St. John's Season Preview: How Far Can Rick Pitino Take Them? | Eye Of The Storm

This is Eye of the Storm, a St. John's video series presented by the New York Post. What's up, everybody? New faces, big expectations, and we got ourselves a big question. How far can the Johnnies go? Welcome back to the Eye of the Storm. I'm Dexter Henry, joined by our great writer for the New York Post, the great beat writer, the one and only Zach Braziller, who's smiling because it is college basketball time, and he is so excited. Well, I'm also, I remember when I was in here about a year ago. Okay. I think I was telling you I didn't think Mike Brown was the answer, So I was just thinking back to that conversation and, you know, not exactly. So look at my college football picks. You won't be surprised that I was wrong there. So what Zach is saying, even though we're about to do a season preview, maybe you shouldn't trust anything that he has to say. But we're here. St. John's, they're getting ready to play the season opener, Monmouth on November 2nd. And we're here to help you get ready. Hopefully Zach has some good answers for you. We're going to look at Rick Pitino's new look roster. There's a lot of new faces to the Big East title race. And the possibilities come this March. So we're going to break it all down on a season preview. Zach, this year I'm telling you, the people are going to want you to be right. They want you to be right. I was looking at some of my preseason predictions for last year's playoffs. I was pretty close. I said slow start. I don't think it was as slow as I thought. You did say that. I said slow start. I said split the Big East title with UConn. I undersold them. They made the Big East title. I said Elite Eight. I said three seed. They were five. And, hey, they were pretty damn close to Elite Eight. Gave Duke everything they could handle in the Sweet 16. And, yeah, it was definitely – I don't think I was that far off. No, you weren't. I guess what I learned from that is – I called Dylan Mitchell the X Factor. He was definitely the X Factor. You did. You did say that. I guess what people should take from that is trust Zach with St. John's and college basketball. To an extent. Don't trust him with the NBA. Or college football. Or college football. You might be wrong at that. Let's talk about St. John's and their exhibition season, which is interesting. You had an interesting one. I didn't get to go to any of the games, but they went from needing four overtimes – against Rutgers and he beat Texas which you talked to me about we talked about before it was going to be a really good test they win that one 87 to 74 what changed the most between those games that encourages you about this team and and where they can go yeah i mean they they they you know there was that about 15 minutes of the Rutgers game when they outscored him like 30 after an awful first half when they're down 18 then the first 15 minutes of the second half they outscored him like 30 to 5 so there was there wasn't like Rutgers was a complete dud i know Patino said he gave it F, but it wasn't like Rutgers was awful. I think Rutgers actually has improved. They have a lot of guys back. But it was the three big, they have a potential to have three 20-point scores with Ian Jackson, Tunde Yasaru, and Keyshawn Hall. All three of those guys were terrific in the Texas game, attacking the rim, making shots, and then you have Quinn Ellis orchestrating the early point guard, who I think has a chance to be the best St. John's pure point guard, you know, since Omar Cook, Eric Barkley. That's not a knock on Kadari Richmond. You know, he controls the game. He doesn't have to score to make an impact. I think he had like three turnovers the entire preseason. He can score more than he's shown. He's terrific. And then you have those guys. And I think the most unreported or just biggest takeaway I had was the freshman center, Theo Adema, who was really good against Texas. He had like seven rebounds and a block in 12 minutes. Texas has a really good front line. They have one of the best centers in the country. TCU transfer David Clunch is their power forward. He's really good. And Theo Adema had to play more than they thought because Ruben Crayon fouled someone. He was really good. He really should be a senior in high school, but he's got a college body. He's 6'11", 250. They love his motor, and he was good, and I think he's going to play a role for them off the bench. It was a very, you know, pleasant surprise as a team that, you know, is a little, they're a big team, but they're a little undersized at center, if that makes sense. Like, they're going to have really good positional size when you look at Babacar Sane, who's 6'7", 6'8", Keyshawn Hall, who's 6'7". You have, you know, the guards are all 6'4", 6'5", so they have good positional size, but they're not huge at center. Ruben Frey is 6'10", but Theo Demma is a guy that I think, they think is going to be really good in time. I mean, you know, he's someone I