Big East Basketball: St. John's, Villanova rise in updated 2024-25 WTE power rankings

5. St. John’s Red Storm

The big storyline for the Red Storm this past month was the fate of seniors Chris Ledlum and Jordan Dingle, two key rotation pieces on the team. Both were suing the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility after losing a season while in the Ivy League. The case went against them, officially ending their college careers. 

Other key departures were leading scorers Daniss Jenkins and Joel Soriano, along with Nahiem Alleyne and Glenn Taylor. Among those who did return are backup big man Zuby Ejiofor and forwards RJ Luis and Brady Dunlap, who are due for larger roles next season.

The strength for St. John’s will easily be its new-look backcourt, which features proven power conference talent. Kadary Richmond comes over from Seton Hall, coming off a career-high 15.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 5.1 apg. Deivon Smith (13.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 7.1 apg) is another triple-double threat, coming over from Utah, while Aaron Scott is a 6’6 guard from North Texas who averaged 11.0 ppg and 5.6 rpg on nearly 40% shooting from deep.

The frontcourt will be where the questions lie on this roster. Four-star freshman bigs Khaman Maker and Ruben Prey have potential but may need time before they’re ready to contribute big minutes. That being said, with the way the guards rebound, they may not need too much from the bigs anyway.