The Aporia · St. John’s season preview: High hopes, new faces and Rick Pitino’s next test

St. John’s season preview: High hopes, new faces and Rick Pitino’s next test

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Braziller, Z. (2026, November 1). St. John’s season preview: High hopes, new faces and Rick Pitino’s next test. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/11/01/sports/st-john-season-preview-roster-schedule-breakdown-march-madness-prediction/

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Quick Summary

Rick Pitino, St. John’s basketball coach, expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming season during a recent news conference, highlighting the talents of new and returning players such as Quinn Ellis, Ian Jackson, Keyshawn Hall, Babacar Sane, and Zsombor Maronka. The team is ranked No. 13 in the AP preseason poll for the second consecutive year, marking a significant achievement since 1990-91. However, Pitino acknowledges that with only two returning contributors from last season and new players still adjusting to his system, there will be growing pains ahead.

Written by AI on 2026-11-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Rick Pitino, the St. John’s basketball coach and Hall of Famer, expressed high hopes for the upcoming season during a recent press conference on November 1, 2026. He praised several players including Quinn Ellis, Keyshawn Hall, Babacar Sane, and Ian Jackson, highlighting their unique skills and potential to impact games significantly. Pitino also mentioned Zsombor Maronka, a new Hungarian addition to the team, whose full capabilities are yet to be seen but expected to contribute greatly. The coach emphasized the diverse talent on this year’s roster, noting that it makes coaching them enjoyable due to their varied skill sets and personalities.

Written for “Rick Pitino's Season Preview” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Why this leaning score

This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.

No political leaning scored for article 121293 · logged 2026-11-01

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sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

66/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Who wrote this

Zach Braziller

54 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

🔮 Zach Braziller’s Final Four Picks: Duke, Kansas, Arizona, Vanderbilt Champion: Duke 5 Predictions Duke cuts down the nets If not for injuries to center Patrick Ngongba II and point guard Caleb Foster, Duke may have won it all last season.

2026-11-01 · mixed framing · College basketball 2026-27 cheat sheet: Bold predictions, All-America picks, can’t-miss games

🔮 Coach Jon Scheyer’s team is so deep, his second unit would be ranked in our Top 25. 2.

2026-11-01 · assertive framing · College basketball preseason top 25: Ranking the nation’s best teams

🔮 Starter Julian Sayin may not return this year from his right arm/shoulder injury.

2026-10-26 · assertive framing · The Post’s college football rankings, Heisman watch following Week 8

🔮 He warned that the exhibition finale against Texas could be ugly.

2026-10-25 · assertive framing · St. John’s proves Rick Pitino wrong in overwhelming preseason finale win over Texas

🔮 Theo Edema was pressed into action Sunday against one of the best centers in the country, and the freshman performed better than anyone could have expected.

2026-10-25 · assertive framing · Freshman Theo Edema shines for St. John’s in unexpected minutes versus star Texas center

🔮 On Jan. 2 ahead of a game against Stanford, the ACC school is going to hang a banner honoring the late Kenny Klein, and Pitino will be in attendance.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Rick Pitino returning to Louisville for first time since firing when school honors late SID Kenny Klein

🔮 Adonai Mitchell may have been dealing with more than a finger injury.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · Adonai Mitchell’s long-awaited Jets return from mystery finger injury gives offense the boost it needs

🔮 Sunday marks the final dress rehearsal for St. John’s, and it will be a significant test after uneven performances against Drexel and Rutgers.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · St. John’s matchup with Texas is going to be an important litmus test

🔮 The 76ers are expected to be one of the Knicks’ top threats in the Eastern Conference after adding James and Brown in the offseason to the core of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

2026-10-21 · assertive framing · New-look 76ers were pretty happy to ‘be a little spoiler’ during Knicks’ banner night

🔮 For the first time since 1990-91, St. John’s will begin the year ranked in the preseason poll in back-to-back seasons.

2026-10-19 · assertive framing · St. John’s preseason ranking shows faith in Rick Pitino’s belief

Also by Zach Braziller

College basketball 2026-27 cheat sheet: Bold predictions, All-America picks, can’t-miss games

2026-11-01 · New York Post

College basketball preseason top 25: Ranking the nation’s best teams

2026-11-01 · New York Post

The Post’s college football rankings, Heisman watch following Week 8

2026-10-26 · New York Post

St. John’s proves Rick Pitino wrong in overwhelming preseason finale win over Texas

2026-10-25 · New York Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 54 articles by Zach Braziller →

Claims (12 extracted, 0 hedged)

There was a stretch in Rick Pitino’s news conference Friday in which he went from praising Quinn Ellis as one of the smartest point guards he’s coached to raving about Ian Jackson’s development. asserted

he → be → development

Later, he called Keyshawn Hall “one of the best bucket-getters I’ve ever seen,” lauded Babacar Sane’s recent progress and went on to tell reporters they haven’t seen Hungarian addition Zsombor Maronka’s top 25 ability yet to impact a game. asserted

they → call → game

“It’s a fun group because they’re all so different in skills and there’s nobody that’s similar,” the St. John’s coach said. asserted

coach → ’ → skills

“These two guys [Ellis and Jackson] are the direct opposites of each other in the way they play. asserted

they → play → way

So it’s fun coaching so much of a variety in talent. asserted

it → ’ → talent

Access the St. John’s beat like never before Get Zach Braziller’s text messages with all the latest St. John’s info and get your questions answered — exclusive to Sports+ subscribers. asserted

questions → access → subscribers

guys → sign → ?

Like, I’m totally pumped up about making Babacar a great player. asserted

Babacar → ’m → ?

This team’s potential has the Hall of Fame coach amped up for another year, as much for the roster’s pure talent as its untapped potential. asserted

coach → have → potential

The Johnnies are ranked in the Associated Press preseason top-25 poll, coming in at No. 13, for the second consecutive season for the first time since 1990-91. asserted

Johnnies → rank → 1990

They have only been together since the start of September — Hall and Indiana transfer Reed Bailey joined the program in late August — so there are bound to be growing pains. asserted

Hall → join → August

Pitino is still learning a good portion of the roster, and his players have yet to master the offensive and defensive system. asserted

players → learn → system

St. John’s season preview: High hopes, new faces and Rick Pitino’s next test

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Claims (12 extracted, 0 hedged)