Pitino's Portal Picks Propel St. John's to Sweet Sixteen

St. Johns basketball team, led by Rick Pitino, defied expectations in the 2025-26 season, securing a Sweet Sixteen spot after a 27-year drought. Despite having only four returners and no top scorer, Pitinos strategic transfers, such as Zuby Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins, transformed the team into contenders. However, the teams weaknesses in three-point shooting and guard depth were exposed against Kansas and Duke. Pitino is now focusing on reinforcements, with Juke Harris from Wake Forest topping the list, aiming to fill the void left by RJ Luis and maintain the teams momentum. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/0a4c1b32fba7f891