St. John’s coach Rick Pitino gives update on team health ahead of season-opener

By ADAM ZAGORIA

The curtain will officially lift on the Rick Pitino Era at St. John’s on Tuesday when the Red Storm host Stony Brook at Carnesecca Arena.

Ahead of the opener, Pitino provided a health update on his team, telling ZAGSBLOG that all of his players except for UMass transfer RJ Luis (hand) will be available Tuesday.

Rick Pitino tells me everyone on @StJohnsBBall except RJ Luis (hand) will be available for the season-opener Tuesday vs. Stony Brook https://t.co/WnNL8rDVDz

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) November 3, 2023

Jordan Dingle (shoulder), Joel Soriano (foot), and Cruz Davis (hand) all missed Sunday’s exhibition loss to Division 2 Pace, while Dingle also missed the exhibition win over Rutgers.

After Stony Brook, St. John’s will face Michigan on Nov. 13 in the Gavitt Games at Madison Square Garden.

Pitino, a Naismith Hall of Famer who has led three schools to the Final Four, has high expectations as far as restoring St. John’s to its prior glory.

“St. John’s is special and for me building St. John’s up to a national power would just be an incredible experience for everyone that I call a friend or family member,” Pitino said at Big East media day.

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