Loaded St. John's holds intense summer basketball scrimmage

New York Post

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00:00Yeah, baby, we got some St. John's basketball in August to talk about.

00:05Our NCAA basketball beat writer for the Post, Zach Brazile.

00:08I got a live look at the Red Storm scrimmage earlier today,

00:11and he's on now to talk all things Johnny.

00:14I got some excitement while talking about this team, Zach,

00:18because we're talking about a Red Storm team.

00:20First and foremost, what's up, bro?

00:22We're talking about a Red Storm team that has the bullseye on its back,

00:26not just a bullseye.

00:28You live tweeted throughout the scrimmage.

00:30We appreciate you for that.

00:31So what's your first impression of the 2025 Red Storm?

00:36You know, first impression, they're incredibly deep.

00:40This is a team that's probably going to go at least 10.

00:43They have the makings of, to me, the best frontcourt I've seen

00:46since I started covering this program a decade ago.

00:49Returned Zuby Edger for the potential Big East Preseason Player of the Year.

00:54They brought in Dylan Mitchell, brought in Bryce Hopkins,

00:58a former All-Big East player from Providence.

01:00They also have Ruben Prayback.

01:01Those four guys were really impressive today.

01:05You know, the first team had Edge of Four, Mitchell, and Hopkins all together.

01:10Three guys who are athletic, can pass, rebound, you know, rim protectors.

01:16It's a really impressive group up front that I think is probably going to be

01:20one of the best frontcourts in the country.

01:22You cover this team.

01:24You're the guy.

01:24You're the plug when it comes to Red Storm basketball.

01:27So you kind of had an idea of what you wanted to watch going into the scrimmage.

01:32But was there anything that kind of threw you off, like lineup changes,

01:36tempo of the scrimmage?

01:38Is there anything that you kind of saw that you didn't expect, either good or bad?

01:44There were a few things.

01:45First, the three forwards, you know, playing together was not necessarily

01:49something I expected.

01:52And then there was freshman Kelvin Ode.

01:55He's a four-star recruit, physical guard.

01:59He played with the starters, and Pitino raved about him.

02:02He's a guy who can shoot, but his strength is he defends.

02:06He's physical.

02:07He gets to the room.

02:08He's athletic.

02:09He's a guy that, you know, Pitino doesn't typically play freshman a lot,

02:13but he was clear that he's going to play.

02:15I was really impressed by him.

02:16And then the last thing was, you know, it was there wasn't, like,

02:21a real point guard.

02:22They were basically, you know, Pitino said their playing position was

02:25basketball.

02:26And, you know, Dylan Darling, the transfer from Idaho State, Ian Jackson,

02:31you know, Oziah Sellers, another newcomer from Stanford.

02:34Those guys handled the ball the most.

02:36But there wasn't, like, one point guard.

02:38You know, when someone got a defensive rebound, they were going out,

02:40and they were going.

02:42It wasn't, like, look for the point guard.

02:45You know, that, to me, is going to be a huge storyline of this team is,

02:48you know, not necessarily having that one true point guard,

02:52but having a bunch of guys who are going to handle the ball,

02:54a bunch of guys who can initiate offense.

02:56And, you know, that, to me, is going to be one thing really to watch,

03:00is how does that work, and can that be successful?

03:03You know, Pitino said this is the way he thinks they can play.

03:08They have so much talent and so many different athletic guys,

03:12and that's obviously going to be a fascinating thing to follow.

03:15Yeah, I'm not going to question Rick Pitino when it comes to his style of

03:19basketball, how he wants to play, but that is something that I'm going to be

03:23hitting the refresh button on a lot when it comes to your articles,

03:26because that is a storyline that I feel as though we're going to keep an eye on

03:32throughout the course of this season.

03:34We're talking about a Red Storm team that, again, like I say, they're it now.

03:38They're in the house.

03:39They got the city rocking.

03:41But I read somewhere that UConn-St. John's could be the next big rivalry

03:47in college basketball.

03:48St. John's has won 39 of the 74 matchups that they've had,

03:53and that dates back to 1949.

03:55But when we talk historic rivalry, Zach, in NCAA basketball,

04:00I don't think anyone would mention Huskies-Red Storm as a big-time rivalry.

04:05Fast forward to today.

04:06They're two basketball powerhouses with elite head coaches with huge personalities.

04:12Easily the best rivalry in the conference.

04:15But do you see St. John's-UConn being the new UNC Duke for years to come?

04:21I wouldn't go there, but I think the next season, yeah.

04:26I mean, the two games are going to be heavily anticipated.

04:30Both teams, you know, are going to be preseason top 10, maybe preseason top 5.

04:36The two coaches don't exactly love each other.

04:39I know Hurley joked the other day that he's probably closer with Richard Pitino than Rick.

04:45They're big.

04:45They're obviously huge competitors, the two coaches.

04:47I think the rosters are pretty evenly matched.

04:52Two years ago, UConn won a national title.

04:53They won the Big East.

04:54Last year, St. John's won the Big East, swept UConn.

04:58And now this year, I think it's going to be two, you know, they're evenly matched teams.

05:02Obviously, different strengths, but I think on paper, you would say they're probably two close games.

05:08And, yeah, I mean, this year, in terms of conference play,

05:13Mark Lear, two of the most anticipated games of the season,

05:16when you just consider the coaches, the rosters, the expectations, it's a lot of fun.

05:22I mean, the games, the last two years have been a lot of fun these two teams have played,

05:25and I think this year is going to be even better.

05:28Real quick, give me a way too early prediction for the 2025 St. John's basketball team.

05:37All right.

05:37Bryce Hopkins will be the Big East player of the year in St. John's leading scorer.

05:42Zach Braziller.

05:43Love it.

05:44Thanks for hopping on, man.

05:46All right.

05:46My pleasure.

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