Roger Rubin: St. John's Rick Pitino thinks eligibility issues will work out, but nobody really knows
St. John's coach Rick Pitino looks on during the second half against the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on March 27, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Getty Images/Patrick Smith
College basketball exhibition games start in two weeks and the regular season tips off on Nov. 2. This is a moment for unbridled anticipation. It’s there — especially for St. John’s fans who see the Red Storm roster as the very best yet for fourth-year coach Rick Pitino — but sadly clouded with doubt.
Eligibility has become the most discussed topic surrounding the season. Guidelines are needed. One is on the table — the Protect College Sports Act passed by a 77-22 vote this week by the U.S. Senate and handed off to a U.S. House of Representatives that won’t reconvene until after the November mid-term elections — and we see it as entirely inadequate.
We’re not crazy about putting elected officials who can be influenced in either direction at the helm nor about the antitrust exemptions promised that would further empower the NCAA.
But first a moment to explain the landscape and specifically how it relates to St. John’s.
The NCAA in June installed rules that allow student-athletes to play up to five seasons in five years. However, it omitted members of the high school class of 2022, who have launched a fusillade of lawsuits to seek an extra season. Also being assessed — by the NCAA and courts — is the eligibility of players who played professionally overseas or in the G League.
Red Storm commits Quinn Ellis played in the EuroLeague and Babacar Sane played in the G League and signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Utah Jazz (he was waived before participating in a team activity). Transfers Keyshawn Hall, from Auburn, and Reed Bailey, from Indiana, are seeking a fifth year of eligibility.
Want more confusion? As of Thursday, court rulings have made Bailey and Sane eligible and Hall ineligible. Ellis is waiting for an NCAA ruling.
Pitino was asked about the Red Storm’s eligibility issues at Big East Media Day in Manhattan on Thursday and replied, “We feel everybody’s going to be fine . . . everybody’s going to be playing.”
It’s the answer that every Red Storm fan has been longing to hear since the Hall of Fame coach began constructing a roster for the coming season that could make an even deeper run than it did last March, when St. John’s reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.
And Pitino sounded comfortable with the situation because he believes the players have a legal “right to work.”
If only there were no caveats.
College basketball has changed fast with the rise of NIL dollars for players and the freedom to transfer to a better situation after every season. Paying players and letting them seek the best circumstances are great and the quality of college basketball has gotten exponentially better. Still, guidelines — or guardrails — are needed.
Absolutely essential is an even playing field about the Class of 2022, not one in which some are eligible and others are not, depending on court cases.
Competitive balance among college programs also is required, but not with the version of a salary cap proposed in the legislation that could limit what student-athletes can earn. Structure is required to determine the eligibility of European pros, too.
The bill passed by the Senate? How it changes or whether it passes in the House is anybody’s guess. New Big East commissioner Tim Brosnan said Thursday that the conference offers its “full-throated” endorsement of the legislation.
We’re hoping for something better. NCAA institutions employ some of the smartest business minds. They are needed to address these issues.
The NCAA wants the federal government to put an end to the chaos it created. Our advice is an ancient one: Heal thyself.
UCONN NO. 1, ST. JOHN’S NO. 2 IN VOTE BY BIG EAST COACHES
St. John’s and Connecticut again are on a collision course to battle for the Big East title, according to the results of the conference coaches’ poll. As announced at Big East Media Day in Manhattan, UConn was first and the Red Storm second.
UConn (98 points) got eight first-place votes and two second-place votes. The Red Storm (90 points) got two first-place votes, six second-place votes and two third-place votes.
St. John’s had two selected to the preseason all-Big East first team: Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou and returning junior Ian Jackson. Yessoufou was one of three unanimous selections.
St. John’s last season became the first Big East team to win the regular season and tournament championships in back-to-back seasons. The Red Storm (30-7) got a No. 5 seeding for the NCAA Tournament and reached its first Sweet 16 since 1999. UConn split in the regular season with St. John’s and lost in the Big East Tournament championship game, but landed a No. 2 seeding because of impressive non-conference wins. The Huskies (34-6) reached their third national championship game in four seasons, falling to Michigan.
Villanova took third place in the poll with 81 points. Marquette was fourth with 73 points and got the other first-place vote. Red Storm coach Rick Pitino said he cast that first-place vote.
In order of finish in the poll, the other seven teams were: Providence, Xavier, Creighton, DePaul, Seton Hall, Georgetown and Butler.
Yessoufou, a 6-5 sophomore, averaged 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds for Baylor last season. He had been an early entry for the NBA Draft and had been envisioned as a late first-round pick, but he withdrew his name at the 11th hour to transfer to the Red Storm.
The 6-5 Jackson averaged 9.4 points last season and is one of a trio of returning juniors who were in the Red Storm’s rotation, along with 6-10 Ruben Prey and 6-5 Lefteris Liotopoulos.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
