Wow! What a huge get for Rick Pitino!
Taking over a team that had a record below .500 in Big East play in seven out of the last eight campaigns, head coach Rick Pitino knew that he was heading into a situation where he was going to have to get his hands dirty. But he has also put himself in a situation where he can achieve so much glory if he brings back relevance to St. John’s and the New York City college basketball scene.
And my man is already off to work, pulling in talent left and right from the transfer portal.
Heading into Friday, St. John’s had pulled in seven players from the transfer portal, including three from Iona and a big four-star get RJ Luis (shoutout to Miami!) from UMass. But now the Red Storm have brought the number up to eight, and it’s another huge landing for Pitino.
Jordan Dingle, who is the Ivy League Player of the Year and nation’s second-leading scorer, will be transferring to St. John’s from Penn, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
NEWS: Penn transfer Jordan Dingle, the Ivy League Player of the Year and the nation’s second-leading scorer, has committed to St. John’s, sources told ESPN. Rick Pitino’s best pickup of a busy offseason for the Red Storm. Averaged 23.4 points last season. pic.twitter.com/DogDjloTl6
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) May 12, 2023
Holy cow, what a giant get for Rick Pitino.
St. John’s offense was already pretty solid last season, and now they’re throwing Jordan Dingle into the mix who averaged 23.4 points-per-game, the second most behind just Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis. It’ll definitely be interesting to watch Dingle and Luis paired together, and seeing how the Red Storm do on the court overall. (RELATED: Denver Nuggets Advance To Western Conference Finals After Blowout 125-100 Victory Over Phoenix Suns; Win Series, 4-2)
It was already interesting with Pitino at the helm, and now he’s got some talent to work with?
You gotta give the man credit. He knows how to build a program.