"Fine is not going to be good enough": Analyst worried one important aspect could hold back St. John's from challenging for national championship

College basketball analyst Rob Dauster has expressed worries over St. John's Red Storm's quest for their first national title in program history.

In the July 31 episode of "The Field of 68: After Dark" podcast with Fox Sports writer and commentator John Fanta, Dauster was worried about how Idaho State transfer point guard Dylan Darling would adjust to a more competitive Big East after a season-long stint in the Big Sky.

The analyst described the 6-foot-1 point guard as a tough player who comes from a football family in Spokane, Washington and had a great 2024-25 season with the Bengals, where he averaged 19.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. However, Dauster is worried if Darling is enough to lead St. John's to another national championship run this season.

"Dylan Darling going from Idaho State to the Big East? That's a big step up. He's a tough kid. He comes from a football family, Dauster said (Timestamp: 5:47). "So, I think that he'll be fine, but fine is not going to be good enough when we're talking about national championships."

St. John's had an excellent season during Rick Pitino's second season as coach. They've gone 31-5 and won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. They were seeded second in the West Regionals of the 2025 NCAA Tournament but were stopped in the second round by John Calipari's Arkansas.

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St. John's parades a revamped roster for the 2025-26 season

Defending Big East champion St. John's looks to repeat as conference champions this season despite the departure of most of its key players from last year's campaign.

Returning for the 2025-26 season are Zuby Ejiofor, Sadiku Ibine-Ayo, Ruben Prey and Lefteris Liotopolous. They will combine forces with 11 newcomers acquired from the transfer portal and high school and international recruitment.

The seven transfers are bannered by former top-10 prospects Ian Jackson and Dillon Mitchell. Jackson played last season for North Carolina and received ACC-All Freshman Team honors, while Mitchell had stints in Texas and Cincinnati and is known for his high-leaping ability.

Providence transfer Bryce Hopkins began his career at Kentucky in the 2021-22 season before venturing into a three-season stint with the Friars. Hopkins averaged 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game during his time with Providence and was chosen in the All-Big East First Team in the 2022-23 season.

Meanwhile, Dylan Darling, Oziyah Sellers and Joson Sanon will bolster the team's backcourt with Darling coming off a 2024-25 Big East Player of the Year citation. Sellers previously played for Stanford and USC and had a breakout 2024-25 season with the Cardinal, averaging 13.7 ppg on 40.1% shooting from the 3-point line and 89.7% from the charity stripe.

Sanon played for Arizona State and tallied 11.9 points per contest. Lastly, 6-11 junior college transfer Handje Tamba had stints in Tennessee and Weber State before playing for Milligan Junior College in the 2024-25 season.

Top 60-rated recruit Kelvin Odih leads the freshmen corps along with European prospects Fotis Konstantinidis (Greece), Casper Pohto (Sweden) and Imran Suljanovic (Austria). The Johnnies will open the 2025-26 season on Nov. 3 at home against Quinnipiac and will face Alabama at Madison Square Garden five days later.

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Edited by Geoff