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00:00This is Eye of the Storm, a St. John's video series presented by the New York Post.
00:05St. John's' magical run may have ended in the Sweet 16, but make no mistake, the program is back on
00:11track and they feel so good about things they have offered and given a contract extension to head coach Rick
00:18Pitino, a very lucrative one, and there's a lot of questions about St. John's future moving forward.
00:22What comes next for them with the transfer portal? Who's going to stay? Who's going to go? What happens with
00:27the future of Zuby Ejiofor in the NBA?
00:30We're going to break it all down, so joining me to talk about all that is my guy. He is
00:35the beat reporter for us with the New York Post covering St. John's.
00:38My guy, Zach Rosillo, joins me now, fresh off of his trip covering the Sweet 16 in D.C. Zach,
00:44what's going on, man? How you doing?
00:45What's up, buddy?
00:46Not much, man. I'm good, man. I'm good. I can't complain.
00:49Lots to get into here. Let's start with the timing of this extension for Rick Pitino because it's just days
00:56after the season ends, Zach.
00:58Rick Pitino gets an extension here. What does that immediacy tell you about how St. John's feels about where this
01:04program is headed right now?
01:05Yeah, look, this is something that's been in the works for a while.
01:10They have been talking for quite a long time about, you know, reworking his deal and adding a year to
01:20it.
01:20I mean, they'd love to see him win 1,000 games here.
01:23He had mentioned that winning 1,000 after getting to 900.
01:27And yes, he's 73, but he's not slowing down, obviously.
01:33So, yeah, I mean, they did right by him.
01:36Entering the year, he was the sixth highest paid coach in the Big East, which is absurd.
01:41So they made him now the second highest paid behind Hurley.
01:46He's making around six-ish a year, $6 million a year.
01:49They also gave him a much bigger pool for the staff, which is well-deserved.
01:57So, yeah, look, the school said they were going to do everything it took to make sure this is his
02:02last job.
02:02So give them credit for stepping up here.
02:05Yeah, you've got to give him credit for stepping up here.
02:08Tremendous job.
02:08And then also him making sure that he took care of his staff there.
02:11Thought that was a good job.
02:12But, Zach, I think when you look at this, with this loss to Duke that ended the Johnny's run,
02:19seeing that loss in the Sweet 16,
02:20did it tell you anything about the gap between where St. John's is right now
02:25and trying to become a true contender for a national championship?
02:28How big is that gap?
02:31And if so, the gap is big.
02:33What's the next step in closing that gap if you're St. John's?
02:37Yeah, look, they were one guard short.
02:40I don't think there's any question about it.
02:42You know, the backcourt let them down.
02:46We all knew throughout the year that the backcourt was a weakness.
02:52You know, Dylan Darling was really their only consistent guy back there.
02:57And, you know, he made some plays the other night.
02:59It was the other guys.
03:00It was Sellers.
03:01It was Jackson.
03:02It was Sanon that let them down.
03:07You know, with the same token, it took – they gave Duke everything Duke had.
03:12And I think part of why Duke lost yesterday is they didn't –
03:16St. John's took a lot out of them, especially Caleb Foster.
03:19The Duke point guard who had foot surgery three weeks ago,
03:23you know, they overextended him Friday.
03:25There's no question.
03:26They needed to.
03:27Duke would have lost to St. John's if they didn't.
03:29And then yesterday he had nothing,
03:31which really wasn't a surprise when you consider he's coming off a major injury
03:36and came back obviously way too – way faster than anyone that he should have.
03:42He's – because he kind of had no choice.
03:44And then he plays, what, 20 minutes on Friday.
03:47They obviously played more than they would have liked.
03:49And that was a big part of why Duke won Friday
03:53and a big part of why they lost Sunday.
03:55Foster really wasn't himself.
03:59You know, it's going to be interesting.
04:02You know, St. John's is going to reload here.
04:04And we'll see.
04:06But in terms of this year, you know, they were one of the best teams in the country.
04:12Were they, you know, as good as Duke, Arizona, Michigan?
04:17No.
04:17But I don't think they were far off.