think could really carve out a role for himself off the bench, especially against bigger teams, and you saw that against Texas. It was just they played really hard. For the most part, they played smart. Turnovers have been something Patino's talked about all preseason. Yeah, I mean, they played with a real purpose. Like, you know, the early part of the schedule was not very tough, so Texas was kind of like their last big-time opponent until they go to Vegas Thanksgiving week. So it was, you know, I do think we need to also take in mind, like, keep in mind, you know, Rutgers is improved, and Rutgers has a lot of guys back. Texas has really one key guy back. And so, like, Texas didn't look very good. And I think some of that was St. John's, but some of that's just a new team, and it, like, takes these teams time. And I think it was actually a very smart thing, the way they made this schedule, where the first, you know, they do play Syracuse, but Syracuse isn't supposed to be, you know, better than a top 50, 75 team. So their first five games are games where they can kind of work out some stuff as they try to figure out who they are and not really necessarily worry about losing a game. And then they go to Vegas where they'll really be tested. But I think it's good where the first three weeks or so of the season, you know, they open with Monmouth. They play Iona. You know, they play teams that they're going to beat. Right. And it gives them time to kind of figure out who they are. Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see if they figure out who they are. Speaking of that, after the Texas win, Patino still said this group understands roughly half of what he wants from them offensively and defensively. Now, you've been around Patino for a long time. We know he's never going to be comfortable and wants to see his team get to the right place they want to get. What do you think is the biggest thing that this team needs to grasp maybe in those first couple of weeks before they get to Vegas? Yeah, I mean, it's like learning to play together. You know, they really didn't have a summer together. You know, Reed Bailey and Keyshawn Hall, two key guys, didn't join until the end of August. um Quinn Ellis and Bobby Carson i kind of came in June like it they didn't really have a summer so this team wasn't together until you know the start of the fall semester which is like the end of August right around Labor Day weekend so they haven't basically which is why that Texas game really impressed me was look i'm not saying it was a perfect game by any stretch they're right they're you know um i didn't think the end was great um they were up by like 22 at one point but that's really what impressed me is like how good they like i don't think i've seen a Patino teams here look that good in even in November as they looked in that Texas game and look it's an exhibition Texas wasn't great they're they got some young guys they have some really good returning players but they're a work in progress like a lot of teams are this year but I was just impressed by how sharp they looked and how hard they played and they did look cohesive which really you didn't see a ton of uh in the first two games but that that thing is learning learning each other learning you know how you know Quinn Ellis is a great passer and guys sometimes surprise guys with passes so it's to me the key is these next few weeks is just learning each other like yes you know they got to learn more about the offense and defense and all that stuff but it's learning each other because this is so new yeah it's all new a whole bunch of new faces I kind of want to get to you about the new faces and the new players in the roster let's start with the guy you talked about would you you said Quinn Ellis could be the best pure point guard that the Johnnies have had since who'd you say you know Eric Barkley okay okay so that that's a good one you look at his numbers in the preseason 22 assists three turnovers that kind of speaks to the pure point guard ness that you said how does having that kind of decision maker with Ellis impact what Patino can get out of this team offensively this year yeah yeah this time of year you don't you rarely hear Patino just keep praising guys even last year with Zuby he he would even sometimes say well i want to do this that, like, he loves Ellis. Not really having that top-shelf point guard last year, I think, probably plays a little into that. But, yeah, I mean, they have a ton of guys who want to score. I mentioned Jackson. I mentioned Yusufu. I mentioned Hall. You know, you have other guys, Ruben Prey, Babacar Sane, who think score first. So to have that point guard who's, like, thinking pass first, second, third, and fourth is such a blessing. There was a play in the Texas game where he might have had Ellis was on the baseline he probably could have scored on a drive but he kicked it out to Jackson was wide open in the corner for three and like it's that kind of stuff that you know ingratiates yourself