Sunday’s game for St. John’s will be much more emotional than usual non-conference games. The Red Storm will welcome back former two-time captain Sadiku Ibine Ayo as he returns to Madison Square Garden with the Iona Gaels.
Before this season, Ibine Ayo had known only one head coach in college basketball: Rick Pitino. He began his career playing for the Hall of Famer at Iona, then followed him to St. John’s when he was hired to lead the program in 2023. Now he’s back at the school where his college career began.
It will be without Pitino this time.
“He’s like a son to me. My children really joked around, saying, ‘How could you let one of your children get away?” Pitino said on Wednesday, “And that’s the way they looked at him, like a brother. And my grandkids call him Uncle Sadiku.”
After injuries cut his sophomore year short, Ibine Ayo served as a team captain for both of the Red Storm’s Big East championship squads the last two seasons. While his on-court contributions were minor, he was vital in establishing the Red Storm’s winning identity. Ibine Ayo effectively relayed Pitino’s coaching philosophy to his teammates and provided an example in practice with his work ethic and physicality.
“Sadiku is invaluable in the locker room, invaluable in practice,” Pitino stated. “He just makes sure everybody does it the right way. He’s going to make sure that everybody understands what the coaches are all about and what the culture is all about.”
Unlike many transfer portal moves, there was clear and honest communication between Ibine Ayo and Pitino when the forward left the program. Pitino said Ibine Ayo took less money to play with Iona, and he believed that was the right decision for him.
“I was totally in favor of it. He needs to play major minutes,” Pitino told the media.
The Johnnies head coach also knew, like himself, that Ibine Ayo was a New Yorker at heart, and he was going to stay close to home when choosing his next stop. After Ibine Ayo decided to return to Iona, the head coach told him he’ll be at some of his games in New Rochelle.
Another Red Storm member looking forward to seeing Ibine Ayo again is Ian Jackson, his classmate at Our Savior Lutheran High School, who described him as a brother.
“That’s my guy, man, I hope he does great,” Jackson said on Wednesday.
Ibine Ayo has started in Iona’s first two games of this season, going scoreless in their season opener against Vermont, then putting up 10 points and five rebounds versus NJIT on Thursday night; both games were wins for the Gaels.
