The Hall of Famer’s recruiting focus is squarely on the transfer portal for this cycle
As of October 15, St. John’s has secured the commitment of zero high school recruits in the class of 2025. That appears to be an intentional decision by Rick Pitino.
During Tuesday’s media day proceedings, Rick Pitino told the New York Post’s Zach Braziller that the team is unlikely to recruit from the high school circuit for the next year, implying that he plans on filling openings in next year’s roster through the transfer portal.
Rick Pitino told Braziller he was “extremely high” on freshmen Jaiden Glover, Lefteris Liotopoulos, and Ruben Prey, and St. John’s had enough young players that they didn’t need to recruit a freshman in 2025. Four-star center Khaman Maker was not mentioned among those players, with all indications that he is a work-in-progress and will be behind Zuby Ejiofor and Vince Iwuchukwu in the depth chart.
Pitino constructed the foundation of this year’s roster through the transfer portal. Seven of the thirteen scholarship players on the 2024-25 men’s basketball rosters began their college careers elsewhere (Richmond, Smith, Scott, Iwuchukwu, Ejiofor, Luis, Ayo).