to teammates and um you know it's when you have a lot of guys who want to score having that real pass first point guard who's going to live in the lane is really beneficial i do think ellis needs to look to score a little more okay um you know because teams are going to play off him if he doesn't and he can shoot he's not he's not a great shooter he's not a bad shooter um and i think he needs to be a little more aggressive because if not you're you're gonna you're gonna see teams just kind of playing off of him so he's got to be more willing to take shots now part of it's the feeling out process he's also from the Euroleague where he's played with older guys so he's used to just deferring um and you don't want him necessarily taking the most you don't want him taking the most shots or even the second most shots because they have such good scores but I do think there needs to be an element of teams have to play up on him because otherwise, you know, it's going to make it tough for him to penetrate. Yeah, it's going to be interesting. And then when you talk about him, that brings us back to not a new player, but a player we both know and Ian Jackson and talked to him on the East Media Day. This was a guy who said he's worked on his game a lot thus far. And so I think fans are going to be excited about that because he's returning to his natural shooting guard position. What do you think is going to look different about his game this season as opposed to last season? You know, the big difference I saw in the preseason, how he was going to the basket. You know, last year he would often start games like shooting threes and stuff like that. And he's really early in the game, especially the Texas game, really aggressive going to the basket. And he's good going to the rim. And that was one thing I heard in the preseason in practice, that guys were having trouble staying in front of him. And I do think the experience of him playing some point guard last year helps him. I feel like his ball handling is better. um you know he look he could have easily left last year did not go according to plan um i know there were people who in his year saying he should leave and you know Patino thought he was gonna leave and when he said he was staying he was kind of surprised and to me it showed a lot of maturity i think he's the guy i realized like jumping from school to school isn't the best for my development he's also very close with Donovan Mitchell yeah he is so i i do think that probably played a role that definitely played a role as well he talked about you know that um and what a big jump Mitchell made it his second year with Patino at Louisville um i think he's having a really big year um he looked he looked great in Texas i thought he looked very good in the second half against Rutgers um playing with Ellis is gonna be great for him yeah i i i think he's in line for you know i think they're gonna have three guys who are gonna average close to around 15 a game between him yeah there was a great good confidence with him when we talked about he just felt very confident coming into this season. Now, you just mentioned Yusufu, Tunde Yusufu. 23 points, 5 assists, 5 steals against Texas. That's a pretty strong game. When I saw that, and I'm not just looking at the numbers, but you look at how he plays, he looks like he has the potential to be a really good two-way player. Do you see that for him? Yeah, the first two exhibitions, he kind of looked like he was a little unsure of himself. He wasn't aggressive. His shots weren't coming in. And then, you know, a few days before the Texas game, Patino talked to us and was like, he was really physical in the summer, but he has not been that same physical player in the fall. And I asked Tim Day about that after Texas, and he was like, oh, I didn't even hear that, but they're always saying I need to be more aggressive. And he was like, he looked like a first-round pick in that game. It was making shots from three, attacking the rim, defending. Like, this is a guy who set the Baylor scoring record for a freshman last year. He's incredibly talented, and might have been a late first-round pick, and he stayed in the draft. Like, he's really good. And he's another guy that's going to benefit from playing with Quinn Ellis. You know, he's a guy who had to, you know, Baylor had a big part of Baylor's problems last year was they didn't have a point guard. So a lot of his points had to come off his own creation, and now he's playing with a really good point guard who's going to get him open shots. And he is great in transition, as is Ellis, as is, you know, all these scorers. He was terrific in the Texas game. Late, you know, he kind of forced a few shots late, which Patino, you know, had said, like, he should have had more assists. But, yeah, he's kind of, you know, he looks like a grown man. He's built. You know, this team is going to overwhelm a lot of opponents on the way, between him with Hall. More offensively or defensively or both? Both. I