Roger Rubin: Rick Pitino hopes Keyshawn Hall can help fill St. John's leadership void
St. John's Red Storm forward Keyshawn Hall shoots a free throw against the Monmouth Hawks in the second half of an NCAA men’s basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Monday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Nature abhors a vacuum, and Rick Pitino has challenged Keyshawn Hall to fill the one St. John’s has. That is an interesting wrinkle for the 13th-ranked Red Storm at the dawn of the 2026-27 season.
The Hall of Fame coach is talking about a leadership void created by the departure of tri-captains Zuby Ejiofor to the Atlanta Hawks, Dillon Mitchell to the Celtics’ organization and Sadiku Ibine Ayo on a transfer to Iona. When the Red Storm needed direction to win a second straight Big East title and reach the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, they provided it.
There has been a sense that a returning player would fill that void. Junior Ian Jackson was elected co-captain alongside newcomer Babacar Sane. Jackson has a chance to be that guy, but leadership does not come naturally to him.
Asked if Jackson can lead this team, Pitino replied, “I don’t think so. Ian’s a 10-star person on a five-star scale, and he will talk up, but . . . that’s not him. He’s just a great guy who everybody loves. I would say it’s got to be Keyshawn. In the end, he’s going to have to step up and do it, but they all have to step up.”
It’s intriguing that Pitino’s search has landed on Hall. The Auburn transfer is at his fifth program in five years. Pitino previously noted that Hall has never belonged to a truly successful program; though the Tigers won the NIT last season, Hall has never played in the NCAA Tournament.
The chance to win, play in The Big Dance and make a deep tournament run drove his transfer to St. John’s. Perhaps that drive will spark leadership.
After scoring 26 points in a season-opening win over Monmouth, Hall said scoring “is not the main focus anymore.”
St. John's Babacar Sane dunks the ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Monmouth, Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, in New York. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
“My main thing when [doing] my recruiting was just winning,” Hall said. “I’m willing to do whatever [it takes].”
Ibine Ayo said he has been encouraging Jackson to embrace the role. “Me and Zuby always told them in the locker room about what we need to do, how to understand Coach P, what to not take personal and what to take personal,” he said. “I told Ian he needs to do that this year, get guys to understand.”
The Red Storm have played only one game, and a leader is bound to emerge. It bears watching who that will be.
Update on Sane’s lawsuit vs. NCAA
Monday could be an important day in St. John’s season even though the Red Storm aren’t playing. Witness testimony will continue before judge Karina Alomar in Babacar Sane’s lawsuit against the NCAA seeking eligibility for this season. Both sides will call witnesses; Pitino said he is among those slated to testify for Sane.
The central issue is that Sane signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the NBA’s Utah Jazz. Pitino and the administration are confident in his eligibility because Sane never participated in a team activity and was waived before training camp started. Alomar granted the 6-7 forward a temporary restraining order that allows him to practice and play through Sunday’s game against Iona.
Sane possesses enormous athleticism and talent. Last season, he averaged 9.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.7 minutes in Germany’s top pro league. The NCAA Eligibility Center initially granted him two years of eligibility before a subsequent review ruled him ineligible.
St. John’s has multiple eligibility issues hanging over it. Hall and Indiana transfer Reed Bailey secured injunctions against the NCAA to seek the fifth year of eligibility granted to everyone who played last season except — arbitrarily, the players argue — the high school class of 2022. Sane’s case, however, is the heaviest lift.
Sane played only 12 minutes in an exhibition win over No. 7 Texas and 10 in the season-opening victory over Monmouth. Players must earn minutes from Pitino with strong play, and Sane hasn’t yet. Still, a nagging question remains: “Could Pitino also be trying to assess what his team might look like without him?”
Ejiofor bobblehead & more!
St. John’s released its promotional schedule Friday. The school is forgiven for omitting an induction date for Ejiofor — the 2026 Big East Player of the Year and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award winner as the top college center — into the new Ring of Honor, because coordinating with the Atlanta Hawks rookie is complicated.
However, fans will get an Ejiofor bobblehead when the Red Storm host Providence on Jan. 13. Other promotions include long-sleeved championship T-shirts against Siena (Nov. 18), a postgame autograph session against Wagner (Dec. 8), a throwback uniform day against Marquette (Feb. 17), and a “White Out” against Villanova on Feb. 23 (Pitino will wear his famous all-white suit).
St. John’s also will honor beloved media relations official Kenny Klein, who passed away in June, on Feb. 13 when it faces Richard Pitino’s Xavier team at the Garden.
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.
