Roger Rubin: NBA draft has St. John's fans on edge of their seats
St. John's Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins and center Zuby Ejiofor bump chests late in the second half of the Big East Tournament final against the UConn Huskies at Madison Square Garden on March 14. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Here we are in late June and St. John’s coach Rick Pitino and Red Storm fans are talking about the NBA Draft that’s going to be held at Barclays Center on Tuesday and Wednesday. And they’re looking forward to watching it.
The appeal? Three Red Storm standouts who propelled the program to its first NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 since 1999 might have their names called in Brooklyn. Center Zuby Ejiofor, the 2026 Big East Player of the Year, and forwards Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins – who made up the best frontcourt in the Big East this past season – could all be among the 60 selections.
“I think that the Knicks would benefit a lot with Zuby,” Pitino told Newsday in a phone interview on Sunday. “I really do and it's not just because of the local team. I think the Knicks could really use Zuby. They need another frontcourt player that can play defense, rebound the basketball, pass the basketball, score it. And I think they're a team that could really use him.
“I’m told he had a great workout with them.”
Mitchell, too, worked out for the NBA champion and was ecstatic about the notion of continuing to play home games at the Garden.
“It’d be insane,” Mitchell said Sunday in an interview on Zoom. “I remember talking with them. They know I know the atmosphere at MSG [and] being able to play there, man, it'd be exciting. Just to be there with all those fans again and [Coach P.] . . . and St. John's is right there, not too far away? Just being able to compete at MSG again, it would mean a lot to me.”
The idea of a St. John’s player in uniform for the Knicks is over-the-top. But just the idea of the Storm landing NBA talent on a regular basis? We’re talking about a change from the near quarter-century the program spent in the desert of irrelevance.
The last NBA Draft pick St. John’s produced was Sir’Dominic Pointer who went to Cleveland in the second round of 2015. The last first-round pick? Maurice Harkless to Philadelphia at No. 15 in 2012. St. John’s last had two players selected in 2000 (Erick Barkley and Lavor Postell). It last got three in the 10-rounder in 1983 (David Russell, Kevin Williams, Billy Goodwin and Bob Kelly).
This is not to say that the draft is the final word. Julian Champagnie went undrafted and was instrumental in San Antonio reaching the NBA Finals to face the Knicks. Daniss Jenkins went undrafted and was a key player for Detroit.
But as we stand on the eve of the 2026 Draft – a contender to go down as the best in history – we’re in a moment that begs for perspective for St. John’s and its fans.
We talk about a “Pitino Effect” with the surge in attendance, the number of games the Storm now plays at the Garden and the winning. But it’s also brought us a new cycle for the Storm fan. A college basketball season ends, but the chatter goes on. And with good reason.
The anticipation of St. John’s players getting picked in the draft is the newest part of it and likely to remain part of the cycle. This is how it plays out now: the Red Storm has a great season, Pitino and his staff bring in another group of players that will make it a Top 15 team when the season begins, and then there is following the past year’s stars into the draft.
It’s the new normal at St. John’s and a great new normal for Storm fans. They should get used to it because the cycle is coming around again. Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou might have been a first-round pick this season before he opted out of the draft for S. John’s. He could be a lottery pick. New point guard Quinn Ellis has been playing professionally in Europe for six years and could be another. So might junior Ian Jackson, who may thrive with Pitino committed to making his return to shooting guard a success. Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman has NBA potential. So might German pro BabAcar Sane.
The point here is that St. John’s fans may have enjoyed watching the NBA Draft “from afar,” but now it appears it will be an annual event where they have a (rooting) interest. They have an almost year-round reason to be tuned in to the program. And that’s good for everyone.
When I asked Pitino if he thought that NBA Draft could become part of the calendar for a St. John’s fan in this new cycle, the notion that the program’s fans have been living in a desert may not have entirely landed. This cycle, new to Storm fans, is not unfamiliar.
“It was [typical] for me at Louisville, so I'm hoping it is at St. John's,” Pitino said. “It was every place I've been. There's no reason why St. John's and our fans can't have that.”
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.
