Overview
- St. John’s finished non-conference play 8-4 and went 0-4 against marquee foes Alabama, Iowa State, Auburn and Kentucky, dropping out of the Top 25 after the Kentucky loss.
- Defensive rebounding has been a glaring weakness, with opponents grabbing 34.5% of their misses overall and 41.7% in power‑conference games.
- The primary ball‑handling role remains unsettled as Oziyah Sellers, Dylan Darling and Ian Jackson have all started there, and Rick Pitino conceded the staff did not land a full‑time point guard.
- Closing games is an issue: the Red Storm are 1-2 in single‑digit contests and coughed up second‑half leads in losses to Auburn and Kentucky, lacking a clear late‑game go‑to scorer.
- Zuby Ejiofor urged internal changes to recapture last season’s defensive and rebounding edge, while Pitino questioned post‑holiday conditioning even as staff-driven player development draws praise; the league opener is New Year’s Eve at Georgetown.