. John’s after shooting 39.5% on 3-pointers as a freshman with UNC.
And Pitino still needs to fill out a backcourt that’s losing senior point guards Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith.
St. John’s relied heavily last season on second-chance points, as its 14.9 offensive rebounds per game ranked second in the country.
The Johnnies should maintain that part of their identity, with power forward Zuby Ejiofor returning after leading the nation with 4.3 offensive boards per game and Providence transfer Bryce Hopkins — a double-double machine — joining him in the front court.
But adding shooters should make St. John’s more well-rounded on offense.
RJ Luis Jr., reigning the Big East Player of the Year, shot 33.6% on 3-pointers and will not be back after declaring for the NBA Draft and entering the transfer portal.
Richmond shot 17.5% of 3-point attempts. Aaron Scott, who is also out of NCAA eligibility, led St. John’s with 174 attempts from behind the arc but made only 29.3% of them.
St. John’s is still expected to add more players. Last week, Pitino acknowledged of the players he’s recruiting, “I’d probably say they’re offensive-first.”
But Pitino also sees room for improvement from returnees such as guard Simeon Wilcher, who shot 29.7% on 3-pointers, and Ejiofor, who shot 22.2%.
“Zuby’s got to get better at, when the center plays drop coverage, hitting the 3 and not thinking about it,” Pitino said, before adding, “Ruben [Prey has] got to get better with shooting the basketball. Sim is a terrific shooter but he’s got to get it off quicker.”
More can change between now and Tuesday, when the transfer portal closes to new entries.
Expect Pitino to remain busy.
