Rick Pitino’s first addition of the offseason is now official.
St. John’s on Monday introduced the signing of guard Joson Sanon, who transferred from Arizona State after a promising freshman season.
“Joson is a young man with great potential,” Pitino stated. “He was a five-star basketball player coming out of high school. Joson is a great shooter, really good athlete and has absolutely outstanding potential.”
Sanon, 19, averaged 11.9 factors and three.4 rebounds per recreation whereas capturing 36.9% on 3-point makes an attempt with the Solar Devils final season.
The 6-5 guard began 9 of his 27 appearances and averaged 28.3 minutes per recreation.
“Coach Pitino believes in me and my potential and what he can do for me,” Sanon advised ESPN final week. “He preaches working hard, and I want to show him I’m the hardest working player that’s ever played for him. The way Coach P teaches defense is something I want to invest my time into.”
Sanon was a big recruit popping out of the Vermont Academy in Fall River, Mass.
He completed his first collegiate season with at the least 13 factors in every of his last 5 video games, together with a career-best 28 factors in opposition to Utah on March 1.
Sanon’s capturing ought to assist fill a void on St. John’s crew that made solely 30.1% of its 3-pointers final season.
He joins a backcourt that’s dropping Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith and Aaron Scott, every of whom are out of NCAA eligibility. In the meantime, RJ Luis Jr., the Pink Storm’s main scorer and the Massive East Participant of the Yr, is declaring for the NBA Draft and coming into the switch portal.
In a submit to the social-media web site X, Pitino pointed to Sanon’s skill to play a number of positions.
Sanon has three years of NCAA eligibility remaining. He helps bolster a St. John’s roster headlined by energy ahead Zuby Ejiofor, who made the All-Massive East first crew after averaging 14.7 factors and eight.1 rebounds per recreation throughout a breakout junior season.
St. John’s is seeking to construct on a resurgent 2024-25 through which it went 31-5, received its first outright Massive East regular-season championship since 1985 and its first Massive East Event crown since 2000.
The season got here to a sudden finish, nonetheless, when the second-seeded Pink Storm misplaced to Tenth-seeded Arkansas, 75-66, within the NCAA Event’s second spherical.
“Johnnies fans, it was a magical year,” Pitino wrote Sunday on X. “We always want better. Hold on, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Thanks so much for helping to bring us back.”
DUNLAP ENTERS PORTAL
Brady Dunlap missed many of the Pink Storm’s storybook season, showing in solely 10 video games — and none after Dec. 17 — as a result of an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear in his left hand and one other tear in his stomach.
He’s now set to discover his choices elsewhere.
The 6-7 ahead is coming into the switch portal forward of his junior season, the recruiting outlet On3.com reported Monday.
Dunlap averaged 3.9 factors per recreation over 35 appearances, together with six begins, in two years at St. John’s. He averaged 5.7 factors per recreation and shot 37.5% on 3-point makes an attempt final season.
“Brady Dunlap is an awesome young man and all of us wish him nothing but success and happiness,” Pitino wrote on X. “Kick ass Brady!
