Five burning questions gnawing at St. John's before 2024-25 season

Nov 03, 2024

The Post’s Zach Braziller looks at five burning questions for St. John’s in the 2024-25 season.

Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith are used to playing with the ball in their hands.

Now, they will need to adjust without it some.

Richmond has welcomed the change, saying it will mean less playmaking responsibilities for him after he carried such a heavy load at Seton Hall.

For now, Smith will come off the bench as the sixth man, a move I think makes a lot of sense, because it gets an extra shooter on the floor to start, and enables the 6-foot blur of a senior to provide energy off the bench.

St. John’s best shooters a year ago, from Daniss Jenkins to Jordan Dingle to Nahiem Alleyne, are gone.

Richmond and Smith are at their best as shot creators and penetrators.

RJ Luis has remade his shot, and there is hope he can significantly improve upon his 20 percent mark from beyond the arc.

Sophomores Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap will be needed as consistent shotmakers, along with North Texas transfer Aaron Scott — who hit on 37 percent from downtown last year, albeit on just 3.5 attempts per game.

Rick Pitino has spoken frequently of the need to hit the ground running. It is why he scheduled two exhibitions: at Rutgers, which was ranked 25th in the Associated Press preseason poll, and home against CAA preseason favorite Towson.

Early season losses a year ago to Michigan, Dayton and Boston College created a hole the Johnnies couldn’t dig out of.

By the time St. John’s hit its stride last winter, it was too late.

The Red Storm have a challenging non-conference schedule that is highlighted by loaded Baylor, projected tournament team Kansas State and potentially Tennessee, which is ranked 12th in the preseason, in the Bahamas.

They better be ready.

Four rotation players — juniors Zuby Ejiofor and Luis, sophomores Wilcher and Dunlap — are back.

The first three are expected to start.

Part of the excitement with this team is that the super-talented Luis is healthy after offseason shin surgeries, and Ejiofor and Wilcher had strong preseasons that perhaps signal they are ready to make a jump.

As important as the transfers might be, St. John’s needs at least two of the aforementioned three to be consistent performers for a breakthrough season.

Outside of his disappointing tenure with the Celtics, every team Pitino has coached has made major strides in his second season.

Providence reached the Final Four. Kentucky went from 14 wins to 22. Louisville added six victories.

The Knicks won 52 games and claimed the Atlantic Division crown. Iona registered 25 victories and the MAAC regular season title.