04:19I mean, look, UConn's in the Final Four and St. John's beat them two or three.
04:24And if it was – look, if UConn played Duke in that Sweet 16, St. John's got Duke after,
04:32maybe St. John's is in the Final Four.
04:33It's frustrating, I assume, if you're a St. John's fan,
04:38because they weren't that far from, obviously, a historical season getting to the Final Four.
04:45Yeah, no, the margins are that slim when you talk about the gap between the Sweet 16
04:50and winning a national title.
04:52But let's shift to the offseason, because you just mentioned it there.
04:55What do you view as the biggest priority for Pitino and his staff right now?
04:59Is it retaining the guys you can bring back?
05:02Is it the transfer portal?
05:03Is it continuing to build this culture that we've seen over the last three years?
05:07What do you think the priority is this offseason for the Johnnies?
05:10Yeah, look, they obviously want to keep some guys.
05:12Ruben Prey, top of the list, Dylan Darling, Joson Sanon, Ian Jackson is – we'll see.
05:21So, look, they do want to keep some of these guys, but, yeah, it's about reloading.
05:27They're obviously going to go out, and they're going to try to get a big-time point guard,
05:31and then they're going to need to get some size up front.
05:34I think Prey has a chance to be very good, and I think you could envision him being a starter.
05:39But they obviously need some guys next to him.
05:43You know, they obviously – they're going to look to get big.
05:47They didn't have that true – you know, as good as Zuby was, he was a little small, 6'9".
05:52They want to be a little bigger next year.
05:56So, yeah, I mean, they're going to – you know, the big – the focal points is they want to
06:01get a real big-time point guard,
06:03and they want to get a real – and they want to get a center, like a big athletic rim
06:08-protecting center.
06:11They have money.
06:12They have had a lot of success.
06:13They have Rick Pitino.
06:15They're obviously in a good spot.
06:16They have tons of momentum.
06:17They have Mike Ropoli, and people are very excited about this program.
06:22So, I think they're in a good spot as we hit the portal here in about, I guess, eight days.
06:29Yeah, eight days away.
06:31Feels like they're in a good spot to do some things in the portal.
06:33We'll see about that.
06:34I want to talk to you about Zuby Ejafor.
06:36Obviously, St. John's career is over, and there's a lot of talk about him with the NBA draft.
06:41What are you hearing about his draft prospects, where he can land?
06:44A lot of St. John's fans are very interested in this.
06:47Where do you see Zuby landing in the 2026 NBA draft?
06:51Yeah, I talked to a longtime NBA scout yesterday about him,
06:55and I personally think Zuby's going to sneak into the end of the first.
06:59The scout thinks it's going to be a little tough just because it's such a good draft.
07:02I mean, it's a historically good draft.
07:05But, look, I think someone's going to fall in love with Zuby.
07:08I think they're going to love his personality.
07:09They're going to love his work ethic.
07:11They're going to see how far he's come.
07:13He is only 20, you know, for a four-year senior, he's only 21.
07:16He's not, you know, which is young for a four-year senior.
07:20He's not 23.
07:22So, yeah, he's going to have to help himself at the combine, which he'll get invited to.
07:26He's going to get a ton of workouts.
07:27So, he's got there.
07:29I think, worst case, he goes, you know, mid-30s or so.
07:34And it's really more important than where you get drafted is by who.
07:38You want to get drafted by an organization that really believes in you, that thinks they can use you, use
07:45your skill set.
07:45But, you know, you saw Danis Jenkins, didn't get drafted, and he went to the Pistons, and now he's got
07:51a big role.
07:53Julian Champetti, another former St. John's guy, went out for the Spurs after getting cut by the Sixers, and now
08:01has a major role.
08:02You know, so it's really about finding the right team more than where you get picked.
08:06But, yeah, I think somewhere 25 to 35 or so is my guess.
08:13You know, it does the timing stinks for him because it's just a great draft.
08:17You know, if this was next year, which is not a great class, probably has a shot to be a
08:21top 20 pick.
08:22It's just such a good draft.
08:24Yeah, this year is supposed to be loaded in the draft.
