Eye on the Storm

His name will be mentioned in the pantheon of St. John's greats, and now as he's on the cusp of reaching the NBA he returns to the Eye on the Storm Podcast to reflect on his journey and what awaits. As the NBA Draft commences on 6/23, Zuby Ejiofor looks to be the first player for the Red Storm taken in the first round since Maurice Harkless.  We discuss his legacy at St. John's, his...

In one swift move, Tounde Yessoufou made the decision to pull his name out of the NBA Draft and immediately transferring and committing to Rick Pitino and St. John's. It's the cherry on top of a rollercoaster off-season that now boasts two top 15 portal transfers, and one of the best classes in the sport. A dynamic athlete that changes the entire composition of the Red Storm roster, he&a...

This off-season has been an interesting one to say the least. The route to bring players on has been an unconventional one by St. John's standards but is becoming more common amongst the college ranks.  Rick Pitino has completely reshaped the St. John's Red Storm roster with one of the most unique strategies in the sport: loading up on international professionals, overseas veterans, and...

The off-season is here and the St. John's Red Storm have made their first major addition. After a season where the point guard question was asked every day, Rick Pitino and his staff have addressed it right out of the gates. Quinn Ellis has committed to St. John's, one of the best point guards overseas is headed to Queens. The 6'5 floor general picked St. John's over blue blood...

Just like that it's over. A 30 win season comes to an end in Washington D.C. as St. John's loses to Duke 80-75. It took heroic efforts from Cameron Boozer, Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans as they would power the #1 overall seed passed the 5 seed Johnnies. Zuby Ejiofor, Ruben Prey, Bryce Hopkins did all they could to try and will St. John's to victory. A 10 point lead in the 2nd half w...

For the first time since 1999, St. John's is headed to the Sweet Sixteen! After leading by 14 points in the 2nd half, Kansas mounted a come back. Tied with seconds left on the clock, Dylan "Church Bells" Darling drove to the rim and scored as the buzzer sounded sending the Red Storm to Washington DC. A game which saw Darryn Peterson make shots like a top NBA draft pick, Bryce Hopkin...

The game was out of reach shortly after the ball was thrown in the air. Before most fans were in their seats it was 13-0. Northern Iowa was dead in the water. Led by Zuby Ejiofor who had a bad game by his standards, Bryce Hopkins continued strong play, and a balanced attack from the bench, St. John's got their second NCAA tournament win in as many years under Rick Pitino. Now as a matchup wit...

The Big Dance is here, March Madness is here, the NCAA Tournament is finally here. And there are plenty of storylines going into the week for the Red Storm. Much has been made of St. John's getting a 5 seed and sent out West for their first two rounds, so we'll talk about it. The Associated Press revealed their All-American teams today and Zuby Ejiofor was not on the first, second or thi...

St. John's did it. Back to Back Big East Tournament Champions. Back to Back Big East Conference Champions. The first team in Big East History to do so outright. It was an unbelievable performance from the boys from Queens. Three wins in three days, knocking off Providence 85-72, knocking off Seton Hall 78-68 and the cherry on top was Saturday night inside a sold out MSG, St. John's oblit...

Brad Wachtel, Lead Bracketologist for Hoops HQ, joins to preview St. John's on Selection Sunday. Where will they be seeded, the important questions surrounding them, and how much does momentum of winning back to back big east tournament titles play into how far the Red Storm can go? Follow the podcast on Twitter: @EyeonStormPod = Eye on the Storm Podcast #sjubb

March is here and there's never a more important time in basketball than now. Playing for Rick Pitino takes a special type of character. Learning under Rick Pitino has benefits well beyond the basketball court. Joining the show today is someone who knows intimately what is going on in Queens right now. On the heels for the Big East Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, St. John's is ready...

St. John's has done it. A tough fought game in Newark at the Prudential Center, the Red Storm would prevail 72-65 to clinch at least a share of the Big East Title as well as the #1 Seed in the Big East Tournament. Led by Zuby Ejiofor as well as clutch play from Ruben Prey, Dylan Darling, and others, the Johnnies capped off a 25-6 regular season with their 18th win in Big East play. St. John&a...

