Rick Pitino is not going to recruit a single high school basketball player for St. John’s roster in 2025. The 72-year-old head coach will go entirely through the transfer portal to build his team.
He said what other coaches are not willing to say, the truth.
The Red Storm is currently ranked as the No. 10 team in college basketball at 23-4. Pitino missed out on the NCAA Tournament in Year 1 and could bounce back as a top-four seed in Year 2. Don’t be surprised if his team of mostly upperclassmen makes a run to the Final Four.
Regardless of how things go over the next few weeks, St. John’s will need to replace senior guards Deivon Smith, Kadary Richmond and Aaron Scott during the offseason. High schoolers will not suffice.
You can’t replace them with high school kids […]
We’re not recruiting any high school basketball players, not this year.
— Rick Pitino
The Red Storm added Ruben Prey, Jaiden Glover, Lefteris Liotopoulus and Khaman Maker through the more traditional recruiting path last season. They provide Pitino with the opportunity to develop underclassmen into more involved role players or starters as they grow older. That’s all he needs.
Rick Pitino is tapping the portal, again.
Every other player on the roster must be ready to play high-level basketball right away, immediately. The transfer portal presents an opportunity to win now every single year and St. John’s has already adapted to the current system. It is a professional sport and NIL money talks.
In some respects, [the portal] makes my job easier. In some respects, it doesn’t.
I probably never go to a young man’s home again. We just go straight to the negotiating table.
— Rick Pitino at Big East Media Day
Much like the Euroleague, of which Rick Pitino has experience, college basketball rosters look completely different every year in the modern era. A two-year player is becoming a rarity.
And for the Red Storm, that’s okay.
Pitino told Pardon My Take that he might not even consider a five-star high school recruit even if said recruit only wanted to play for his team. It would depend on the circumstance (St. John’s likely would not pass on a guy like Cooper Flagg) but the chances are slim.
I probably wouldn’t take [a five-star 18-year-old] because I don’t think you can win, and win big, with high school kids.
— Rick Pitino
Regardless of how the rest of this college basketball season plays out, Rick Pitino is going to coach a team that looks very different next year with an influx of new upperclassmen. He is going only through the transfer portal and will not recruit a single high schooler!