St. John's gets commitment from forward Babacar Sane
Babacar Sane of G League Ignite on September 6, 2023 Credit: Getty Images/Ethan Miller
Rick Pitino’s offseason strategy of restocking the St. John’s roster with physically developed players who have professional experience has yielded another commitment. The Red Storm is bringing on 6-8 forward Babacar Sane, who has been playing professionally this past season in Germany’s best professional league and will turn 23 in September.
“If he was in the portal here, he'd be one of the top 10 guys in the portal,” Pitino told Newsday on Tuesday in a telephone interview. “He is solid at 6-8 and 230 [pounds] and he’s athletic. He’s a physical athlete and that’s something we need.”
Asked if Sane could be a high-impact addition for this season, Pitino replied, “Absolutely, 100% . . . He is something that the other guys aren't: a strong, imposing talent and built like a brick house.”
Sane’s decision to join St. John’s was made some time ago, but the Senegal native needed to go through the NCAA Initial Eligibility Clearinghouse and be ruled able to play this coming season. Pitino said the program is still awaiting a verdict on whether he will have one or two years of eligibility.
Sane played two seasons in the NBA’s G League with the Salt Lake City Stars and Iowa Wolves before moving to professional basketball overseas. In 2024-25 with the Wolves he averaged 11.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in 20.1 minutes. This season he’s averaged 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg.
“He can shoot it and he’s fast,” Pitino said.
Pitino made a lot of connections when he was coaching Greece’s Panathinaikos for two years in the EuroLeague. Those connections have helped him put together an influx of professionally seasoned talent this offseason including elite British point guard Quinn Ellis, Montenegrin wing Djordije Jovanovic and Serbian center Lazar Stojkovic.
“They're a little older version than ACC or SEC players,” Pitino said of the older Europeans he’s recruited. “They've played [against] competition that’s very strong.”
From the NCAA transfer portal, St. John’s also has added Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman and Columbia point guard Avery Brown.
Pitino’s connections turned him on to Sane and after being impressed watching film of him, he dispatched assistant coach Ricky Johns to Germany to evaluate him in person. He also consulted with Gorgui Dieng, a Senegalese import who played center for Pitino at Louisville before a 10-year NBA career, about Sane.
“I talked to Gorgui about him,” Pitino said. “He knows him very well . . . so we did our homework. He's a big-time basketball player.”
The Red Storm are assessing a number of options for filling some of the four remaining open spots on the roster and that includes monitoring players in the portal who have declared as early entries for the NBA Draft. Should one of those players opt to withdraw from the draft, St. John’s might have an opening to land another high-impact player.
Pitino did not say who in that category might be options, but the group includes three intriguing forwards: Milan Momcilovic from Iowa State, Tounde Yessoufou from Baylor and Allen Graves from Santa Clara.
Graves has reportedly been linked to LSU. Kentucky, among others, is reportedly pursuing Momcilovic. UCLA is reportedly pursuing Yessoufou.
An old rivalry renewed
St. John’s and Syracuse will play a non-conference game at the Garden next season, but the programs are working with the arena to set up a date for the contest, Pitino said. He added that the Storm will once again play his former program Iona at the Garden, as they did a year ago.
Pitino said he would like to play all 10 Big East home games at the Garden this coming season if it’s possible, but there could be one or two played on campus. Butler and DePaul are the leading candidates for those spots.
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.
