The St. John’s basketball program was expected to be very aggressive in the college basketball transfer portal. It only took a few days for them to land one of the top players available this month.
Despite being a top team in the nation late in the season and winning the Big East, St. John’s flopped against Arkansas in Round 2 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. While it was a disappointing result for fans of the program, this was a breakthrough season for the Johnies.
Year two under legendary head coach Rick Pitino saw a huge step forward. The program won 31 games (11 more than last season) and won the Big East tournament for the first time in 25 years. However, unlike in decades past, their success was not based on recruiting Tri-State area high school stars. Instead, St. John’s acquired many of their best players in the transfer portal last year.
That was expected to be the plan again after their March Madness elimination. Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith, and Aaron Scott are done as college players. And they could also lose top scorer RJ Luis Jr. But on Wednesday, they made their first big move in the portal to fill some of those holes.
St. John’s lands Joson Sanon in the transfer portal
ESPN broke the news today that Arizona State guard Joson Sanon passed on visiting interested schools and is transferring to New York’s favorite college basketball team.
“Coach Pitino believes in me and my potential and what he can do for me,” Sanon told the outlet. “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.”
The Red Storm was among his final choices when he was being recruited last year. However, he decided to go with the Sun Devils. He obviously regretted that decision. Bringing in some impact guards was a top priority for the program in the transfer portal, and they landed one of the very best available.
Sanon averaged 11.9 points in 28.3 minutes per game and shot 36.9% from the arc last season. Pitino recently revealed he wanted to add several players in the portal this spring and was not planning to add any high school recruits this year.
More St. John’s news:
- New rumor claims St. John’s to ‘invest significantly’ in 2025 transfer portal to fill big holes in roster
- St. John’s coach Rick Pitino surprisingly admits he’ll pass on all 5-star recruits this offseason for one major reason
- St. John’s basketball coach Rick Pitino reveals what could lure him out of NYC amid Indiana Hoosiers rumors