Eye on the Storm

Just when you thought they were done, Rick Pitino had another trick up his sleeve. After receiving his NLI release from North Carolina, Simeon Wilcher, a consensus top 35 player in the 2023 class took one visit. A few days later, he committed to the school who got his lone visit. The 6-4 guard from Roselle Catholic is a bonafide stud who puts the proverbial cherry on top of Rick Pitino's inau...

On Episode 52 we welcome back fan favorite Julian Champagnie after a year in the NBA. When we last spoke Julian was getting ready to report to the Delaware Blue Coats. Since then he's been with the 76ers and thrived in 15 games with the San Antonio Spurs to close out the regular season. We go through his first year as a pro, the highs and lows, how different the G-League is vs the NBA, scorin...

Rick Pitino has landed his splash of the off-season with Ivy League Player of the Year Jordan Dingle, committing to St. John's on Friday. The second leading scorer in college basketball last year, Dingle returns home to play for the new look Johnnies. Over the last week, the Red Storm have also added RJ Luis, a transfer from UMass and their fourth Iona Gael transfer in Sadiku Ibine Ayo. It&ap...

It's been just about 50 days since Rick Pitino took over the reigns at St. John's so why not drop episode 50 right along with it. The month of April saw a lot of roster turnover and new faces added. Fans will have 10 new names to learn as Rick Pitino restocks the shelves in Queens. With only three players from last year's squad returning, many fans were worried early on about how th...

On today's episode I wanted to find out what a Rick Pitino program was really like, from the inside. What it takes to play for Pitino, work for Pitino and win with Pitino. There may not be a better person to answer these questions and more than Lousiville Cardinals legend and 2013 National Champion, Peyton Siva.  Siva played four years for Rick Pitino at Louisville went to two final fours and...

What a week it's been for St. John's, Rick Pitino introduced at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday and he's wasted little time in getting started. Two players have hit the portal, five star recruits are being offered scholarships and he's hit the pavement to improve St. John's. I go through the press conference and all the happenings with Zach Braziller of the NY Post as St....

Where there is smoke, there most certainly is fire. Since March 10th, there has been one name everyone has attached to the St. John's Basketball Head Coaching vacancy. That name is now the 22nd head coach in program history.  Rick Pitino, the Naismith Hall-of-Famer, one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, known for taking Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville to the final four will...

On March 10th, St. John's announced that they have made a change in leadership with the mens basketball program and parted ways with Mike Anderson. After four seasons, St. John's failed to get to the post season under Anderson and there will be a new man patrolling the sidelines in Queens come November. I'm joined by Newsday's Roger Rubin to discuss St. John's coaching his...

After opening the Big East Tournament with a fairly easy 13 point win over Butler, St. John's had a double digit lead against #1 seed Marquette on Thursday afternoon. Much like last year against Villanova, in which they blew a 17 point lead, St. John's couldn't hang on and would end up losing in Overtime. The offense and decision making by St. John's on the floor was lacking an...

A disappointing season came to a close on Saturday afternoon after a comeback effort fell short against the best team in the Big East. After being down by 19 early in the first half, St. John’s fought back valiantly to make it a tight game with seconds left. We’ll touch on the UConn loss at MSG and how their fans infiltrated the Garden and what happens next for St. John’s as the next few weeks wil...

It's a game you're supposed to win and St. John's did just that, as they get a 79-70 win over the Georgetown Hoyas, sweeping the season series. Andre Curbelo returned to the court for the Red Storm and they would need his 5 steals and 11 points. It wasn't easy as St. John's poor three point shooting made the trip to Washington, and the inability to put a team away made thi...

In front of a sold out Carnesecca Arena St. John's was looking to make it 14-0 on Bobblehead night. They fought back from down double digits but turnovers, lobs and wide open threes were all catalysts in what would end up a 77-67 loss to the Creighton Bluejays.  The loss is just another chapter in a frustrating season where multiple players were suspended prior to the game as the rollercoaste...