08:27We'll see where Zuby falls.
08:28I still think somebody's going to get a good player with Zuby, and we'll see how he develops.
08:32But I'm in agreement with you, Zach.
08:33It's about where you get drafted.
08:35Can you get the right fit and the right development there?
08:37We'll see.
08:38I guess the last thing for me, Zach, when you look at this season and now with Patino locked in
08:43for the future and what's ahead,
08:46what do you think realistic expectations should be for St. John's and their fans?
08:50Are we talking about a program that next year should expect to be back in the position they were this
08:56year?
08:56Or should they expect more, more than a Sweet 16 experience?
09:00What do you think the expectations should be for St. John's and their fans going into next season?
09:06I think we've got to see what the roster looks like first.
09:09That's fair.
09:10I mean, look, yeah, I think the coach, he wants to win titles.
09:14He wants to win.
09:15He wants to get to a Final Four and challenge for national championships.
09:19There's no question about that.
09:20That's what he's, that's why he's doing this.
09:22He's not doing this just for fun.
09:25You know, we got to see what the roster looks like.
09:27I think, you know, you start with just trying to get back to this position.
09:32You know, try to get back to the Sweet 16 and then see what happens.
09:36You know, one of these years you would think St. John's is going to get a good draw.
09:40Hasn't happened yet.
09:41That's, but maybe one of the year the NCAA is going to actually, you know, not, not try
09:47to, not try to screw St. John's.
09:49I mean, hasn't happened the last two years, but I don't know, maybe, maybe one of these
09:53times it will.
09:54But yeah, I think it's, it's about, you know, let's, first things first, you got to see
10:00what this roster looks like.
10:02I fully expect them to have a really good transfer class.
10:05I fully expect them to be a very good contender.
10:08I think the Big East will be significantly better next year.
10:12But yeah, it's about, you just, you got to put yourself in this position.
10:17You know, we said this last year, like you got to get back to that spot in the second
10:21round and hope it fares if, and you just hope you, you come through.
10:25And this year they did in the second round.
10:26Now the hope is a year from now they're in the Sweet 16 and they can go further.
10:32It's hard.
10:33You got to have injury luck.
10:34You got to have a ball bounce your way.
10:37You got to do well in terms of formulating a roster.
10:40And, you know, the one thing I will say that I think if you're St.
10:43John's fan, you should feel good about is that they keep the guys that you think they're
10:46going to keep is, you know, last year really Zuby was the only returning, significant returning
10:52contributor.
10:53If you get a prey darling Saturn back, you at least have three guys that were significant
10:59contributors and gives you more continuity because really what killed St.
11:03John's seed was, was non-conference was they started so slow.
11:09Now, you know, if they had done better, if they had been Iowa State or Alabama in the
11:12non-conference, they're a better seed.
11:15They may be a three seed.
11:17So, you know, I think that's a big thing next year too, is, is starting faster and, and,
11:23and, and picking up some big non-conference wins.
11:28Now, unimproved biggies will help them.
11:31But yeah, look, non-conference is huge.
11:33They, they got to do better next year.
11:35Yeah.
11:35We'll see if they can be better next year, but it was a good season for St.
11:39John's and they are primed to be well in the future, locking up Rick Pitino.
11:44We'll see which players return, which new players they get.
11:46It'll all be very interesting.
11:47I think our guy, Zach Rosiller will be all on top of it, covering the red storm for us
11:53here at the New York post.
11:54Zach, I appreciate you, man.
11:55We had a good season this year on either storm.
11:58We'll have a lot more, I'm sure coming in the off season, eight days till the transfer
12:02portal.
12:02You're going to be busy, man.
12:03No sleep for you at all.
12:05No, no, no, no.
12:07We busy final.
12:09I'll be at the final four and then be at the final four Wednesday.
12:13And, um, yeah, it's, uh, my, then Tuesday, Tuesday, the portal opens and it's going to
12:20be, uh, mayhem basketball never stops, never stops for myself or Zach Rosiller.
12:26Zach appreciate you, man.
12:27All right.
12:28Catch you later.
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