Weekly throughout the summer, the BIG EAST will check-in with each of its 11 men's basketball programs. Highlighted by a one-on-one interview with each head coach and NBC Sports' John Fanta, the BIG EAST Summer Check-In Series will cover a wide range of topics from roster changes, highlights from summer workouts, and scheduling updates.
This week, the Summer Check-In series speaks with Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino of St. John's. Coming off back-to-back BIG EAST regular season and tournament titles, as well as the Red Storm's first trip to the Sweet 16 in 27 years, Pitino talks about what remains rewarding after 50-plus years of coaching, the joy he experienced after the 2026 NBA Draft, and who he sees competing for the BIG EAST title in 2026-27.
“I told them at the first meeting, you'll hear stories that I'm tough. I'm not tough at all, everybody exaggerates. I'm the easiest guy in the world to play for - and I mean this from a sincere standpoint - I'm easy to play for, our practices are a lot of fun. If you play hard, you have a great attitude, and you're a great teammate, I'm the easiest guy - Zuby probably never got yelled at, ever. Bryce Hopkins and Dillon (Mitchell), hardly ever. So if you play hard, with a great attitude and you miss shots, everybody misses shots. You make a mistake, everybody makes a mistake. Play hard, be a great teammate, have a great attitude, it's going to be easy to play for me.”
Head Coach Rick Pitino on how he is an easy coach to play for...with some conditions
St. John's' 2026-27 Scheduling
Notable 2026-27 Non-Conference Matchups:
- TBD vs. Syracuse (MSG)
- Nov. 24 vs. Oregon (Players Era)
- Nov. 26 vs. Louisville / Texas Tech (Players Era)
- Nov. 27 vs. Texas/Maryland/San Diego State/Iowa State (Players Era)
- Dec. 5 vs. Arizona (MSG)
"When you play Arizona early in the season in the Players Era, Syracuse in the Garden, when you play a great schedule, you know exactly where you are at that point in time and what you need to work on to improve your offensive and defensive execution."
Pitino on how a tough non-conference schedule gives him opportunities to learn about his team
St. John's' 2026-27 Roster
Newcomers
#0 Babacar Sane - Sr. - F - 6-8 - 230 - Ziguinchor, Senegal
- Most recently played with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga, averaging nearly 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds; mainstay on Senegal's National team since 2022
- Spent three seasons in the NBA's G-League, playing two seasons with G League Ignite (2022-24) as well as the Salt Lake City Stars and Iowa Wolves in 2024-25
"He's been tremendous....Babacar is really talented. He's a physical specimen - he's 6-7 and a half, 235-240 - and when he goes down the lane, he's like (Robert) Tractor Traylor. He's going to make contact. He's a much better shooter than people imagined."
Pitino on the physical presence that Babacar Sane possesses
#1 Donnie Freeman - Jr. - F - 6-9 - 205 - Washington, D.C.
- Four-star ranked transfer from Syracuse, ranked No. 93 overall by EvanMiya; will miss the 2026-27 season due to injury suffered during preseason
- Averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game in 2025-26; Played with the Bahamas National Team in a 2024 Olympics qualifying tournament
#3 Avery Brown - Gr. - G - 6-4 - 190 - Beacon Falls, Conn.
- Three-star ranked transfer (247Sports) from Columbia; due to injury, appeared in only three games in 2025-26
- Experienced point guard earned the start in 27 games in 2024-25, averaging 11.1 points and nearly 3.0 assists per game for the Lions
#4 Quinn Ellis - Sr. - G - 6-5 - 200 - Sheffield, England
- Point guard with expansive international experience; most recently played with Olimpia Milano, averaging 8.3 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.8 rebounds in EuroLeague
- Also saw action in 32 EuroCup games with Aquila Basket Trento between 2023-25; has spent time with Great Britain's senior national team from 2023-26
"We've had a scrimmage and Quinn Ellis is everything that people were saying about him. He is a throwback, a 6-5 point guard that is lighting fast and makes everybody better. We had a scrimmage and he had 11 assists. He can score, he goes by people...Quinn sees things. When he goes down the lane, he knows where everybody is and he knows how to set them up. The guys on this basketball team are going to love playing with Quinn Ellis."
Pitino on the instant impact that point guard Quinn Ellis has made
#5 Kyle Cuffe Jr. - Sr. - G - 6-2 - 185 - New York, N.Y.
- Three-star ranked transfer (On3) from Mercer; averaged 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and nearly 1.0 steal per game in 2025-26
- Also played at Kansas and Syracuse; His father Kyle Sr. starred at St. John's from 2000-04
#8 Zsombor Maronka - Sr. - F - 6-10 - 200 - Szeged, Hungary
- Most recently played with Hamburg Towers in the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany' averaged 7.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 2025-26, connecting on nearly 37% from the perimeter
- Has been called up to the Hungarian Senior National team on three occasions, dating back to 2021
#13 Reed Bailey - Gr. - F - 6-10 - 220 - Harvard, Mass.
