The excitement surrounding St. John's entering the 2026-27 season lasted exactly one day into July.
Just a few months after landing one of the biggest names in the transfer portal, Rick Pitino and the Red Storm were dealt the kind of news no contender wants to hear. Donnie Freeman, the former Syracuse standout who was expected to become the centerpiece of St. John's new-look frontcourt, suffered a non-contact Achilles injury during a summer workout and will miss the entire season.
Pitino announced the news Wednesday after Freeman underwent successful surgery. While the Hall of Fame coach expressed confidence that Freeman will come back stronger, there's simply no replacing a player of his caliber.
For a St. John's team that looked ready to challenge for another Big East title and make a serious run at the Final Four, everything suddenly feels a little more uncertain.
The player who was supposed to keep St. John's rolling
When Freeman entered the transfer portal this spring, coaches around the country immediately picked up the phone.
The former five-star recruit had finally shown why he was once considered one of the nation's best high school prospects, averaging 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds at Syracuse while earning All-ACC honorable mention honors. At 6-foot-9, he could score inside, stretch defenses, rebound and defend multiple positions. Players with that combination don't stay available for long.
St. John's winning his commitment over Kentucky felt like another recruiting masterpiece by Pitino.
It also answered one of the biggest offseason questions.
After watching Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins move on to the NBA, the Red Storm needed someone capable of carrying the frontcourt. Freeman looked like the perfect fit from the moment he committed.
Instead of preparing for opening night, he'll now spend the next year rehabbing.
There's no easy replacement for this kind of talent
Every coach talks about having depth.
Then something like this happens.
You don't simply replace a player who was expected to average double figures and anchor both ends of the floor. St. John's still has plenty of talent, including transfer additions Tounde Yessoufou, Avery Brown and Kyle Cuffe Jr., but everyone else's role just became a little bigger overnight.
Summer workouts are normally when teams build chemistry and coaches start figuring out rotations.
Instead, Pitino now has to go back to the drawing board before the season has even officially begun.
If there's anyone capable of adjusting, it's Pitino. He's built a Hall of Fame career finding answers when circumstances change. But even he would admit losing a player like Freeman in July is about as difficult as it gets.
The Big East race suddenly looks different
Before Wednesday, St. John's looked like one of the safest bets to sit near the top of the Big East standings.
Most preseason projections had the Red Storm comfortably inside the national top 10. Some believed this roster had enough talent to make an even deeper NCAA Tournament run than last season's Sweet 16 appearance.
Those expectations don't disappear because of one injury.
But they absolutely change.
Freeman wasn't expected to be just another starter. He was expected to become one of the best forwards in the conference, someone capable of taking over games against elite competition.
That's not production you replace with one player.
It's something the entire roster now has to make up for.
You can't help but feel for Donnie Freeman
The hardest part of this story isn't what it means for St. John's.
It's what it means for Freeman.
His freshman season at Syracuse was interrupted by a foot injury. Last year finally felt like the beginning of the breakout everyone expected, and transferring to St. John's gave him a chance to play meaningful March basketball while raising his NBA stock.
Now, another major injury puts those plans on hold.
Pitino's statement focused less on basketball and more on the person, calling Freeman "an awesome young man" and promising the program would help him return better than ever.
That's the only positive anyone can take away from Wednesday's news.
St. John's still has enough talent to compete for championships, and counting out a Rick Pitino team has rarely been a smart idea.
But make no mistake: the Red Storm's path to another magical season just became a whole lot steeper.
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