"Fine is not going to be good enough": Analyst worried one important aspect could hold back St. John's from challenging for national championship

College basketball analyst Rob Dauster has expressed worries over St. John's Red Storm's quest for their first national title in program history.

In the July 31 episode of "The Field of 68: After Dark" podcast with Fox Sports writer and commentator John Fanta, Dauster was worried about how Idaho State transfer point guard Dylan Darling will adjust to a more competitive Big East after a season-long stint in the Big Sky.

The analyst described the 6-foot-1 point guard as a tough player who comes from a football family in Spokane, Washington, who had a great 2024-25 season with the Bengals, where he averaged 19.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. However, Dauster is concerned that Darling will have a big enough impact.

"Dylan Darling going from Idaho State to the Big East? That's a big step up. He's a tough kid. He comes from a football family," Dauster said (Timestamp: 5:47). "So, I think that he'll be fine, but fine is not going to be good enough when we're talking about national championships."

St. John's had an excellent season during Rick Pitino's second season. They went 31-5 and won the Big East regular season and tournament titles. They were seeded second in the West regional of the 2025 NCAA Tournament but were stopped in the second round by John Calipari's Arkansas.

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St. John's parades a revamped roster for the 2025-26 season

St. John's is looking to repeat as Big East champion despite the departure of most of its key players from last year's campaign.

Returning for the 2025-26 season are Zuby Ejiofor, Sadiku Ibine-Ayo, Ruben Prey and Lefteris Liotopolous. They will combine forces with 11 newcomers acquired from the transfer portal and high school and international recruitment.

The seven transfers are bannered by former top 10 prospects Ian Jackson and Dillon Mitchell. Jackson played last season for North Carolina and received ACC-All Freshman Team honors, while Mitchell had stints at Texas and Cincinnati and is known for his high-leaping ability.

Providence transfer Bryce Hopkins began his career at Kentucky in the 2021-22 season before venturing into a three-season stint with the Friars. Hopkins averaged 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game during his time at Providence and was chosen on the All-Big East first team in the 2022-23 season.

Meanwhile, Dylan Darling, Oziyah Sellers and Joson Sanon will bolster the team's backcourt. Darling is coming off a 2024-25 Big East Player of the Year citation.

Sellers previously played for Stanford and USC and had a breakout 2024-25 season with the Cardinal, averaging 13.7 ppg on 40.1% shooting from the 3-point line and 89.7% from the charity stripe.

Sanon, on the other hand, played for Arizona State and tallied 11.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per contest. He shot 42.2%, including a 36.9% clip from the 3-point line.

Lastly, 6-11 junior college transfer Handje Tamba had stints in Tennessee and Weber State before playing for Milligan Junior College in the 2024-25 season.

Top 60-rated recruit Kelvin Odih leads the freshmen corps along with European prospects Fotis Konstantinidis (Greece), Casper Pohto (Sweden) and Imran Suljanovic (Austria).

The Johnnies will open the 2025-26 season on Nov. 3 at home against Quinnipiac and will face Alabama at Madison Square Garden five days later.