Roger Rubin: Tounde Yessoufou's move to St. John's a windfall for team and a boost to his career
St. John's Tounde Yessoufou shooting a fadeaway jump shot over the defense of Colgate’s Kingston McKay during the first half of a men's basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
In a lot of ways, it was the surprise of the St. John’s offseason reload.
The Red Storm had shown interest in Baylor’s high-scoring freshman Tounde Yessoufou, however it didn’t seem to be in the cards. Yessoufou had put his name in the NCAA transfer portal, but also had declared for the 2026 NBA Draft and as the deadline for early entrees to withdraw approached he still looked like a late first-round pick in a loaded draft class.
And then at the eleventh hour on May 27, the deadline day, Yessoufou did the unexpected. He not only pulled out of the draft but also committed to St. John’s. For Rick Pitino and his staff, it was an unexpected windfall.
And now, just three games into the regular season, the acquisition of the 6-5 swingman from Benin is yielding dividends. And they aren’t just the gains all had anticipated.
Yessoufou may have set the Baylor freshman scoring record in 2025-26 with 605 points for a 17.8-point average, but Pitino saw much more than a scorer. And now he seems to be crafting Yessoufou into a more complete basketball player.
On Wednesday night in the 13th-ranked Red Storm’s 90-59 non-conference victory over Colgate at Carnesecca Arena, Yessoufou scored 15 points, four rebounds and three steals in just 24 minutes on the floor He shot 5-for-10 from the floor including 2-for-5 from distance.
Ian Jackson had 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting and Keyshawn Hall had 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Lefteris Liotopoulos added 13 points including three three-pointer, Ruben Prey had 11 points and eight rebounds and Quinn Ellis had six points, nine assists, six rebounds, four steals and didn’t commit a turnover in 32 minutes.
St. John’s closed the first half with an 11-0 run that included nine points from Jackson for a 49-32 lead. Yessoufou had five points as the Storm opened a 25-point lead early in the second half and started to roll.
One of the highlight plays in the second half was Zsombor Maronka’s behind the back pass to Liotopoulos in the corner for a three-pointer and a 76-43 lead. Another was a spectacular dunk by Babacar Sane for an 87-56 lead with 1:40 to play.
“I think Tounde came in here a terrific basketball player and he’s only getting better,” Pitino said Sunday after Yessoufou had 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting, made four three-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and made three steals in just 21 minutes of a blowout win over Iona. “He’s seeing the ball well, he sees the openings, he’s rebounding the basketball. He [is] . . . totally committed to getting better at all phases of the game.”
Yessoufou’s decision to join the Red Storm (3-0) was more than noteworthy to the rest of the Big East. In the preseason poll of its coaches, he was a unanimous pick to the all-conference first team.
And that happened before anyone had seen this version of him.
Yessoufou has developed a passion to play defense. He is often assigned to stop the opposing team’s top scorer. And it turns out that his combination of speed, athleticism and quick hands has made him a perfect fit for Pitino’s full-court press.
Additionally, he has shown an unselfishness not often seen in scorers, identifying when a shot isn’t there and looking to pass. And on a team where great rebounding from the center position isn’t going to be a given, he is an excellent rebounder from his position.
Yessoufou’s decision to withdraw from the 2026 NBA Draft certainly is looking like it’s going to pay off for St. John’s. In the trio with Jackson and Hall, the Red Storm has three players who can score 20 points or more on any given night. It makes for a potent offense, but also allows for any one of them to have an off night.
And it may very well pay off in a big way for him.
Yessoufou is going to finish this season as a much more attractive potential NBA draft pick because he’s added so many dimensions to his game. And with the 2027 draft class nowhere close to the last one, he could end up a lottery pick if he decides to go pro.
“I love when a coach just shoots straight, [tells me] things I need to work on and things I need to get better at,” Yessoufou said after the Iona win. “The main [objective] was the team needs my aggressiveness. And in order for me to play well on offense, it has to start with defense. . . . My main goal is always to guard the other team’s best player, steal the ball, go in transition and make sure I’m a lockdown defensive player.”
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.
