NCAA Basketball: 10 teams that still need some help in 2023 transfer portal

St. John’s Red Storm

Throughout the NCAA Basketball season, when it was thought that Coach Mike Anderson was on the hot seat, his replacement was already set in Rick Pitino from Iona. Everyone was waiting for his return to the power conference level and what he could do in the transfer portal.

That’s why when almost the entire roster went away, there weren’t any worries. St. John’s kept its best player (Joel Soriano) and had plenty of room for transfers. The problem is that to this point, the incoming haul has been a bit underwhelming. Of the three quality players on Iona this past season, only one (Daniss Jenkins) followed Coach Pitino over to the Red Storm.

Two role players did come from Iona in Quinn Slazinski and Cruz Davis but there are questions as to how they’ll perform in Big East play. Same goes for VMI guard transfer, Sean Conway. The addition of UConn transfer Naheim Alleyne was a good pickup but if that’s the best the program can do, the Red Storm could struggle next season.

So far, players aren’t lining up at the door to play for Pitino. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t create a competitive lineup for the 2023-24 season. It just might not be as good as we originally would’ve expected.