St. John’s Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Red Storm

St. John’s Starting Lineup

Point Guard: Dannis Jenkins

Jenkins will follow Pitino from Iona to St. John’s this season and he looks to be a big part of this offense and team overall moving forward. Jenkins averaged 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, while shooting 36.1% from three and 41.8% from the field overall. Jenkins will look to lead this team and move the offense how Pitino wants it done.

Jenkins also has a nice size for his position as a 6’3 point guard. He can shoot and attack the rim quite well and although his field goal percentage is a little low, he shot roughly 13.5 shots a game last season so his usage rate was high, therefore his percentages will be lower.

Jenkins has been successful everywhere he has been in his college career. However, the Big East is a different animal and this season will prove if he can make it in a very competitive basketball conference.

Shooting Guard: Jordan Dingle

Jordan Dingle will take the second guard spot next to Jenkins next season and this was probably Pitino’s biggest pick up this offseason. At Penn, Dingle averaged an impressive 23.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals, while shooting 35.6% from three and 46.4% overall. For a high usage guard Dingle’s numbers are very impressive. Although playing for Penn is much different than playing for St. Johns, his numbers stand out, especially when you look at the high percentages he is shooting.

Dingle’s numbers will surely drop once he starts playing for St. Johns, but if he can even just average 15 ppg he will be a good player for the Red Storm and put them in good shape.

Small Forward: Nahiem Alleyne

Nahiem Alleyne will likely be the starter for the first game for St. Johns but even if at some point he isn’t, he will be a good player for the Red Storm. Alleyne played his first 3 seasons at Virginia Tech and last year he played for UCONN. When he was a starter for Virginia Tech he averaged around 10 ppg, 2.5 rebounds, and around 40% from deep. For UCONN he struggled a bit more and his numbers went down, that’s only because he was now coming off the bench which is likely why he is at St. Johns this season.

Alleyne can be a good player for St. John’s this season as he can play solid defense and has the potential to grab some rebounds and shoot the three. If not freshman RJ Luis will come in and provide a more athletic/slasher look for the small forward position.

Power Forward: Glenn Taylor

Glenn Taylor will come in as a transfer from Oregon State and will have some good defense and offensive prowess to bring to St. John’s. Taylor was consistently one of the better offensive players for Oregon State last year and Pitino is likely hoping to surround Taylor with better talent so he can unlock his game even further. Taylor could also play the three spot but his defense and offensive ability make him able to play the four spot for St. Johns. Taylor comes in averaging 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 43.1% on field goals and 30.8% from three.

Taylor should look to rotate around the lineup throughout games as well. Possibly playing small forward and power forward are some extremely likely possibilities.

Center: Joel Soriano

Joel Soriano was the leader of this St. John’s team last year and he looks to be another impact player for this team in his senior season. Soriano is one of the players that opted to stay with the team after a coaching change, and Pitino should have a lot of fun coaching him next season. He averaged 15.2 points, 11.9 rebounds, while shooting 53.3% from the floor last season. Soriano was the Big East most improved player after improving his ppg by 9 last season.

Soriano, while also being a good offensive player, is a solid defender and rim protector as well. He averaged 1.7 blocks last season and should be one an important player for the Red Storm this season.