Bryce Hopkins understood the expectations when he committed to St. John’s to play for Rick Pitino.
There was a certain standard the Hall of Fame coaches holds his players to, and so the Providence College transfer wasn’t surprised when the Hall of Fame coach has asked more out of him thus far.
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“That’s what I came here for. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy coming here,” the 6-foot-7 forward said Tuesday night. “I know what type of coach ‘Coach P’ is — he’s a legend in the game. I came here to be pushed.
“I know he’s seen great players, he’s coached great players and he knows what it takes to be a great player. Whatever he expects out of me, I’m going to do it and I’m going to do it to the best of my abilities. I’m bought into the team.”
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After a shaky stretch in which Pitino has both publicly and privately asked Hopkins to pick up his play, Hopkins went into the holiday break on a positive note. In a quality all-around performance, Hopkins had 14 points, added four assists and three rebounds in St. John’s 85-59 win over Harvard at Carnesecca Arena.
“I think I did OK tonight. There’s always room for improvement,” he said. “I was just more focused on what coach was telling me to do, come out with effort, not focused on scoring as much. Focus on the defensive end more, and that’s going to lead to my offense.”
Harvard Crimson forward Thomas Batties II (15) looks to drive past St. John’s Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins (23) in the first half at Carnesecca Arena on Dec. 23, 2025. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Pitino believes the up-and-down nature of Hopkins’ season up to this point can at least partially be attributed to him coming off a torn ACL he initially suffered in early January 2024. Hopkins admitted it is an “uphill battle sometimes” with the knee, but that was more early on. He doesn’t really think about it as much anymore, now that St. John’s is 12 games into the season.
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“He’ll be that Alpha [dog this year], there’s no doubt in my mind,” Pitino said.
Fellow forwards Zuby Ejiofor (14 points, nine rebounds, four assists) and Dillon Mitchell (nine points, five rebounds) also turned it on after shaky performances of late, and St. John’s was plus-17 on the glass and outscored Harvard by 14 points in the paint. Despite foul trouble, Ian Jackson played well again at both ends, notching 14 points in 25 minutes.
The one-sided victory completed the nonconference schedule for St. John’s. The Red Storm went a disappointing 2-4 against power-conference opponents, highlighted by Saturday’s loss to Kentucky in Atlanta.
Zuby Ejiofor of the St. John’s Red Storm puts up a shot between Thomas Batties III and Chandler Pigge of the Harvard Crimson during the first half on Tuesday night. Charles Wenzelberg for The New York Post
“One thing about us is we don’t panic, we don’t pay attention to any nonsense about where we are,” Pitino said. “We’re just trying to get better each day. We know come March we think we’ll be a good basketball team. We still have a long way to go, we have a lot of growth to make.”
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Predictably, there was a Kentucky hangover. St. John’s (8-4) started the game like it was sleepwalking, putting up little resistance. Harvard (6-7) made its first six shots and was 12-of-19 at one point. The Crimson led by five deep into the first half, when a switch was flipped at the under-eight timeout.
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From there, the Johnnies turned up the defensive pressure. They held Harvard to four points over the final 7:46, scoring 22 of 26 points to go into the break up 13. In that span, St. John’s forced six turnovers and Hopkins scored seven points.
St. John’s picked up where it left off after halftime. Jackson hit a 3-pointer, Ejiofor added two free throws and Jackson hit two more at the line, extending the lead to 20.