Rick Pitino has said his teams are often slow on senior night, historically, and well they were just that on Tuesday night. As Red Storm fans said goodbye to Zuby Ejiofor and the other seniors, they would need another come from behind effort to prevail. Ejiofor's 23 points were the heavy lifting but it was Joson Sanon's 15 points in the 2nd half that won St. John's the game. With on...

The question on everyone's mind was how would St. John's respond from their historic loss to UConn last Wednesday. Rick Pitino said the players took the loss as hard as he and the coaching staff did, that's how he knew they'd respond. And they responded in a big way, with a blowout win over Villanova, 89-57. It was a no nonsense ass-kicking from start to finish, St. John's...

It was as ugly as could be as the #15 ranked St. John's Red Storm saw their 13 game winning streak snapped in Hartford. Anemic is a nice way to describe the offense from the reigning Big East Champions, as the #6 UConn Huskies took it to them from the start. St. John's was no where to be found as their game did not travel with them to Connecticut. Roger Rubin of Newsday and Kevin Connell...

Was able to join Rob Dauster on the Top Dogs podcast he hosts about the UConn Huskies for a second time to break down the big match up. On February 6th, St. John's welcomed UConn to MSG and took care of business beating them by 9. Now the return trip a few weeks later has equally as many storylines heading into it. How different will the game plan be, will UConn be able to stop St. John'...

St. John's dismantled Creighton at MSG on Saturday to make it 13 wins in a row. The Johnnies are in first place in the Big East at 15-1 in conference play. Dylan Darling has continued to shine and the front court of Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell continue to be unstoppable. Plus we start talking about the week ahead, games against UConn and Villanova, the tournament is on the...

St. John's extended it's winning streak to 11 with a 79-69 win over Providence to avenge their only conference loss of the season. But most people will not be talking about the game but instead the fracas that took place short after halftime. Six players were ejected after Duncan Powell's dirty foul on Bryce Hopkins caused an all-out brawl. With a short bench and in a hostile enviro...

Get to know Mike from Queens. The kid who grew up in Middle Village, who went to St. John's and became one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. At his core he bleeds Johnnies red and so he joins the podcast to talk about his roots, where his love for basketball came from, his relationship with Rick Pitino and what it's been like watching the success of the last three years...

It's all you could have dreamed of, two ranked rival on a Friday night inside Madison Square Garden. The words electric do not do the atmosphere justice and the nerves were high but the energy was higher. It was a clash of titans, from coaches to players, the top of the Big East was up for grabs. St. John's used defense and their physicality to get their signature win of the season, knoc...

The number 22 ranked Johnnies got one more tune up before the big showdown in New York City on Friday night. They took on the DePaul Blue Demons on Tuesday night in Chicago looking for a season sweep. And after a shaky first half, they buckled down as they have all season in the second stanza and took care of business beating DePaul by 12. This sets up the game of the year in the Big East where th...

If there was any doubt before if this team had guts, that goes out the window. In back to back games St. John's was down by at least 15 points in the second half and dug in deep. They came away with two wins, and at the Cintas Center, it was St. John's having to rely on once again use their defense to lead to offense. Thanks to Dillon Mitchell, Bryce Hopkins and Dylan Darling, the Johnni...

Pure guts. That's what St. John's showed in the 2nd half inside Madison Square Garden as they stormed back from down 15 points to beat Seton Hall 65-60. It was shades of last year, with a toughness on displayed we didn't see in the first half, and most of the season. It was a win and a performance that should have the Red Storm and it's fans feeling great as they proved they ca...

The Mayor of the Big East is back on the pod. John Fanta joins once again to give us the lay of the land in the Big East Conference as it stands today. From UConn rising back to the top to the struggles of Marquette and Georgetown. Who is his Big East Player of the Year and which teams are going to be making a push for the NCAA tournament. We also discuss what the Big East Presidents need to do to...

Make it four wins in a row for St. John's as they improve to 6-1 to start Big East play following an 86-79 win against Villanova. A trip to the Main Line proved to be friendly confines for St. John's who have now won four of their six conference games on the road. They led by as many as 17 thanks to the best games of the season by Bryce Hopkins and Ian Jackson. Moments that previously ca...