mean, both because they're physical. They're skilled. You know, Keyshawn Hall is great scoring around the basket. and he can shoot threes, shot like 38% last year to Auburn. They're going to really be tough on the – that's their strength. I mean, they're going to – you throw some of these guys they have out there, they could come at you in waves on the wing. They're incredibly talented. It kind of reminds me of what they had in the paint last year, but on the wing. But on the wing, right. Last year you had the three guys who got drafted, Edgeford, Mitchell, and Hopkins, and it was so hard to deal with all three of those guys. And the thing I think you like about Hall and Yusufu and Ian and Quinn is, like, these guys are, like, have the physicality to score in the paint. Ian's put on weight. Like, there were some plays where he, like, finished over guys and through guys. And he didn't, like, in that Texas game. You didn't see that last year. Right. You did not see that last year. So, like, yeah, that to me, it's the clear strength of this team is their athletes and their positional size on the perimeter. Like, you're going to, you know, I mean, they can go 6'5", 6'7", 6'8", 6'7". Like, they can go, and these are guys who are supremely athletic, who can guard on the perimeter, who can, you know, score in and out. Like, they have a chance, their perimeter, they have a chance to have as good of a perimeter as there is in the country. Which, you mentioned this guy in that group, too, so Keyshawn Hall. Two things for me is, where do you see him playing? Is he going to, is 3, 4, where do you see him? where do you see him playing and then how does he create what's the biggest matchup problems that he's going to create from other teams because it seems like versatility is such a tool for him but where do you see him wreaking havoc for other teams yeah i mean with Saint John's the three and the four kind of interchangeable he'll he's gonna right now he's starting at the four um you know they've at times used him a little in that Dylan Mitchell role like ball handling okay um especially when Ellis is out of the game he can handle the ball um he's a better passer than people realize you know i the Texas game he was really good around the rim scoring against bigger guys um that's one thing like he gets he gets the line he makes free throws i yeah he he's the kind of guy like if you want to put like a quick athletic guy he kind of post him up over power a little bit you want to put a bigger guy on him to take away his you know interior scoring he could he could stretch him out and go by him um yeah he's you know he's not quite as physical as Bryce Hopkins, but he kind of reminds me a little of that game where, like, he can make threes, he can score inside, like, he's an underrated rebounder, and he's a guy, like, you know, he hasn't really won. You know, he's bounced around, and he hasn't won, and that's the thing Patino's been really harping on the preseason with him, with Tunde, with some of the other guys, new guys in the program, and he's been on them, like, you've put up good numbers, but I don't care about your good numbers. You didn't lose it. Like, the big thing with him is teaching these guys, like, playing the right way and what winning basketball looks like. You know, I think that Rutgers game was away from home. He had, like, he crushed them all week, as he's known to do. Said in the media, we're going to probably lose by 30, which. You were like, you rolled your eyes at that one. Well, I wasn't sure if they were quite ready for a Texas. I mean, Texas has got the potential to be really good. The center is one of the best players in the country. They have a big-time point guard from Colorado. David Punch at four is really good. They have two top 25 freshmen. But, yeah, I mean, I was really impressed by how they responded. And even if they won that Rutgers game, they were down 18 early. They were sleepwalking. They had a six-point. They should have won regulation. They had a six-point lead, like six minutes left. They flushed it in. They found ways to, you know, keep the game going and win. And, like I said, I don't think, I'm not saying Rutgers is going to be a tournament team, but, like, I think they're improved. And they have a lot of returning, like, four of their top seven scorers back. Like, that matters, especially this early, when you're playing new teams. So, you know. For them to find a way. Yeah. You know, again, it's four over time. Right. I think that mattered that they didn't, number one, that they didn't let that first half get to them, and that they found a way to win. Like, that stuff early in the year matters, especially as now we're going in this stretch where you would think they're going to win some of these games pretty handily. Yeah. It'll be interesting. Another guy I want to talk to you about, Bob Carcione. because he started the preseason good, 17-8 in the first game. What does he need to show consistently with this St. John's team that Patino's