Jason Burgos
St. John’s looks to be one of the most aggressive teams in the ongoing college basketball transfer portal, and they have been linked to another intriguing player in a new rumor.
Over the first two months of the 2025-26 season, there were doubts about whether St. John’s could play up to the new standard they set the year before. Following a Jan. 3 loss to Providence, they owned a 14-5 record, and reaching the NCAA Tournament looked anything but a sure thing.
However, after that setback, the Red Storm caught fire and won 22 of their next 24 games, including a pair of big victories over eventual tournament finalists UConn. But, with great success comes major departures, and St. John’s will have to fill the voids left by the upcoming exits of stars and key rotation players Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell, and Oziyah Sellers.
Yet, in the NIL era, the Johnnies are major players in college basketball, and Rick Pitino has quickly shown he can lure notable talent in the portal. This week, they have already been linked to Kansas‘ Flory Bidunga, Arizona State’s Massamba Diop, and Kansas State transfer Abdi Bashir.
St. John’s in pursuit of Robert Morris star
Well, you can add another lesser-known but still intriguing player to that list. According to college basketball insider Adam Zagoria, St. John’s is among five teams set to meet with 6-foot-8 Robert Morris transfer Desean Goode this weekend. Kentucky and Oklahoma are among the other suitors for the West Virginia native.
Goode began his collegiate career with IU Indianapolis, then transferred to Robert Morris last year. With the Colonials, he took an important step forward in development. Posting 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds. He also shot 63% from the field, 76% from the line, and an outstanding 57% from three — although that was in just two attempts a game.
Goode would be a great option to fill Bryce Hopkins’ role from this past season.
