St. John's fans, remember season for what it was: Special!
St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor and teammates celebrate after winning the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, March 15, 2025. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Whether you’re a longtime St. John’s fan or caught The Red (Storm) Fever this college basketball season, you likely were smarting the day after the team’s season-ending NCAA Tournament West Region second-round loss to Arkansas.
Angry at the quick whistles that limited Kadary Richmond to 16 minutes before fouling out with 6:26 left and cut Simeon Wilcher’s time to 15 minutes?
Stunned that after tying a season high with 14 three-pointers two days earlier against Omaha, the Red Storm went 2-for-22 from beyond the arc?
Mired in the disappointment that this team that made people believe anything is possible hit a hurdle it couldn’t clear?
Sad that the excitement that enveloped New York is over?
Stop it.
This isn’t a moment for negativity. It’s a moment to appreciate the spectacular season St. John’s had.
The way that coach Rick Pitino, along with his excellent staff, has transformed the program in only two years.
The way the players worked together to be the best defensive team in the nation.
The way they almost always beat their opponents in the effort categories such as rebounding and recovering loose balls.
The way their passion to win was so inspiring.
All of this was nothing short of amazing and worthy of recognition.
“I think there was a lot of great moments this year,” Pitino said.
Indeed there were.
Think about them.
Consider the day in the Bahamas after the double-overtime loss to Baylor in which Zuby Ejiofor missed a pair of free throws in the final seconds and left the door open for Jeremy Roach’s winning three-pointer at the buzzer. The considerable contingent of Red Storm fans that made the journey were there for the next game against Virginia and chanted his name to show their support.
Consider the way they honored the memory of St. John’s coaching legend Lou Carnesecca in their first game after his November passing, donning commemorative patches and bludgeoning Kansas State at Carnesecca Arena.
Consider the Miracle at Amica, when St. John’s found its identity and rallied from a 16-point deficit to win at Providence on Ejiofor’s buzzer-beater.
Consider the gutsy six-point win in the hostile environs at UConn or the gritty overtime victory over Xavier at the Garden or the scintillating overtime win at Marquette on another Ejiofor buzzer-beater.
Consider the huge crowds that St. John’s again was able to draw to Madison Square Garden and the invitation to appear on the “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
Consider the celebration on the Garden floor of the program’s first outright Big East regular-season championship in 40 years or the one after the Red Storm beat Creighton for their first Big East Tournament title in 25 years.
Yes, there was a lot to savor in this 31-5 season.
Pitino promised to bring the program back to the lofty place it once occupied in the college basketball world, and St. John’s is well on its way after earning a No. 2 seeding in its first NCAA Tournament appearance in six years and producing its first tourney win in 25.
The successes of this season, the development of RJ Luis Jr. into the Big East Player of the Year and of Ejiofor into a first-team all-conference selection and the financial foundation created — with billionaire alumnus Mike Repole both giving and encouraging fundraising — have changed the trajectory of this program.
This will be an offseason to watch. It’s possible that St. John’s has become a destination for top players from all over the country who want Pitino’s coaching and the biggest stage in the sport there is. And after the strides Luis and Ejiofor made from last season to this one, surely Red Storm fans can’t wait to see Ejiofor’s next step and the improvements in Wilcher, Brady Dunlap, Ruben Prey, Lefteris Liotopoulos and Vince Iwuchukwu.
“I think what Ruben and Vince and Lefty and Sim and some of the guys that were on the bench and witnessed what the run is all about — and what you have to do to make the next jump — they witnessed it,” Pitino said. “It’s only going to help them. They’re getting better.”
Nope, this is not a time for what the players call “Johnnies Nation” to lament what was lost. It’s a time for the perspective to realize all they’ve gotten.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
