St. John's Basketball Has a Special Point Guard in Quinn Ellis

The St. John's Red Storm saw an encouraging performance from their new point guard in an exhibition win over Drexel.

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino reacts in the first half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. John’s Red Storm kicked off the 2026-27 campaign with an exhibition game against Drexel on Wednesday night. In the lopsided win, there were some good performances by some key players for the team. 

Coming into the season, expectations are going to be high for the program. In the last two years, St. John’s was able to make the NCAA Tournament each season. Furthermore, they are also back-to-back Big East champions. 

Rick Pitino has been very successful in the first three years with the program, and this year he will be looking to take them to the next level. That next level would indicate them making it to the Elite 8 or the Final Four after a strong Sweet 16 appearance last year. 

When looking at the roster for St. John’s, this very well could be the most talented group that Pitino has had in his tenure so far. With some good eligibility news coming out recently for the program, the Red Storm have a loaded roster and the sky is the limit. 

One of the key players that was recently deemed eligible was point guard Quinn Ellis. Due to him playing professionally overseas, there were some questions regarding whether or not he would be able to play. However, he was deemed eligible just before the first exhibition game for the team and made a nice impact in his debut. 

Ellis Can Be True Floor General

Oct 1, 2026; New York, NY, USA; St. John's Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino is interviewed during 2026 Big East Media Day at Marriott Marquis. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When St. John’s was able to land Ellis, he was seen as a player who was going to be able to be a true point guard and a floor general for the team. Due to the amount of talent that the Red Storm has, having a true facilitator of the ball is going to be important. 

In the exhibition win, Ellis was able to record six assists and six rebounds. The talented guard has some excellent size for the position, and he is going to be a real weapon for the Red Storm. 

Due to the team having scorers like Babacar Sane, Tounde Yessoufou, Ian Jackson, and Keyshawn Hall, they really don’t need much in terms of scoring from him. 

Ellis running the offense, dishing out assists, and not turning the ball over will be key. Turnovers were a bit of a problem for the Red Storm against Drexel, and while it was their first game, it is something that needs to be cleaned up. Overall, it was an impressive showing by Ellis in his debut with the team. The talented guard looks like a true point guard, and that is important for this roster.