Oziah Sellers Reveals Rick Pitino’s 3-Word Message
Basketball team St. John’s Red Storm bounced back from a heartbreaking 83-82 loss to the No. 15 Iowa State Cyclones on Monday, responding Tuesday night in Las Vegas with one of Red Storm’s most complete and the defining results of the season — a 96-81 win against the Baylor Bears that showed resilience, poise and poise on both ends of the floor.
Zack Braziller of the New York Post took to his X (formerly known as Twitter) account, posting comments he caught from the senior transfer from Stanford after the win. Post highlighted the simplicity behind the 24-hour turnaround. After the loss to the Cyclones the night before, Pitino gave his players a short but powerful directive — one that senior Oziah Sellers took to heart.
“The conversations were pretty simple, he just said, ‘shoot the ball.’
Pitino’s approach was not subtle. After the Red Storm’s 83-82 loss to Iowa on Monday, he urged Sellers and fellow transfer running back Bryce Hopkins to be more decisive. The veteran coach said after the game that he “begged” both players to hit more, and the result was exactly what he wanted – aggression, rhythm and confidence.
Sellers responded with a season-best performance, while Hopkins poured in a team-leading 26 points. They combined for 48 points as the Red Storm shot 57.4% from the field and pulled away late behind their relentless pace, sharp execution and much-improved ball movement.
The victory was a comeback moment for a St. John’s basketball team whose identity continues to evolve under the two-time NCAA champion, now in his third season leading the program since being hired in March 2023. Given the stage of the tournament, a ranked opponent and Pitino’s challenge, the response couldn’t have been louder.
For Sellers, it was proof that the simplest message can sometimes lead to the biggest results — confidently “shooting the ball” at the same time.
2025-11-26 07:15:00