It took 50 minutes of game action to determine a winner including a Bill Rafferty-type ONIONS shot from Dylan Addae-Wusu, but most of all it took guts. St. John's fought from being down 13 points with 6:45 left in the game to not only force overtime but ultimately win the game.  Dylan Addae-Wusu had a career high 24 points, Joel Soriano notched his 21st double-double of the season as St. John...

St. John's knocks off the #20 ranked Providence Friars at Madison Square Garden on Johnnies Day. In front of Coach K, St. John's got its second win over a ranked opponent this season in a much needed 73-68 win. David Jones was back for St. John's and helped lead the way in a game he dedicated to his late father. A 29 point game from Bryce Hopkins couldn't save Providence as the...

How much worse can it get? A question that seems to be asked daily these days if you're a St. John's fan. The road trip comes to an end with another loss, this time to the hands of Bulldogs of Butler as St. John's blows another double digit lead. 68-66 St.  John's falls as they mismanage the end of the game and a last second buzzer beater to go to overtime didn't leave Joe...

Xavier completed the sweep of St. John's on Saturday evening in an absolute drubbing 96-71. The Musketeers joined Seton Hall and Villanova as the other teams who have tallied two wins this year against the Red Storm. The Johnnies, who had travel issues prior to the game, seemingly left their defense back in New York as they were toy'd with all game. Jack Nunge and Colby Jones had their w...

St. John's was hoping to get revenge to start the month of February against Seton Hall but would come up short. Much like the game where they were run out of the Prudential Center by 22 points, Seton Hall would use a few runs to end the first half and second half then a zone defense to stifle St. John's. From Andre Curbelo being ejected for slamming his glasses to disintegrating at the s...

It took AJ Storr hitting a three with just four seconds left on the clock but St. John's survived against Georgetown at Madison Square Garden. It wasn't pretty, but sometimes you simply have to grind out a win, and the Johnnies did just that. Primo Spears had his way with St. John's to the tune of 25 points as they were missing Posh Alexander.  St. John's will have to continue...

St. John's seemingly did not bring their defense with them on the plane from New York as they were humiliated in Omaha on January 25th. A game after only scoring 49 points inside Madison Square Garden, St. John's completely gave up and allowed Creighton to have their way. From open threes to wide open lay ups, Creighton would lead by as many as 31 points, looking like a top team in the B...

It was right there for the taking, a chance to really turn the season around. Friday night at the World's Most Famous Arena and St. John's forgot how to put the ball in the hoop. On their second home court, the Red Storm completely unraveled and allowed a mediocre Villanova team to sweep them for the season. In front of a packed crowd, a ton of students and a chance to make it 3 wins in...

St. John's went into the XL Center trying to do something it hasn't done in almost 35 years, get a win. After a dominating win on Tuesday against Butler, St. john's hoped to bring their defense to Connecticut and they did just that. In what would be the best win of the Mike Anderson era, St. John's knocked off #6 UConn 85-74 to improve to 13-6, 3-5. Captain Joel Soriano outplay...

Butler was exactly what the doctor ordered for St. John's as they stopped their losing streak with a 77-61 win in Queens. On Tuesday St. John's brought the energy on defense and locked down the Bulldogs all night. A monster performance from Joel Soriano powered St. John's to a much needed win. Their 2nd in Big East play, the Johnnies look better of late, as they now have a major tes...

When will the losing end? We'll have to wait a few more days for an answer to that question as St. John's dropped its 5th game in a row to Providence on Saturday. In front of a lively home crowd, Providence overcame a nine point St. John's lead to win the game 83-80. St. John's is inching closer to the bottom of the Big East as their season has gone completely off the rails. Mo...

St. John's looked good for 20 minutes and then it didn't. After giving up 96 points to Marquette, the Red Storm dropped to 11-5, 1-4 with a four game losing streak. The same issues have plagued the team in those four losses and adjustments are simply not being made. Frustration has boiled over for the fans, as everyone is wondering where is the defense? Where is the coaching? and When wi...

It was a battle of two teams desperate for a win. St. John's coming off two straight losses to conference foes, while Seton Hall was looking for their first Big East win. The Red Storm started off well but quickly crumbled like in the Villanova and Xavier losses when Seton Hall went on a run. It was a run that was never responded and St. John's got blown out on the road. A once promising...