St. John’s ended a drought of 27 years between second-weekend NCAA Tournament appearances this past March when it advanced to the Sweet 16. It did not take much longer for another dry spell to fall by the wayside.
For the first time in the current two-round NBA Draft format, three Johnnies heard their names announced among the 60 picks made between Tuesday and Wednesday, as Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins were selected in the second round one day after Zuby Ejiofor became the Red Storm’s first No. 1 draft choice since 2012.
Following in the footsteps of Ejiofor, drafted 23rd overall Tuesday night by the Atlanta Hawks, Mitchell became the second St. John’s player in this year’s draft class when the Boston Celtics made the versatile swingman the 40th selection. Hopkins’ wait to join his teammates at the next level was not much longer, with the fifth-year senior landing with the Denver Nuggets at No. 49. Altogether, this marks the first year in which St. John’s has produced three or more draft choices since 1983, when four of the then-Redmen were part of a 10-round draft. For head coach Rick Pitino, this year yielded the Hall of Fame tactician’s first three-pronged NBA rookie haul since 1996, when three of his national champion Kentucky Wildcats were selected.
Mitchell, who joined St. John’s for his final collegiate season after stops at Texas and Cincinnati, only averaged 8.3 points per game, but supplemented his offense with seven rebounds and three assists per game to pair a freakishly athletic floor game with staunch defense that quickly made him a Pitino favorite. Regardless of how often he sees the floor on a Celtics team headlined by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Mitchell’s explosiveness and versatility will enable him to make an impact immediately and should endear him to the blue-collar fan base in Beantown.
Hopkins, who concluded his college career averaging 13.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game as St. John’s won 30 games for a second straight season, bounced back from a torn ACL in a year in which the Chicago-area native started all 37 games for the Red Storm. It was the first season in which the 6-foot-7 forward played a full campaign since 2022-23, when he transferred to Providence after a freshman season at Kentucky. Hopkins will join Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in Denver, where the Nuggets will seek a second NBA championship in five seasons.
Pitino was bullish and effusive in his praise of his frontcourt before the draft, highlighting their positive attributes in a tweet.
The trio also provided Pitino with one final assist on the way out of Queens, as Ejiofor, Mitchell and Hopkins each extolled the allure of the St. John’s program to incoming transfer Tounde Yessoufou during the NBA Draft combine in May. Yessoufou, who withdrew from the draft after entering the transfer portal, joins St. John’s by way of Baylor, and — per Mitchell’s interview with Zach Braziller of the New York Post, was “very intrigued” by the potential of the Red Storm and his future role.
Ejiofor, Mitchell and Hopkins will assuredly be in action during next month’s annual Summer League competition, which begins July 4.
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