One of the leading stories of this college basketball offseason has been the nation-best transfer class joining St. John’s for the 2025-26 season. The six new additions from the portal of course engendered hype in the Red Storm as a preseason top-five team and a legitimate Final Four contender, but it also invited curiosity about how the Johnnies will function with a transformed rotation.

Inside a clandestine Carnesecca Arena with only three dozen media members and program benefactors in attendance on Tuesday morning, the Red Storm provided a peek behind the curtain of the positionless offense head coach Rick Pitino is deploying. The forward rotation of Dillon Mitchell, Bryce Hopkins, Zuby Ejiofor, and Ruben Prey all played active roles in initiating the offense or handling the ball in a flurry of motion offense sets.

“We realized we have so many good athletes that we’re going to run a point-less system,” Pitino told the media after Tuesday’s scrimmage, “Everybody handles the ball, everybody passes the ball. Ian [Jackson] obviously will play a one or a two when he’s in the game, but they’re all interchangeable parts.”

Rick Pitino showed over his first two seasons that he will alter his scheme from the norm to compensate for his squad’s deficiencies, whether it’s switching to a matchup zone defense during his first season or constructing the offense around the mid-range shot in his second season. Without a proven playmaking guard at the high-major level like Kadary Richmond or Deivon Smith, the Hall of Fame head coach now wants to spread the responsibilities of moving the ball to all five players on the floor.

The 40-minute scrimmage pitted the starting lineup of Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell, Bryce Hopkins, Oziyah Sellers, and shockingly, freshman Kelvin Odih on the Blue team versus the reserves on the White team.

If Odih’s surprise inclusion in the starting five over the more heralded Joson Sanon and Ian Jackson was an indication of his performance this summer, his play through Tuesday’s scrimmage proved the four-star recruit from Rhode Island is an impact player from day one. Odih logged 15 points, picked up four steals, and logged eleven deflections, all coming before the freshman rolled his ankle midway through the second half and sat out for the final 12 minutes of game action, but the injury isn’t expected to be serious.

“Kelvin has been the best motor in the summer. Totally unexpected, it blows everybody away,” Pitino said of Odih on Tuesday. “He’s relentless, unguardable, and he improved his jump shot. That is so unusual for a freshman. I haven’t seen it.”

The reserve-led White team surprisingly knocked off the starting Blue team, 78-76. Sophomore guard Ian Jackson stole the ball from Oziyah Sellers at mid-court and scored a game-winning breakaway lay-up against Zuby Ejiofor with less than thirty seconds remaining to top off an impressive two-way performance.

As much of a shock as the result was to Pitino, it also displayed how strong the Red Storm’s depth can be. Idaho State transfer Dylan Darling played with tons of composure while handling the ball and driving to the basket against contact. Ruben Prey looked more polished and mobile on both ends of the court, showing off an improved three-point shot. Even unranked freshman guard Casper Pohto, who wore a red pinnie and took turns playing for both teams, scored in double-figures over the course of the game.

“They’re all very close in ability,” Pitino said, “I can’t tell you who the best player is in any given week; it changes day-to-day, who has the best practice.”

With 86 days separating the Red Storm from opening night against Quinnipiac on November 3, the Red Storm still have plenty of time to develop Pitino’s unorthodox offensive system even further.