Roger Rubin: St. John's Quinn Ellis needs to get those threes flowing
St. John's guard Quinn Ellis dribbles the ball against the Monmouth Hawks in the second half of an NCAA men’s basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Nov. 2, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino requires a treadmill be located right by the playing floor in Carnesecca Arena when the Red Storm practices. He likes to use it as a teaching tool. When a player makes a poor decision or doesn’t follow instructions – and the Hall of Famer deems it bad enough – they get sent to the treadmill to sprint for a minute, maybe two, depending on how severe the transgression.
Quinn Ellis may be the Red Storm’s most consistently good player, but the point guard actually spends quite a bit of time on that treadmill.
The 6-4 Ellis has been nothing short of splendid for the 13th-ranked Red Storm (2-0). He’s averaging 7.5 points, nine assists, five rebounds, and only one turnover in 34 minutes, entering Wednesday’s 7 p.m. non-conference matchup against Colgate (0-2) at Carnesecca.
But Pitino wants something else.
Ellis isn’t getting sent to the treadmill for typical practice mistakes – a turnover, failing to trap in the full-court press or a missed defensive assignment. Rather, its because Pitino wants to coax the British import to stop passing up open looks on the three-point line.
“He's a great, great point guard – just great – but he keeps passing up open shots because doesn't know to take them,” Pitino said recently at an appearance in Roslyn to raise money for the Michael Kefir Foundation, named for the 25-year-old probationary firefighter from Franklin Square killed on 9/11. .
“I think his teammates at [Olimpia] Milano broke him,” Pitino added, referring to the Euro League team Ellis played on last season. “They got on him about shooting threes because they wanted to take them and now he passes them up. . . . Every time Ellis passes one up at practice, I just say ‘go’ and he loves we’re doing that. He loves it because he knows he should have taken a three and he didn’t. He’s going to get it.”
This first stretch of games – against mid-majors Monmouth, Iona and Colgate – are about honing things for competition against the majors. So far, we’ve seen a press that looks very advanced, some better ball movement on offense and team chemistry. In this final contest before stepping up a level and facing Syracuse at the Garden Sunday, we think Ellis' shooting bears watching.
“He’s smart and lightning quick and a great playmaker, but he has to add the three-point shooting to his game to get where he wants to go,” Pitino told Newsday following the event in Roslyn. “Every player gets better and better at shooting the three when they get to the NBA. He needs more willingness to take them.”
Whether Ellis sheds his reluctance on the arc isn’t the only individual thing to keep an eye on when the Storm play the Red Raiders.
Pitino has been encouraging Tounde Yessoufou to play a more aggressive style and we got that last weekend against Iona when he had 23 points, including four threes, crashed the boards for seven rebounds and made three steals. The coach has been on Ruben Prey to rebound better and he had five against the Gaels. Pitino had raved about Zsombor Maronka’s shooting since the team started practicing and he finally showed it with 12 points including a pair of threes off the bench.
Yes, in the big picture, team improvements are the priority right now. But within those, one looks to see if these individual gains grow.
Ellis is 0-for-3 on three-point attempts thus far. The treadmill hasn’t been Pitino’s only tool in the effort to get his to take more. There’s been a bit of basketball therapy. Recently, he explained to Ellis that - side-by-side - his outside shot looks like the one Timberwolves' LaMelo Ball uses to a 39% efficiency rate.
“You know what the biggest difference is between your shots? He doesn’t give a [darn] if he misses, and you do,” Pitino said. “That’s why LaMelo Ball is going to make threes and you won’t. You can’t count your misses. Every time you’re open, take the shot and don’t worry if you miss.”
Ellis should get plenty of opportunities to take three-pointers when St. John’s plays the likely overmatched Red Raiders. Wednesday night may show whether Pitino’s message is sinking in, or if Ellis is going to spend more time on the treadmill.
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.
