MIAMI – Rick Pitino’s first seven weeks on the job produced mostly singles and doubles — quality additions and complementary pieces that lacked a wow factor.
Friday morning, that changed. Friday morning, the new St. John’s coach went deep. Friday morning, he hit a home run.
Jordan Dingle, the Ivy League Player of the Year out of Penn and one of the premier guards to enter the transfer portal, verbally committed to St. John’s, he told The Post.
A difference-making guard, he elevates the roster and gives the Johnnies a potentially dynamic inside-out punch alongside standout center Joel Soriano.
Dingle, the nation’s No. 2 scorer last season at 23.4 points per game, heard from a who’s-who of high-major schools after opting to leave Penn following three seasons.
That included Texas, Oregon, UCLA, Arkansas and many other powerhouse programs.
He had Zoom calls with Oklahoma State and Florida State.
But St. John’s was his only visit. St. John’s made the most sense.
“Really just the opportunity to play for a coach such as Rick Pitino and then going back home, being able to play in the Garden for a coach who’s had so much success at so many different places at so many difference levels,” Dingle, a Valley Stream, N.Y. native who is testing the NBA Draft waters and is focused on seeing the process through until the cutoff date of May 31, said in a phone interview. “I’m really excited to learn from a mind who has been around the game of basketball as much as he has and understands it as much as he has.
“I knew that there could be some Blue Bloods that potentially could be interested in me, but the main thing was about finding the right place for me and the right fit, and I think St. John’s is that place.”
The 6-foot-3 Dingle improved each year at Penn and is coming off a season in which he shot a career-best 35.6 percent from 3-point range on 7.7 attempts and also shot 46.4 percent from the field.
His numbers didn’t tail off against quality competition, scoring 25 in a loss to Villanova, 30 in a win over Temple and 18 in a defeat at Missouri.
“He’s just able to score from everywhere,” an Ivy League coach said. “Catch and shoot he makes 3’s, he makes 3’s off the dribble, his mid-range game is elite and he’s athletic enough to drive in and dunk it. We’ve been pretty convinced he’s an NBA player.”
The Johnnies had two advantages working in their favor: Pitino and location.
Dingle liked the idea of spending his last year in college close to home and was drawn to the opportunity of playing for the Hall of Fame coach.
Pitino has a strong relationship with his father Dana, the co-director of the New York Lightning AAU program, and Dingle is hopeful that a year playing for him in what is expected to be a loaded Big East could boost his NBA stock.
“He’s done an amazing job with player development, especially with guards,” Dingle said. “Just two to name obviously, Donovan Mitchell and Terry Rozier. The way that he coaches his teams, the pace that his team plays is a fast pace, which is similar to the NBA. It would be a great way to prepare me for the next level.
“I’m really excited about it. Everybody wants to play the game at the highest level against the best competition, against the best coaches. The Big East is full of talent and great coaching. It would be great, not only for me to showcase my skills, but for the team next year to show how great of a program we really are. Bring St. John’s back to its glory days.”
It should be noted, he isn’t fully committed to spending next year in college quite yet.
Dingle has had workouts with the Mavericks and Hawks, and has scheduled workouts with the Bulls on May 13, Jazz on May 26, Cavaliers on May 30 and Celtics on May 31.
Dingle is expected to add a few more shortly.
“I’m going to go ahead and finish up these workouts. We’re going to sit down and have an in-depth talk about what the possibilities might look like for me based on the feedback the teams provide,” he said. “Whatever option is the best at that point in time I’ll decide to go with.”
Dingle declined to say if he would need assurances he would get selected to stay in the draft.
For now, though, St. John’s can realistically dream of adding him to its roster, the big prize that had eluded Pitino until now.
St. John’s has done well in the transfer portal, picking up quality wings RJ Luis (UMass) and Glenn Taylor Jr. (Oregon State) and strong guards Nahiem Alleyne (UConn) and Daniss Jenkins (Iona), along with top-150 high school prospect Brady Dunlap.
Dingle takes the roster to another level.
“You now have a team that is in position to challenge for a place in the top five of the Big East,” CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein said. “Without question to me they’re an NCAA Tournament team. I think they should have two All-Big East players in Soriano and Dingle, and we’ll see what transpires from there.”