going to trust him, he's going to have a major role? Shot selection, shot selection, shot selection. I knew you were going to say, oh, another time? Shot selection, okay. They think he has the chance to be really good, but he doesn't really know how to play. Actually, he didn't play a lot, but I liked what he did in Texas. I thought he made quick decisions, he was aggressive, he attacked. Like, he's a 6'8 guy who plays small ball center. He's built like a truck, he can jump through the roof, he can make shots from three. It's just going to take some time. You know, he doesn't grasp the shot selection thing, what's a good shot, what's a bad shot, but he's got a world of ability. and right now he's their sixth man, and that's a hell of a sixth man to have. Now, he's got another court case coming up, so we'll see how all that stuff works out. The eligibility stuff, we'll see how that works out. But, yeah, he's currently on a temporary restraining order to be eligible. The crux of the matter is he signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which is like a no-no at the NCAA, even though he was literally under it for a month, never went to training camp, never played under control of the Jazz, but because he signed this piece of paper, uh you know and his legal team is saying well he didn't get any benefits from it you've you've cleared guys who've played who've made more money overseas we've had more pro experience so we'll see how that goes um there's another hearing coming up november 9th he'll play in the first two games um you know i look i think for he's important um and he's a guy that could really really get better later all right that's it that's one for fans to watch all right is there somebody else man you might have mentioned this guy already is there a sleeper player on this st john's roster do you think could have a real impact this season the fans should keep their eye on i you know i mentioned theo and demma um he's raw but he's you know do you think Patino will trust him if he sees more out of him beyond this texas game yeah look i i don't think he's a guy who we're gonna see played 20-25 minutes right but short doses like you know and he's a guy who's coming in he's always thinking about his rebounding defense and um blocking shots and yeah the ball comes to him he'll you know try to do something but like that's one thing Patino said like everyone on the team wants to score and this is a guy whose mind is just like i'm in there just to rebound and play defense and um i really liked what i saw in Texas he's look he's got a long way to go he like i mentioned he should be a senior in high school um but he's someone and then i'm gonna give uh Casper Porto he uh the back he played he's he's he's named as the backup point guard um he was a very unheralded recruit a year ago he was earning minutes and then he had a hip thing he needed surgery so he was done in early December but i actually liked him last year he can guard um and he gave him some good minutes against Texas like and he's tough like i mentioned he can defend and like you want you're gonna play for Rick T you better defend and you know he he's he's a kid that's not scared you know i remember they threw him in against Alabama last year second game of the year, because they couldn't stay in front of any of the guards, and he actually didn't do a bad job. I could see him being another guy that he could end up being their first guard off the bench, but let's be real here. Quinn Ellis, Ian Jackson, Tunde are going to... They're going to play. You're not going to see, especially Quinnellis, you're not going to see him on the bench very much, but I think Casper Porto the other day, he opened eyes a little bit with how he played in Texas, and especially the early part of the schedule i think you're going to see guys like him like Theo Adema um you know have played played more minutes than maybe they will once we get deeper in the schedule just to see what they have yeah good time to see what guys have early in the season so fans can look out for that too i'm going to go back to something we talked about on media day we saw where St. John's got picked uh the coaches picked St. John's second behind UConn how do you assess the matchup between the two schools that we assume are going to be going head to head And do you think there's any other teams that could complicate the conference title race this year? I mean, I think the league has improved. I think Providence has done a nice job in the offseason. Brian Hodge, I think, could be a really good coach there. Xavier had a very good offseason. They had more money to play with. Villanova, I like Marquette a lot. Nigel James Jr., one of the best point guards in the country. Long Island kid. But yeah I don't see anyone It's going to be St. John's and UConn I understand why UConn was picked first They're ranked higher nationally They have less question marks I think the matchups are going to be great I mean, let's just start point guard Silas DiMario