While the St. John’s Red Storm produced one of the top overall moments, to date, of the ongoing NCAA Tournament this past weekend, many believe the Johnnies’ run will come to an end when they face the No. 1 overall-seeded Duke Blue Devils in Washington, D.C., this Friday night (7:10 p.m. ET tipoff time).
While speaking with Adam Zagoria of NJ Advance Media on Wednesday, legendary St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino shared his hilarious plan for attempting to keep Duke star Cameron Boozer from dominating the action at Capital One Arena.
Rick Pitino looking to a higher power for help versus Duke superstar
“We’re just gonna say a lot of Hail Marys and pray,” Pitino said about his game plan.
ESPN stats show that the 6-foot-9 Boozer leads the 2025-26 Blue Devils with averages of 22.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. He’s also shooting 39.8 percent from three-point range.
For a mock draft posted earlier in March, Jeremy Woo of ESPN wrote that Boozer “has made a loud argument for himself as the best player in college basketball.” This past Tuesday, Woo noted that Boozer “can’t be written off as an option” for the upcoming draft’s No. 1 pick.
During his chat with Zagoria, Pitino referred to Boozer as “like a better version of” Orlando Magic star Paolo Banchero.
Rick Pitino shares Cameron Boozer scouting report
“Well, he’s playing like a point forward,” Pitino added about Boozer. “He’s lethal now outside, and I mean the schedule that they played and the people he has had to go against has been really remarkable. I mean, almost everybody in the NCAA they played, and he’s been remarkable against all those teams, whether it’s Texas,
Michigan, Florida, you name it, Michigan State. He’s played them all. So he’s quite a basketball player.”
As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had St. John’s as a 6.5-point underdog against Duke. As much as some may want to see the Red Storm face the rival Connecticut Huskies in the Elite Eight, Boozer and his teammates could dash those hopes by taking care of business in front of what’s likely to be a loud and raucous crowd.
