Why Babacar Sane Will Be X-Factor for St. John's Basketball This Season

Here's why forward Babacar Sane has emerged as the early x-factor for St. John's this season.

Oct 25, 2026; New York, NY, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Babacar Sane (0) looks to drive past Texas Longhorns forward Marcus Spears Jr. (31) in the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. John’s Red Storm are getting set to start their season on Monday night, and the team will be hoping to achieve some great things this year.  

Coming off a second straight season in which they were able to win a Big East Title, the Red Storm are looking to accomplish even more this coming campaign. 

This roster for St. John’s is the most talented that Rick Pitino has had in his tenure with the program, and there is reason to believe that they can be a Final Four contender. 

Last year, St. John’s was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 by the Duke Blue Devils. However, the Red Storm played them right down to the wire and proved they were one of the best teams in the country. 

This offseason, the team added a lot of new talent as expected. The caliber of players they brought in has been impressive, and one of the top players that they brought in was Babacar Sane. 

Sane Emerging as X-Factor 

Feb 19, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Team Scoot forward Babacar Sane (4) defends Team Luka point guard Saben Lee (38) during the first half at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Creveling-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

While there is still a little bit of eligibility concern with an upcoming court date still scheduled, Sane is currently eligible for St. John’s, and Rick Pitino seems highly confident that will remain the case. 

Assuming that all is going to work out on that end, Sane is emerging as an X-factor for this roster. With the starting lineup set to feature Keyshawn Hall, Ruben Prey and Tounde Yessoufou in the frontcourt, it is going to be Sane coming off the bench. 

There are few teams in the country that have a player of his caliber coming off the bench, and his development is something that Pitino is seemingly taking great pride in. 

While he has praised Sane’s natural abilities, he has also stated that there is plenty of work still to be done to hone his craft. At 6’7” and 230lbs, Sane is a matchup nightmare in college with his size and athleticism. As he continues to grow and develop with St. John’s and Pitino, he could be a real force. 

For the Red Storm, with him likely to be their sixth man, it will give them some interesting options in terms of lineup construction. While there hasn’t been much of it yet, St. John’s could look to go big on the wing or also run some smaller lineups as well. 

Overall,  Sane developing into the player that Pitino believes he can be certainly makes him the x-factor for the team, and his reaching that level can also impact their ceiling for this coming season.