Rick Pitino has been to the top of college basketball twice, and now he’s adding a player who has experienced it himself.
As the Hall of Fame coach remakes his roster, he added an intriguing new piece on Sunday night in Connecticut guard Nahiem Alleyne.
Alleyne becomes the fourth transfer to commit to Pitino in the past four days, joining Iona University guard duo Daniss Jenkins and Cruz Davis, along with VMI wing Sean Conway.
Alleyne is the most high-profile of the four, a quality defender and shooter who spent the first three years of his college career at Virginia Tech before helping the Huskies win the national championship this month.
“It was definitely a tough decision to make, definitely I’ve been thinking about it for a couple of days,” Alleyne told The Post. “Talking to Rick Pitino and the coaching staff, they laid it out for me. I liked what I was hearing. To play for a Hall of Fame coach, why not do it? I really felt this was best for my career.”
He picked St. John’s over, among others, Georgia, Texas A&M, and California.
The 6-foot-4 Alleyne averaged only 5.2 points this past year in a diminished role.
But he’s a career 37 percent 3-point shooter across four seasons at the high-major level who’s played in three NCAA Tournaments and may wind up starting either at shooting guard or small forward for the Johnnies.
“That was definitely part of the decision, maximize my potential at St. John’s,” said Alleyne, a Georgia native who has a lot of family living in Queens. “Coach Rick Pitino was telling me a little bit of that, having me as one of the key guys, me and Jenkins.”
He added: “I feel like I can bring a lot of things to the team, be a two-way player, scorer on all three levels, defend at a high level. I know my numbers weren’t the best last year, but I know they’re going to improve.”
At his introductory press conference, Pitino talked at length about improving the culture within the program.
He didn’t get very positive reviews about most of the team’s returning players, most of whom have since entered the transfer portal.
A college coach familiar with Alleyne raved about his character as someone who will do the right things on and off the court.
“He’s what every college program should want,” the coach said. “He does the right things. He’s about the right things. Handles his business in class.”
Earlier in the day, St. John’s picked up a verbal pledge from Davis, a freshman guard who averaged 6.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 24 games for the Gaels.
The Plano, Texas native was selected to the All-MAAC Freshman Team.
He was slowed by an Achilles injury late in the season.
The 6-3 Davis was an Oregon State commit coming out of high school, ranked as a three-star prospect.
He also had offers from TCU, Houston and SMU at the time.
“I already know the coaching staff and I know Coach Pitino’s system,” Davis said. “Since I know the system already, I know what to do and I know how I can fit and I know how I can play.”
On the jump up to the Big East, Davis is confident he can play at that level.
“It’s just basketball. I’m used to playing against good competition my whole life,” he said. “I’ve played against good players since I was 10 years old. That doesn’t bother me. I think playing against good competition is fun.”
The recent commitments leaves St. John’s with six open scholarships.
It is hosting priority target Chris Ledlum, a Harvard transfer and All-Ivy League first-team selection, through Monday and is also involved with high-scoring Niagara transfer guard Noah Thomasson and four-star high school prospect Brady Dunlap, among others.