Rick Pitino adds another key piece to St. John’s roster

If you didn’t think that St John’s offseason could get any better, you might want to take a look at the Red Storm’s latest recruiting news. On Monday, former North Carolina signee and 4-star recruit, Simeon Wilcher, committed to Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm. The 28th ranked prospect in the ESPN top 100 rankings decommited from North Carolina on June 6th, which prompted Pitino to swoop in and convince the highly touted guard to join him in New York. Wilcher originally chose North Carolina over offers from Nebraska and Overtime Elite, but he ultimately decided to commit to North Carolina in 2021. However, once Elliot Cadeau (five-star PG in the Class of 2024) reclassified up to the class of 2023, Wilcher felt the need to back out of his pledge to UNC and survey all his options.

Since taking over for Mike Anderson in March, Pitino has already brought in 12 new pieces to the Red Storm’s program. Some of those pieces include Jordan Dingle (IVY league POY), Daniss Jenkins (Iona transfer), Glenn Taylor Jr. (Oregon State transfer), Nahiem Alleyne (Uconn transfer) and of course, Simeon Wilcher. Joel Soriano, who notched 15.2 points and snagged 11.9 boards per game in 2022-23, is the lone Red Storm returnee on Pitino’s new-look St. John’s squad.

Three years after his fallout with Louisville in 2017, Rick Pitino returned to the college basketball scene to lead Iona’s men’s basketball program. He managed to guide the Gaels to three straight postseason appearances (two NCAAT, one NIT) and two MAAC Tournament championships from 2020-23. Just a few days after the Gaels’ 87-63 loss to UConn in the Round of 64 last season, the 70-year-old head coach agreed to a six-year deal to become St. John’s next head coach. Needless to say, Pitino has been trying his best to reshape St. John’s roster before they hit the ground running, which is why it’s not surprising that the program made another splash on the recruiting trail this week. Players want to get an opportunity to learn from one of the most accomplished coaches in the game, so reeling in recruits shouldn’t be a major challenge for Pitino and company moving forward. So, will the Red Storm finally get back to the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24? Well, perhaps, but I confidently say that the program is in tremendous hands under Pitino’s leadership.