By David Okula (@david16okula)
NEW YORK — The calendar has turned to October, which means college basketball season is just around the corner and excitement is starting to build across the country.
That buzz grew larger for St. John’s and the rest of the teams in the Big East on Thursday, when the conference held its annual basketball media day at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan. With coaches and players speaking from all 11 schools, there were some prevailing storylines from the day for both the Johnnies and the league as a whole.
1. The expectation is for the Big East to be a much deeper league
Last season, it was no secret throughout the entirety of conference play that St. John’s and UConn stood in a tier of their own in the Big East. The Johnnies and Huskies went a combined 35-5 during the regular season conference schedule, with two of those losses coming to each other. Aside from Villanova in third place at 15-5, no other school in the Big East finished above .500 during conference play or made the NCAA Tournament.
It was evident from the get-go on Thursday with comments from new Big East commissioner Tim Brosnan that this was expected to be a much more competitive conference from top to bottom in this upcoming season.
“One constant, one thing that will not change, our North Star, is to continue to compete at the highest level,” Brosnan said. “This season, you will see that in action as our men’s basketball programs demonstrate that three bids to the (NCAA) Tournament is not our standard.”
Rick Pitino also made it a theme throughout his media availability on Thursday to emphasize that it will not only be UConn and St. John’s at the top of the conference this year. In fact, Pitino was the lone coach to vote for someone other than the Huskies or Red Storm as the best team in the conference, casting a first-place vote for Marquette.
“Not to take away from Connecticut, I just think Marquette has two all-league selections; I think they’re going to be very hungry,” Pitino said. “I think Connecticut, Marquette and Xavier are all on the same level. They’ve all got terrific teams.”
Xavier and Marquette both finished in the bottom half of the conference last season. However, each has put together a good balance of additions in the transfer portal and key retention to give them NCAA Tournament expectations entering the season. Another team that is expected to make a major step forward this season is Providence, who was picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, with new head coach Bryan Hodgson and a multitude of transfer portal splashes.
“This year, I don’t know who the best team (in the Big East) is,” Pitino said. “I certainly think Connecticut is going to be very strong, but I think there’s five or six other teams that can win the championship.”
2. St. John’s is not worried about its eligibility cases
It’s an extremely unique time in the college basketball world, where St. John’s has less than two weeks until its first exhibition against Drexel, and there are still many unknowns related to what the roster may look like. Entering media day, arguably the biggest question for the Johnnies was the status and concern level for Keyshawn Hall, Babacar Sané and Quinn Ellis, all of whom are still trying to get cleared eligibility-wise. Pitino may have alleviated some fears that the Johnnies fanbase has with the confidence he showed on Thursday that all of his players will be cleared and ready to go by the time the season gets underway.
“I think they’re all going to be eligible,” Pitino said. “I think we’re looking forward to developing a new group of guys into a really good unit.”
Hall and Ellis are both expected to be part of the starting five if they are cleared, while Sané would likely be the first man off the bench and play a versatile role for the team. Sané was ruled ineligible by the NCAA, but was given a temporary restraining order by the Queens County Supreme Court and has a court hearing on Monday that will likely determine his eligibility. Meanwhile, Hall has also brought his case to the Queens Supreme Court, and Ellis is still waiting on a ruling from the NCAA.
“Certainly, I feel good about Quinn because (a player from) Arkansas (Miikka Muurinen) and a player from Gonzaga (Izan Almansa) were just declared eligible,” Pitino said. “That’s exactly the same boat Quinn was in, so we feel great about that.”
Although Pitino showed confidence that his team will ultimately be at full strength, he expressed some displeasure that these questions are still up in the air with just a few weeks to go before the season begins.
“All (the NCAA) had to do is tell us what they’re going to do in November, and none of this would’ve happened,” Pitino said. “But they did it early on. Why? I don’t know. I think it was a calculated mistake on their part, but we’re part of the NCAA, so we have to live with it.”
As for the St. John’s players, guard Ian Jackson made it clear that these questions are not impacting any of the work that the team has been putting in.
“I worry about what I can worry about (and) what I can control,” Jackson said. “I worry about the basketball. We’re all working, trying to get better every day. Everything else that happens off the court, none of us can control it.”
3. Ian Jackson is primed for a breakout season
Thursday began with the release of the Big East preseason poll and the all-conference teams, which included both Tounde Yessoufou and Jackson on the first team. Jackson, who is the only returner for the Red Storm that averaged more than 11 minutes per game last season, seemed ready on Thursday to take on a larger role both on and off the court.
Jackson came over to St. John’s last year with very high expectations after spending his freshman season at North Carolina, where he averaged nearly 12 points per game. However, he was unable to showcase his full potential with the Red Storm, which Pitino has largely attributed to the fact that he had to learn a new position at point guard.
“He’s a tremendous young man, and I think it was a mistake playing him (at point guard),” Pitino said. “But in the long run, we’re going to need him to play a little backup point guard this year, and I think that experience was invaluable.”
Throughout much of last season, the overwhelming thought around the Red Storm fan base was that Jackson was likely going to transfer after the year. Jackson said on Thursday, though, that was never a consideration for him, and he was always determined to stay another year in his home city.
“(Transferring) was never on my mind,” Jackson said. “I always knew this is where I was meant to be.”
Jackson, who averaged 9.4 points per game in 18.3 minutes per game last season, is expected to start at his natural position of shooting guard this season and is poised to take a major step forward with a transformed mindset.
“I approached this summer way differently,” he said. “I feel like I’m the most prepared I’ve ever been entering a season. My preparations have been tremendous. I’m ready to play, I’m ready to go.”
The work that Jackson put in has certainly caught the eye of his head coach throughout the offseason. Pitino demonstrated the fact that he expects Jackson to live up to those Big East first team honors and beyond.
“I think Ian’s going to be one of the premier players in the country,” Pitino said. “He is having a great fall. He’s consistently been great.”
With all the questions still looming over the Red Storm roster, the importance of having a returner like Jackson cannot be overstated. If St. John’s can get the breakout year from him that many people around the program seem to be anticipating, it will dramatically raise the ceiling for the Red Storm.
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