Jr. against Quinn Ellis Congrats, that's a matchup I mean, UConn is probably going to be a little better inside St. John's better on the perimeter When you look at the wings Yeah, I think they're going to be great games Did you pick St. John's to win the Big East? We haven't done that yet. Oh, you haven't done it yet. Okay, we won't let you know yet. I haven't revealed my Big East pick yet, but look, I think they're both top 10 caliber teams. UConn and look, you know, and UConn usually looks really good early. Yeah. They always have a lot of continuity. UConn has looked great in the preseason. They won at Michigan State, beat Syracuse handily, beat a, you know, a Purdue team that's taking a major step back this year by 30. UConn look great. the backcourt's going to be terrific. The Seton Hall center transfer to Jai Hines is going to be a force. I think Colbin Landrieu, their freshman guard, is really good. UConn's going to be really good. And I think St. John's going to be really good. I think those are going to be, we're probably going to be sitting here in March where they split their two regular season meetings, getting ready for another Big East tournament championship game. I hope so. I mean, would anybody be shocked by that? And I think the league's better. I think the league's getting around six teams in i think marquette's going to be good i think marquette is the third best team um so that but you think there's a drop-off between yeah i think marquette's i think marquette i think marquette providence xavier villanova and like let's not forget creighton i think creighton's got a shot to be good too um i think the league is looking at six to seven bids it's a much improved league i don't think st john's or UConn are going 18 and two again that's not going to happen i think the winner of this league probably somewhere 16 and 4 15 and 5 um and that should help seeding for everyone but yeah i just i don't i just think st john's UConn are just are are better than everyone else class above everybody else um right now so for fans when monmouth comes to CarneSek Arena on november 2nd first first season zach will be there we will be there we'll have some guys after the game zach can't wait for this what do you think fans viewers should watch beyond the final score that'll tell them hey this is the progress we saw from the preseason now the night one of the regular season, non-conference play? Turnovers, limiting them. It's been an issue all fall. I thought they did a much better job in the Texas game. The defensive rebounding, it was very bad against the Rutgers. Better against Texas, although it wasn't great at late. That's another area of focus because, like, rebounding, this is all about being playing together. It's about learning each other. Those, to me, are the two. You want to see them make some threes. They haven't really shot the three well, although they have plenty of guys who can shoot. We joke about the St. John's tax. Guys come here with a great three-point percentage, and then they come here and it drops like 10%. So we call it the St. John's tax. I like that. Hopefully we don't see that. But, yeah, no, I think that those are the two. Defensive rebound turnovers, to me, are pivotal. Like, look, I fully expect them to win, you know, to be fine and to be going to Vegas undefeated. but those are the areas you know, and look last year's team really struggled with defensive rebounding until like January but those are clearly because a lot of that defensive rebounding is communication it's physicality it's toughness and so much more than the Texas game okay, here's the last thing because we've seen with this St. John's team consecutive regular season big titles and tournament titles and a Sweet 16 appearance last year you talked about how close they were to the Elite Eight the standard when this happens generally rises around the fan base and different people what do you believe will be a successful season for this Red Storm team this year and how deep can they go in the NCAA tournament I'm going to say Elite Eight I know there are going to be fans who say oh we got to get to the Final Four I'm going to say Elite Eight take it one step further I think Elite Eight would be a successful season I don't really care like you win the league i'm sorry i don't it yes it'd be nice to say well we won the league three years in a row that would be nice no doubt but i think much more important is march um and going a step further and yeah i look can this team go to the final four of course i mean last year's team they beat duke i i think they would have went to the national i don't i don't think they would have won but i think they would have won to the national championship lost to michigan i think they would beat utah um you know the the one thing that gets forgot you know going rabbit hole the one thing that gets forgotten is like duke needed their point guard caleb foster to play played 25 minutes on a he had just broken his foot like three weeks ago, a pre-week prior. And