Former Arizona State wing Joson Sanon, one of the top players in the transfer portal, has committed to St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino, he told ESPN on Wednesday.
“Coach Pitino believes in me and my potential and what he can do for me,” Sanon told ESPN. “He preaches working hard, and I want to show him I’m the hardest working player that’s ever played for him. The way Coach P teaches defense is something I want to invest my time into.”
Sanon, a 19-year-old freshman who averaged 11.9 points in 28.3 minutes per game and shot 36.9% from 3 this season, did not take visits to any schools after entering the transfer portal Tuesday. The No. 23-ranked player in the 2024 high school class, Sanon watched St. John’s take on Georgetown at Madison Square Garden in March 2024 before originally committing to Arizona State, his agent, Derek Malloy of LIFT Sports Management, told ESPN.
Malloy said he encouraged Sanon to jump at the opportunity to play for a Hall of Fame coach in Pitino as soon as it was presented to him.
“New York City, Madison Square Garden, Rick Pitino. If we weren’t the first to take it, I’d envy the person who did,” Malloy said.
St. John’s, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament as the Big East regular-season and conference tournament champions, lost 75-66 to John Calipari and No. 10 seed Arkansas in the second round. The Red Storm were 2-for-22 from beyond the arc in that game, making a dynamic shot maker like Sanon a clear priority.
Pitino will lose at least three starters from this season’s roster — seniors Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith and Aaron Scott — who all played between 27 and 32 minutes per game. The status of juniors RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s top scorers and most highly regarded NBA prospects, is yet to be determined. The team is likely to lose several players to the transfer portal.
More than 1,150 Division I players have entered the transfer portal since it opened Monday, far exceeding the previous years’ totals at the same stage.
Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.
