St. John's enters the season ranked 13th in the preseason AP Poll! We break down the preseason ranking and team members' eligibility status, and we look at the two exhibition games!

https://youtu.be/HNqLyxJ-PKE?si=C_wPYfh0isdDBYN2

At this point I think we have to discuss the team as if it will be fully eligible. Here’s my thoughts after 100 minutes.

- We’ve got a clear top 6, will be interesting to see if it’s a revolving door for the 6th man role or if Rick lands on someone full time. Mitchell didn’t start full time until Xmas or so. Any takers on +100 Sane gets his turn as 6th man vs. Texas??

- Reed Bailey as 7th man. There will be less talented 7th guys on plenty of rosters. Moves his feet well on the perimeter. Can play in the press. The minutes where he is the 5 and Hall is the 4 will need to be avoided, I like it better next to Sane when necessary. We’ve had poor defensive rebounders at the 5 before, this will be the biggest challenge.

- Who is the 8th man? Looks like Lefty is getting first crack at it. I think he looks a bit different this year. His confidence and aggressiveness is up, and he’s looked more up to the task as a rebounder and defender. But you’re gonna have to start making 3’s my guy! Same goes for his biggest competitor at the moment, Big Z, who’s ice cold through 2 games. I’m buying stock on him while it’s low. I think both these guys will improve and help throughout the year, some games 5 minutes, some games 20.

- We have 1 pg on the team and he looks to be a great one. Obvious key is Ellis stays healthy and available. He’ll have games where he doesn’t show on the box score and he’ll have some where he stands out, but he’ll make an impact regardless and that’s my favorite type of player. Defensively he is right there with Kadary in terms of off ball awareness, size, and hitting the glass. If there is a concern so far for me it’s his inability to create clear separation from his defender, hitting some outside shots will help and I like his form there.

- Big Wings - Between Tounde, Hall, and Sane we have three guys who all create incredibly tough matchups. In pinches you could play them 2-4 or 3-5 but probably best to limit those scenarios. All 3 can score inside and look to post/seal often. All 3 can put it on the floor 1 v 1. And all 3 seem to be at the very least threats from 3 (more like Hopkins, less like D Mitch). Hall seems closer to 6’5 than 6’7 but he’s a proven rebounder at the high level. How these three blend and work together will be the second most important part of the season behind Ellis’s health in reaching our full potential IMO.

- Returning Impact - since first half of Drexel ended I’ve loved what I’ve seen from Ian Jackson. Aggressive driving to the hoop and taking good shots. More importantly he looks engaged in the other parts of the game. He’s D’ing up better, hes getting deflections, going for boards, and he’s made some nice plays setting up his teammates. I shared my thoughts on Prey in game post. Not overly worried or disappointed with what I’ve seen from him, he needs to rebound better but nearly every single defensive possession leads to him defending at the top of key vs guards/wings, i.e, 1+1 = 2

- Defense - Ability for this group to be elite on that end. Big, physical, athletic guard and wings who can all switch and play full court. Have seen some mixups so far with Sane and Hall where they tried to fight through high ball screens instead of switching with Prey which lead to some baskets inside. Backup bigs will be the biggest challenge and we will see early on what we do there. It’s October and we have seen these 3 stretches:
- 52 points to Drexel over 40 minutes
- 46 points to Rutgers over 20 minutes
- 53 points to Rutgers over 40 minutes
That’s 1 pretty atrocious 20 minutes and a really promising 80 minutes IMO. I like that potential.

- Offense - How quickly will guys adjust and adhere to different roles? Who will step up to hit 3’s? We will have cold spells shooting but feel’s like we have more than enough guys who are naturally going to score throughout a game for it to be a legitimate concern. We should live at the line.

I think our top 6 is better than UConn’s top 6.

Anyone know if we're still in Overtime?? It took 4 extra periods to crown a winner at MSG on Sunday but St. John's prevailed, rallying from down 20 in the 2nd half over Rutgers. We discuss both exhibition wins, takeaways, who stood out, why Quinn Ellis should be more aggressive, Babacar Sane, Keyshawn Hall's upside, needing more from the interior and plenty more as the season draws near.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-207-the-never-ending-storm-rutgers-4ot/id1624582632?i=1000797044142

I know it’s only an exhibition but man, there’s a lot to be excited about with this St. John’s team. I’m too excited not to share.

