Rick Pitino eager ‘to see where we’re at’ when St. John’s faces Rutgers in exhibition

St. John’s won’t play any true road games during nonconference play.

It will, however, get a taste of a true road environment on Thursday night when it visits Rutgers for an exhibition game at Jersey Mike’s Arena, which will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

Rutgers is an intriguing opponent after adding five-star freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.

The Scarlet Knights are ranked 25th in the country in the Associated Press preseason Top 25.

St. John’s just missed the cut, coming in 27th.

All proceeds will go to the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund at the V Foundation.

“Obviously Thursday is a big day for us to see where we’re at. We’re playing a Top 25 team,” Pitino said Tuesday, as St. John’s hosted media day. “We’re hoping to raise a lot of money for Dick Vitale’s cancer research for children and there’s no better [way] to do that than play at a sold-out place on the road to get ready for a season.

“Rutgers has a very distinct and strong home court advantage. Going on the road right away tells you about your team. It tells you who’s mentally tough, who’s physically tough and who’s ready for the likes of Baylor and Tennessee and an opening game with Fordham and Georgia and teams like that as you segue into the Big East.”

As Pitino noted, it should be good preparation for what will be a challenging slate early in the season.

St. John’s hosts New Mexico, coached by Pitino’s son, Richard, on Nov. 17, then meets eighth-ranked Baylor in the Baha Mar Hoops Championship on Nov. 21.

That’s followed by either No. 12 Tennessee or Virginia the next night.

Kansas State visits Queens on Dec. 7.

St. John’s expects to be at full strength for the game.

RJ Luis and Aaron Scott recently returned after suffering concussions in practice.

Deivon Smith, a transfer point guard from Utah, is also back practicing after dealing with a shoulder injury.

“Looking forward to seeing what we have,” Pitino said.

St. John’s will also host Towson in an exhibition game for charity on Oct. 26 at Carnesecca Arena.

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After St. John’s practiced on Friday, Pitino flew to Lexington, Ky., to support his former player and current Kentucky coach, Mark Pope, for Big Blue Madness.

The 1996 team, coached by Pitino, was honored, and Pitino wore a blue Kentucky pullover.

It was somewhat surprising to see a sitting head coach at a tip-off event for another program.

Pitino also attended a Kentucky practice the following day.

Pitino addressed it on Tuesday.

“It’s a Kentucky celebration for the championship teams. If I was with the Knicks, I’d wear orange. It’s a celebration of Kentucky,” he said. “It’s not the celebration of St. John’s. If I went to Providence, I would wear black and white. There’s no St. John’s people [that are] upset — I’m sure there’s Louisville people upset.”

There have been talks between the two sides about playing a home-and-home series starting next season, but Pitino said that has now been shelved since Kentucky wouldn’t be able to play a return game in 2026.

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St. John’s has been quiet on the recruiting front for the class of 2025.

It is unlikely to add any high school players to next year’s team, according to Pitino.

“I think we have [freshman] Jaiden Glover right now who we are extremely high on; Ruben Prey, another freshman who we are very high on; [Lefteris Liotopoulos], who we’re high on,” he said. “We have enough young players right now where we don’t have to take a freshman.”