then of course two days later against UConn, he had nothing, because they weren't playing that much, he had nothing left because he was playing on a broken foot. And if he was like he was healthy, that's a different game. I think St. John's would go to the National Championship, maybe too. I do. I think they probably would have lost to Michigan, but I think they would have gotten there, which is, they just needed a little more out of the backcourt, and they didn't get it. But yeah, I say elite eight is, to me, would be a successful season, and yeah, look, I think the schedule is set up better for them to have, you know, get some good non-conference wins because they have this month to kind of work on things. They go to Vegas, figure they'll beat Oregon in the first game, then they get either Louisville or Texas Tech, they come home, they get Arizona here, they go to Alabama, the fact that arguably their two biggest games, Arizona and Alabama, aren't till like mid-December, definitely helps um yeah i mean i i so look i think it's important for them to get a few big non-conference wins just for seeding although the Big East is better it didn't help them with seeding right like last year was like you better beat UConn or you're not going to have a big win right so that hurt even though they did have the one win over UConn during the regular season um but yeah so i i do think it'll help that they'll have more chances for good wins but you can you can beat in Arizona you can beat a Louisville or Texas Tech, that goes a long way when the seeding comes. And, you know, who knows what happens last year if there are two or three seedings instead of a five. Right. Things could have been different. Although I did enjoy going to San Diego. Of course, there wouldn't be a show with Zach if he didn't tell you about the trips he enjoys going to, including the fact that he'll be going to Vegas for a couple of days. It's not bad. It's not bad. How many days will you be in Vegas? Well, it depends. So they play the Tuesday. They're off Wednesday. Then they play Thursday and Friday. But if they win their first three, then they play in a championship game that Saturday. That's a post-Thanksgiving tournament? No, it's during Thanksgiving. It's during Thanksgiving. Let's just say the wife's not happy. She's got to spend time with her parents and my parents for Thanksgiving. That's going to be a rough day for her. I'm not going to say anything about that. And when I do see your wife, because I do see her at least once a year, I will just say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Zach bailed on the family. She's a soldier. She can deal with it. She is a soldier. Although, you know, I'll pay for it when I get home. I'm sure you will. I have no doubt about that. I'm sure you will. Well, another trip for Zach Brazile. He always gets a nice trip with the Johnnies during the race. Why don't you come, man? You're trying to get me in trouble at home. Nah, I'm not trying to be you. Come to Vegas, man. Come to Vegas? We're having a good time out there. Yeah. I think we will. All right, I'll think about it, too, if I want to get in trouble with Thanksgiving or not. You heard from Zach. He is picking. Should I say picking? St. John's? Elite Eight? Are we going there? Yes. All right. I'm going to say Elite Eight. Elite Eight. St. John's. I haven't decided on the regular season, but Elite Eight. We'll leave that for the people. Elite Eight. Elite Eight. That's fair. Okay. Elite Eight, we'll take it. That's it. I think they have the talent to go that far. I think that would be a nice step forward. I think they have the chance to be the best team they've had here. I do. To me, it's their best balance. Think about it. Two years ago, they really couldn't shoot. Last year, there was just all the frontcourt. This year, well, yes, the strength is the backcourt. I don't think they're nearly as weak in the frontcourt as they were in the backcourt last year. I think Ruben Prey, given opportunity, is going to come on and be a more than suitable center. I think Theo Demme has a chance to be a nice complementary piece. Reed Bailey brings you another dimension as a ball mover at the five. I think this has the chance, if everything goes right, to be their best. Yeah, it feels like it should be the best team. Most explosive, definitely. Definitely. And it should be a fun team to watch. And, you know, they're going to play defense. It's never a question with him. They're going to guard. Yep. Yeah, I think they have a chance to be really good. It should be a fun year. The games at Carneseca and the games at the Garden are going to be a lot of fun. I will be there with Zach for the first game at Carneseca on November 2nd. That's going to be a fun day before Zach leaves us all and goes to Vegas. Zach, always appreciate you, man. I will see you soon. Everybody, thank you for joining us on this season preview for the St. John's Red Storm. For the great Zach Brazilla, I'm Dexter Henry We'll catch you next time