Roger Rubin: St. John's newcomer Kyle Cuffe Jr. following in his father's footsteps with Red Storm
St. John's alum Kyle Cuffe Sr., right, with his son and new St. John's recruit Kyle Cuffe Jr. Credit: St. John's Athletics
St. John’s fans have a long list of things to look forward to in the 2026-27 season, beginning with coach Rick Pitino’s Red Storm very likely opening with a Top 15 national ranking.
They are eager to glimpse the improved games of returners Ian Jackson, Ruben Prey and Lefteris Liotopoulos and can’t wait to see the talented group of newcomers headlined by Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou and European pros Quinn Ellis and Babacar Sane. And there’s another slate of tough non-conference games: at least three in the loaded Players Era Festival Field plus dates with Arizona and Alabama.
Long-time St. John’s fans also will get an extra perk: a familiar name.
Kyle Cuffe Jr. arrived from Mercer in May to join Pitino’s fourth transfer class. The 6-2 guard is the son of Kyle Cuffe, the 6-9 New Yorker who played four seasons for the Red Storm and was a key cog in their 2002 NCAA Tournament team.
“It’s going to be a special time for my wife and I because we’re both St. John’s alums,” the elder Cuffe told Newsday this week. “He went to all the St. John’s camps growing up and even hoped to play for St. John’s out of high school — if he couldn’t go to his dream school, Duke — but that was a different [Red Storm] coaching staff and that didn’t come together.”
Cuffe Jr. ultimately signed with Kansas out of high school basketball powerhouse Blair Academy in New Jersey. He was there for two seasons but was limited to two games by knee injuries.
He was a redshirt on the Jayhawks’ 2022 national champion and roomed with Zuby Ejiofor the next season before the latter’s star turn at St. John’s. He spent the next two years at Syracuse and averaged 7.3 points in 16.4 minutes for Mercer last season.
Of his move to St. John’s, Cuffe Sr. said, “What a good way to finish your last year of eligibility, circling back home and getting to be around friends and family.”
Kyle and Keia Cuffe had their son during their junior year at St. John’s, and Kyle actually carried him in his arms when he was feted for Senior Night at the final home game of the 2003-04 season.
“He’s a St. John’s baby,” Cuffe Sr. said. “It’s a little like he was born to wear the uniform.”
The St. John’s locker room now is inside the Taffner Fieldhouse adjacent to Carnesecca Arena, but when Cuffe Sr. played, the locker room was in the same building just off the court. The old locker room now is where the school’s multimedia team stages photos and takes videos, among other things.
Cuffe Jr. posed there for photographs in Red Storm gear used to announce his commitment, but he and his father also posed for some photos there.
Looking at a photo of the two of them from that day, the elder Cuffe got nostalgic.
“This photo hits home for me because it was taken in the actual locker room I used when I played at St. John’s,” he said. “They don’t use that locker room anymore, so walking back in brought back a flood of memories.
“The funniest part was remembering Kyle Jr. as a little kid running around that same locker room while I was a player. Back then he was just a kid chasing a basketball. Today he’s sitting in that same room as a St. John’s player himself . . .
“You couldn’t script a better full-circle moment. As a father, it’s emotional to see how far we’ve both come. I couldn’t be more proud and grateful.”
After finishing at St. John’s, Cuffe Sr. played professionally in the G League and internationally in Italy, Mexico, the Czech Republic and Indonesia. He started coming back to Red Storm games about seven years ago as former AD Mike Cragg wanted to reconnect the legacy to the current program.
Cuffe Sr. now is a consultant on issues of safety for the MTA. He stays in touch with former players, not only from his Red Storm teams but also others from before and after they played. When St. John’s returned to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in 27 years, a group of them went to Washington, D.C., for the March matchup against Duke.
The Red Storm have only begun their schedule of summer workouts in the past week. The role of Cuffe Jr., brought in because of his experience and to give the team guard depth, is still to be determined.
One thing his father is looking forward to is joining him on the court for Senior Night before the final regular-season home game.
“That will be another full-circle moment, being together on Senior Night,” Cuffe Sr. said. “I am really excited for the whole St. John’s season, but I know that will be special.”
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.