My biggest takeaway is that this team is at its best when the ball is moving. We saw it tonight during that roughly 10-15 point swing. When guys were sharing the ball, making the extra pass and playing within the offense everything seemed to click. With this much offensive talent nobody needs to force anything.

That’s where I think Keyshawn Hall has some adjusting to do. The talent is obviously there and there’s no questioning his ability to score, but I thought he held onto the ball too much and tried to create for himself rather than letting the offense work. Defensively he left a lot to be desired as well. I’m not overly concerned yet. It’s his first exhibition in a completely new system and I think he’ll learn what Pitino expects on both ends of the floor. It’ll be interesting to watch how he adjusts because this team has too much talent to become dependent on isolation basketball. Obviously this is a bit of an overreaction after one exhibition game, but it’s also kind of what we expected out of Hall.

Quinn Ellis might be the most important player on this roster. I was incredibly impressed with him tonight. With scorers like Hall, Babacar Sane, Reed Bailey, Tounde Yessoufou and Ian Jackson surrounding him, having a true floor general who can distribute, control the tempo and get everyone involved is invaluable. Ellis can absolutely score himself but what stood out to me was his decision-making and leadership. He seems to understand when to push the pace, when to settle things down and how to get the ball where it needs to go. WHERE WAS THIS GUY LAST SEASON

And defensively? A 6’5” point guard with that kind of length and wingspan is a luxury. He fits exactly what Pitino wants to do.

Speaking of defense, how about that full-court press?
I couldn’t help but laugh thinking back to Pitino saying (I think it was this summer) that this year’s team would probably press a little less. Then here we are barely five minutes into the first half of the first exhibition and he’s already pressing. Love it man

This roster is ridiculously athleti long and versatile. Between Ellis, Yessoufou, Sane and the rest of the rotation there’s so much potential to disrupt passing lanes, force turnovers and turn defense into easy offense. It almost feels like a waste not to press with this group. And who better to run an aggressive full-court press than Coach Pitino?

Obviously it’s October. There’s going to be some growing pains with so many new faces learning to play together. The chemistry isn’t going to develop overnight and I don’t expect it to.

But the potential is obvious. If this team buys into moving the ball offensively and playing relentless,
connected defense, the ceiling is incredibly high.
It’s only one exhibition but I’m already fired up for this season.

Long post but what stood out to everyone else tonight?

https://www.youtube.com/live/w1DaW3I5qfE?is=RnlMlLsoHyMPRfsv

How do you think the boys looked

Everyone say it with me - FINALLY - it was a perfect Tuesday as St. John's got the best news possible a mere few minutes apart. Quinn Ellis and Keyshawn Hall are good to go! That means St. John's has a full roster and everyone is eligible to play.

Zach Braziller of the New York Post and Kevin Connelly of StormThePaint join me to finally discuss the eligibility crisis from the summer and where everyone stands heading into the year, plus we preview the season - the roster - the schedule and more!

A new intro is here - and I am happy to say WELCOME to season 5 of the Eye on the Storm Podcast - LETS GO!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-206-storm-warning-the-2026-2027-season-preview/id1624582632?i=1000796330504

Tuesday - Keyshawn Hall hearing

Wednesday - first exhibition game vs Drexel at 6:00 on ESPN+

Keyshawn Hall’s injunction hearing delayed until next week

Sane on Monday

Hall on Tuesday

https://www.rumbleinthegarden.com/st-johns-red-storm-mens-basketball/25696/st-johns-mens-basketball-keyshawn-hall-temporary-restraining-order-fifth-year-eligibility

I’ve always been a bit of a St. John’s fan. Loved DJ Kennedy as a kid!! Growing up in Montana, there aren’t exactly a ton of big-time college basketball programs around, so we pretty much get to pick whoever the hell we want (Fuck Gonzaga)

Well I’m finally making it to my first St. John’s game — and somehow my first one is going to be at Madison Square Garden against Arizona in December. I’ve also never been to New York before, so I’m pumped for the whole experience.

For those of you who go to games at MSG, anything I should know? Places to go before the game, things I should make sure I do, general tips for a first-timer?

Can’t wait. Go Johnnies! 🔴⚪️

This upcoming season is my first having season tickets and I’m so pumped. Other season ticket holders … do you even re-sell any of them? (I don’t plan on it but I’m curious). How many games did you actually go to? What’s your experience - has it been worth it? Anything else I should know??

LFG Johnnniessss