St. John's, Pitino land Ivy League POY Dingle

Penn transfer Jordan Dingle, the Ivy League Player of the Year and nation’s second-leading scorer last season, committed to St. John’s on Friday morning, giving Rick Pitino his best pickup of a busy offseason for the Red Storm.

Dingle is the ninth transfer Pitino has landed since taking over at St. John’s in March, but he is the best of the group. Ranked No. 11 in ESPN’s transfer rankings — and the second-best available player at the time of his commitment — Dingle has been one of the elite scorers in college basketball over the past two years.

The 6-foot-3 guard from Valley Stream, New York, on Long Island, averaged 23.4 points last season — the top scorer in the portal — and 20.9 points as a sophomore in 2021-22. He improved as a perimeter shooter as well, going from 33.5% from 3-point range two seasons ago to 35.6% last season.

Dingle played well against superior competition, scoring 26 points against NCAA tournament team Colgate and averaging 30.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists over a four-game stretch against Saint Joseph’s, La Salle, Villanova and Temple.

Pitino has overseen a massive roster overhaul after replacing Mike Anderson at the helm of the Red Storm. Nine scholarship players entered the portal, and another two graduated, but Pitino has now landed nine transfers and one ESPN 100 recruit. All-Big East big man Joel Soriano (15.2 PPG, 11.9 RPG) is the lone St. John’s returnee who saw significant minutes last season.