- Talented post player transferred from Indiana; averaged nearly 9.0 points per game while connecting on 57% shooting from the floor in 2025-26 for the Hoosiers
- First Team All-Atlantic 10 honoree at Davidson (2022-25), tallying over 1,200 career points
#23 Theo Edema - Fr. - C - 6-11 - 250 - Edo State, Nigeria
- Consensus four-star prospect in the class of 2027 rated No. 41 in the 247Sports composite; reclassified to play for the Red Storm this season
- All-NEPSAC honoree at Cushing Academy, helping the squad to a 29-6 record and the 2026 Class AA title; competed in the 2025 Basketball Without Borders global camp
"Theo is a high school kid that signed with Maryland, skipped his senior year, I signed him thinking he's not going to play a second this year. And there have been days where he's kicked Ruben's tail...He's a sponge, he wants to learn, he's a raw talent but I think he'll play quite a bit."
Pitino on Theo Edema's early glimpses of excellence in summer practice
#24 Tounde Yessoufou - So. - G - 6-5 - 215 - Cotonou, Benin
- Five-star ranked transfer from Baylor, ranked No. 2 overall on EvanMiya's transfer rankings; averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 2.0 steals per game
- All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection set new Baylor freshman records in points (605) and field goals made (226) a season ago; 2025-26 NABC All-District selection
"He has great upside, he's got a lot of dog in him, he's a scorer. He's got to get better at rebounding the basketball, which he is a good rebounder statistically but he's got to get better. He'a a good shooter, he's got to become a great shooter. He's a good 1-on-1 player, he's got to become a great 1-on-1 player, if he wants to be the lottery pick that he said he did to come here. I told him the other day, you're good in so many areas but Tounde, as the book read, good is the enemy of great. And if you want to reach your potential and truly be a lottery pick, you've got to become great in a lot of areas."
Pitino on what Tounde Yessoufou needs to continue to work on in order to achieve his goals
#30 Lazar Stojkovic - Fr. - C - 7-1 - 220 - Belgrade, Serbia
- True freshman 7-footer averaged 5.4 points per game BKK Radnicki in the Serbian KLS League a season ago
- Represented Serbia in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in Belgrade during the summer of 2025
Returnees
#6 Casper Pohto - So. - G - 6-3 - 185 - Stockholm, Sweden
- Appeared in six games for the Red Storm in 2025-26; missed much of the season due to injury
- Highly rated prep spent time at Sunrise Christian Academy and St. Benedict's in New Jersey
#7 Fotis Konstantinidis - So. - 6-2 - 180 - Athens, Greece
- Appeared in seven games off the bench for St. John's in 2025-26, including two BIG EAST contests
- Prior to joining the Red Storm, played with Proteas Voulas in Greece, leading the U18 team in scoring, assists, and 3-pointers
#11 Ian Jackson - Jr. - G - 6-5 - 195 - Bronx, N.Y.
- Talented scoring guard who averaged 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 36 games for St. John's in 2025-26
- Began his college career at North Carolina; McDonald's All-American pick out of Our Saviour Lutheran; was a top 10-rated transfer when joining the Red Storm
"I screwed up - and it wasn't intentional - I tried to make him a point guard and it was our fault as a staff that we didn't recruit a point guard. We lost on three players, so that's our fault - we tried to make Ian a point guard. Ian has a scoring mentality, Ian is not a pass-first player - he's like most of the NBA players today. But Ian is a very talented young man, lightning fast, awesome attitude, terrific scorer. And now he's playing the two-guard and he looks great. So we're very excited about Ian, I think he's going to have an MVP type of season."
Pitino on Ian Jackson shifting from the point guard role
#17 Ruben Prey - Jr. - F/C - 6-11 - 230 - Lisbon, Portugal
- Versatile forward with the ability to score inside and out
- Appeared in all 37 games a season ago; averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 boards while leading the Johnnies with a 62.5% 3-point percentage
#31 Lefteris Liotopoulos - Jr. - G - 6-4 - 195 - Thessaloniki, Greece
- Reserve guard who appeared in 30 games for St. John's in 2025-26; averaged nearly 3.0 points per game
- Logged three games in double figures; 53 of his 73 (72.6%) field goal attempts from beyond the arc
Departures
- Dylan Darling - transfer; Dillon Mitchell - NBA draft; Sadiku Ibine Ayo - transfer; Joson Sanon - transfer; Oziyah Sellers - eligibility expired; Kelvin Odih - transfer; Imran Suljanovic - transfer; Bryce Hopkins - NBA draft; Zuby Ejiofor - NBA draft
By The Numbers
36 - Over the last two seasons, St. John's has registered 36 wins in BIG EAST play - a new conference record over a two-year stretch.
90.0: Last season, Ian Jackson connected on 90% from the free throw line. He made 52 of his 56 tries from the charity stripe, dating back to Nov. 25
25-2: The Red Storm's record at Madison Square Garden over the past two seasons, good for a winning percentage of .926.