MADISON SQUARE GARDEN — On Saturday night, the St. John’s Red Storm took home their first Big East tournament championship in 25 years in front of a roaring, hometown crowd at Madison Square Garden.
It’s a major milestone for the program that, between legendary coach Rick Pitino and a roster of highly coveted transfers, has spent millions on a renaissance. Creighton jumped out to an early lead, but the Johnnies chipped away. By the last TV timeout, they put up a double-digit lead.
The final score: 82-66.
The stars were all transfers to the program within the past two years. Big East Player of the Year, RJ Luis Jr., put up his 10th double double of the season, with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Kadary Richmond, the No. 1 transfer in the portal this past offseason, notched a double-double of his own, with 12 rebounds and 12 points. And following a Big East tournament-record 33 points against Marquette in the semifinal, Zuby Ejiofor scored 20 points.
But the team’s off-court MVP was sitting behind the Red Storm’s bench. Billionaire St. John’s alum Mike Repole, who co-founded lucrative beverage franchises Vitaminwater and BodyArmor sports drink, has donated well into the seven figures to NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals throughout the past two years. He helped recruit Pitino, and said to administrators he would do “whatever it takes” to get the program “back into the national spotlight,” he told Front Office Sports.
Repole’s influence has gone far beyond the dollar figures, however. He’s become a constant presence at games this season, and has helped galvanize other donors and fans to contribute to NIL offerings. St. John’s athletic director Ed Kull described him to FOS as a “lightning rod.” After the buzzer, Repole was among the crowd on the court, shaking hands, taking pictures, and watching players and coaches cut down bits of the net.
But the NIL opportunities Repole and others provided were part of the winning strategy, rather than the “whole puzzle,” Pitino told reporters after the game. “NIL didn’t get us this team … People just mischaracterize the NIL, and why St. John’s has been built. St. John’s didn’t get built by the NIL. St John’s got built with character of the players.” He even joked that Luis Jr. and Ejiofor were “underpaid.”
The Johnnies stock may be rising, but they still have work to do. The team’s next test St. will be in the NCAA tournament, for which the Johnnies are slated to draw either a 2 or 3 seed.
