Quinn Ellis praised by Rick Pitino for playing ‘like a veteran’ in St. John’s preseason win

See more of our coverage in your search results.

Quinn Ellis scored only three points in St. John’s exhibition opener Wednesday night, but coach Rick Pitino came away impressed by his new point guard anyway.

The Red Storm’s new floor general opted against taking many shots — he only attempted two — preferring to set the table for his new teammates. It left an early impression on his Hall of Fame coach.

“Quinn is the only one on the team who really understood how to play. He didn’t even care about looking at the basket. He played like a veteran,” Pitino said after St. John’s took care of Drexel 81-52 at Carnesecca Arena in the first of three exhibition contests. “When everybody else was hunting 3s early in the game, nobody understood you have to make the defense work, tire their legs out, run them into screens. Quinn understood it and nobody else did.

“That’s why he’s a great player without scoring. He could score, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to get the other guys [involved] in the game.”

The 6-foot-4 Ellis did everything but score. He had six assists, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks in 27 quality minutes.

He looked the part of a top-flight point guard, a player Pitino said is just as good as the top point guards he’s coached in Queens, Kadary Richmond and Daniss Jenkins. He’s a ball mover who is always looking to attack, and create opportunities for others.

“It’s amazing to play with Quinn, his ability to find you, get you open shots,” Babacar Sane said. “I always tell him, every assist he makes for me, it’s one dollar. Today he gave me three assists on his shots, so I owe him three bucks.

“I told him, I have never seen a point guard who’s looking first to pass. It’s wonderful to have somebody like him at St. John’s.”

A day earlier, Ellis was cleared to play this season by the NCAA, after weeks of waiting. Pitino called it relief for both the team and Ellis, a native of Sheffield, England.

The 23-year-old spent last season in the acclaimed EuroLeague playing for Olimpia Milano, and is one of the most decorated international prospects to compete in college basketball. He received multiple honors in 2025, including LBA Best Young Player, Italian Cup MVP and Italian Supercup MVP.

But he wanted to give college basketball a shot, and opted for St. John’s over the likes of Duke, BYU, Louisville, Houston and Kentucky, mostly because he liked the idea of playing for someone like Pitino who will push him.

“It’s the opportunity I got. Coming over here can really elevate my game,” Ellis said. “It’s obviously a new system compared to Europe. If everything goes well, it can push my ability to the next level. It’s really why I came here, to win something and take myself to the next level.”

It wasn’t a perfect debut for him. At one point, he sagged off a Drexel guard that led to an open 3-pointer. Pitino immediately called timeout and ripped into him.

“He’s on us every day, like you saw in the timeout,” Ellis said.

Ellis called Tuesday a “great” day, because he didn’t have to worry about his uncertain eligibility status anymore. He viewed the exhibition debut as a solid start, considering this was the first game for this brand-new roster. He echoed his coach, that these Johnnies have a long way to go in terms of learning one another and getting comfortable playing together.

“We’ve got a lot of talent, and I feel like we can do great things if we all get on the same page and all are playing hard for 40 minutes,” he said.

Pitino was happy with the overall effort against Drexel, and most pleased by his new point guard.

“I walked away tonight saying he’s outstanding,” Pitino said, “and I didn’t say it about anybody else.”