St. John’s, Rick Pitino land Iona transfer Quinn Slazinski

Iona transfer Quinn Slazinski has committed to St. John’s, he told On3.

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward averaged 11.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists this season for the Gaels, who finished first in the MAAC with an overall record of 27-8. 

Slazinski, a Houston native, discussed his decision with On3. 

Slazinski on his commitment to St. John’s, Pitino

Quinn Slazinski, a graduate transfer, has spent the last two seasons with Rick Pitino at Iona. When Pitino accepted the open head coaching job at St. John’s this offseason, it was a no-brainer for Slazinski to follow him.

“I decided to go to St. John’s on May 9, 2021,” Slazinski said to On3.

While Slazinski might’ve committed to Iona on that date, he truly committed to coach Pitino. He was going to follow him — no matter where he went.

“When I committed to Coach Pitino, you’re signing yourself up for a lifelong friendship that goes far beyond basketball,” Slazinski continued. “It wouldn’t feel right playing my last year under anyone else.”

Slazinski has learned a lot during his time with coach Pitino, a Hall-of-Famer.

“My biggest lesson learned is you need to not search for comfort. Playing for him, you will never be comfortable. Always being pushed to the fullest, running sprints all day, playing one on one at 7 am every morning. It’s nonstop, brutal. Just what I need to become the player that coach and I believe I can be.”

Slazinski has a strong message for St. John’s fans.

“Strap in. You are in for something that you will never expect. The stories, the crazy games, the comeback victories. Playing for Pitino, you will be able to witness unique experiences that you will remember for a lifetime.”

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.