NEW YORK, NY — Zuby Ejiofor, RJ Luis Jr., Kadary Richmond, Aaron Scott, Simeon Wilcher, Deivon Smith, Sadiku Ibine Ayo, Vince Iwuchukwu, Jaiden Glover, Ruben Prey, Khaman Maker, Lefteris Liotopoulos, and Brady Dunlap.
The illustrious 72-year-old head coach Rick Pitino, each member of the St. John’s Red Storm coaching/medical staff, along with president Rev. Brian J. Shanley, VP/Director of Athletics Ed Kull, and mega-NIL supporter Mike Repole.
Take a bow.
There was a Party at The Garden on Saturday afternoon as the Johnnies clinched the 2024-2025 Big East regular season outright title – Image Credit: Robert Rizzo/Latino Sports
On Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, St. John’s men’s basketball, and its passionate fans, celebrated clinching the 2024-2025 outright Big East Conference regular season title — marking the program’s first since 1984-1985.
40 years without a Big East Conference regular season outright championship…
So, when that final buzzer sounded off in No. 7 St. John’s 71-61 victory over Seton Hall, and red and white confetti began to soar through the air of ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena,’ four decades worth of emotion poured out…
The celebration at @TheGarden for @StJohnsBBall’s 2024-2025 @BIGEASTMBB Regular Season Championship was a scene out of a movie🗽🏀⚡️🏆#SJUBB #RedStorm #WeAreStJohns #LatinoSports #CollegeHoops pic.twitter.com/grSh5Oj3br
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) March 1, 2025
All of the Red Storm soaked in the feeling of championship glory while most of the sold out crowd of 19,812, remaining in MSG during the postgame celebration, stood up on their feet, and applauded.
“For St. John’s, it’s a special night,” stated Pitino, who has put the program back on the map within two seasons of taking the head coaching vacancy in Queens — 26-4 overall on the year with a 17-2 record in league play.
“It’s been 40 years for our student body. It’s really, really special. Our university has done a tremendous job getting them back involved, and it’s going to pay huge dividends down the road.”
A Memorable Day for RJ and Luis Family
St. John’s junior combo-guard RJ Luis Jr., of Miami, Florida, a proud Dominican-Ecuadorian, putting on for all of New York and Latinos across the globe, did just that in Saturday’s win — stacking up a game-high of 21 points (7-13 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-4 FT), six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
HAMMER TIME‼️@RJLuisJr | @StJohnsBBall pic.twitter.com/nxkAwaCKv1
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) March 1, 2025
A common theme throughout the 2024-2025 season, Luis Jr. willing the Red Storm to a victory. But Saturday stood out quite differently…
As Luis Jr. was in the midst of his dominant performance at The Mecca, lifting the Johnnies to championship glory, his younger sister Rachael, completed a similar task an hour or so earlier with her high school girls basketball team — Miami Country Day — defeating Providence in the Class 2A (Florida) State Finals, which marked her and the Spartans’ second consecutive championship.
Just an hour or so before RJ Luis Jr. and St. John’s clinched the Big East regular season outright title, his younger sister, Rachael Luis, and the Miami Country Day Spartans won their second-consecutive Class 2A (Florida) State Championship – Image Credit: The Florida High School Athletic Association
“Shoutout to my little sister, she played her state championship today, and they also won,” said Luis Jr. in the postgame press conference. “So my dad (Reggie Luis Charles) can’t clown me anymore because I finally got something.”
He was then interrupted by members of the media and those in attendance for the presser who all for the most part applauded to recognize the ‘Memorable Day for RJ and The Luis Family.’
“She’s still ahead of me,” he stated moments after. “She has two rings, I only have one so I gotta do a little bit of catching up.”
Prior to shouting out his little sister during postgame media availability, a testament to the character and selfless individual he is, as the celebration wrapped up on The Garden floor, Luis Jr. stopped to take photos and sign autographs for each fan who asked, mainly of whom were under the age of 12.
Soon after @StJohnsBBall clinched the @BIGEASTMBB regular season title @TheGarden, RJ Luis Jr. took time for each fan who asked for a photo and autograph 🏀🙌🏽#SJUBB #WeAreStJohns #RedStorm #CollegeHoops #LatinoSports #NCAA | @AdelsRch pic.twitter.com/F8vJhCsDuM
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) March 1, 2025
This Was For Looie
While telling the story of College Hoops, the Big East, and St. John’s men’s basketball, Lou Carnesecca, a college basketball icon, who unfortunately passed away at the age of 99 last November, must be included.
Winning 526 games as the Red Storm’s head coach across 24 years (1965-1970 & 1973-1992), Carnesecca will forever be synonymous with St. John’s.
Ever since his passing just over three months ago, all of those in the program, including Pitino who has gone on the record to say on many occasions this season — ‘Lou would love watching this team’ — made it a goal of theirs to take home a championship in honor of him.
Lou Carnesecca touched the lives of countless individuals, including his players, coaches, and most importantly, all of St. John’s fans – Image Credit: Robert Rizzo/Latino Sports
“Lou means a lot to a lot of people,” said Pitino when asked about honoring Carnesecca, the last coach to lead St. John’s to an outright Big East regular season title before Saturday.
“We’re very proud of the fact that in the year that he passed, because he led a great life, we can honor him with this championship.”
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