Keyshawn Hall Could Be Missing Piece for St. John's Basketball If He Remains Eligible

Here's why Keyshawn Hall could be the missing piece for the St. John's Red Storm if he's eligible.

Auburn Tigers forward Keyshawn Hall (7) celebrates a basket as Auburn Tigers take on Wofford Terriers at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. Auburn Tigers defeated Wofford Terriers 93-62. / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

As the college basketball season gets closer and closer, the St. John’s Red Storm will be hoping to improve from the last campaign and have a special season. 

Since Rick Pitino has come in as the coach of the team, the culture has changed for St. John’s. With back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the Red Storm are starting to get closer to their glory days. 

Last season, St. John’s gave the Duke Blue Devils all they could handle before ultimately being eliminated in the Sweet 16. However, it proved that they were one of the better teams in the country, and it was a special season regardless. 

Now, as the Pitino era enters year four, the expectation will be to take another step forward. That means either an Elite 8 or Final Four appearance, both of which would be great. Recently, the team added a really talented forward in Keyshawn Hall, who could be the missing piece. 

Hall Could Be Missing Piece 

Auburn Tigers forward Keyshawn Hall (7) dunks the ball as Auburn Tigers take on Wofford Terriers at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. Auburn Tigers defeated Wofford Terriers 93-62. / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Following the injury to Donnie Freeman during the offseason after St. John’s was able to bring him in, the team was left with a noticeable void. Freeman was expected to be a key piece of the team, and the timing of the injury left them with limited options. 

However, with the new five-for-five rule, the Red Storm were able to bring in Hall, who could be a difference-maker for the team. Even though the talented forward has played for four schools in as many years, he has become a very good player and is coming off a solid season with the Auburn Tigers. 

Last year, he averaged 19.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the Tigers. He was an efficient scorer from the field and will add a lot of skill to the offense for the Red Storm. While there are some concerns about his play on the defensive end of the court, Pitino and the coaching staff should be able to get the most out of him there with their style of play. 

However, while from a skill perspective he is going to make the team a lot better, the big looming question is whether or not he will be eligible. There are a lot of changes going on in the landscape of college basketball when it comes to eligibility, and St. John’s will be hoping that he can stay on the court. If he does, he figures to be the missing piece for the team.