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The St. John’s Red Storm received major news this week when Tounde Yessoufou announced his intentions to withdraw from the NBA Draft and commit to the program via the transfer portal. Yessoufou was a highly-sought after player after spending last season at Baylor.
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Tounde Yessoufou had entered the transfer portal while simultaneously declaring for the NBA Draft, and he was one of the final players to withdraw at the deadline for early entrants to retain college basketball eligibility. After announcing his decision, Yessoufou took to social media to explain why he felt this was the right choice for him.
“I want to make one thing very clear: my decision to attend St. John’s has nothing to do with money. My decision was based on basketball, development and winning,” Yessoufou wrote. “I love what Coach Pitino has built at St. John’s. His experience, leadership and resume speak for themselves, but what stood out the most to me was the belief he has in his players, his relentless work ethic, and his ability to help good players become great players while also helping them grow as men.”
Yessoufou’s statement comes on the heels of reports that his decision was swayed by the amount of NIL money he could potentially receive next season at St. John’s. It was suggested that it would be more than he would have gotten on an NBA rookie contract.
The projected first round pick appeared in 34 games for Baylor last season at a little over 32 minutes per game. He averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.0 steals with splits of 46.5 percent shooting from the field, 29.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 74.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
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