Tounde Yessoufou says commitment to St. John's basketball has 'nothing to do with money'
Tounde Yessoufou, formerly of the Baylor Bears, reacts after making a basket while being fouled against St. John's Red Storm during the Players Era Championship basketball tournament on Nov. 25, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Credit: Getty Images/Ian Maule
Tounde Yessoufou, St. John’s newest commit and the player who likely puts the Red Storm in any conversation about Final Four contenders, wrote in a social media post on Friday that his decision to pull out of the NBA Draft was not a financial decision.
“I want to make one thing very clear: My decision to attend St. John’s has nothing to do with money,” the post reads. “My decision was based on basketball, development and winning.”
Yessoufou, who averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists as a freshman at Baylor, placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal and then declared as an early entry for the NBA Draft. He projected to be a first-round pick — probably somewhere between No. 21 and 30 — and made an 11th-hour decision on Thursday to play another year of college basketball. Soon after, he committed to St. John’s and coach Rick Pitino.
Adding a potential first-round NBA draft pick to the roster raises the ceiling for what already looked like a very good Red Storm team. St. John’s still has one open spot on its roster and already has a transfer class ranked No. 4 nationally by 247 Sports that includes EuroLeague point guard Quinn Ellis, German pro Babacar Sane, Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman and Montenegrin forward Djordije Jovanovic, among others.
Since Yessoufou’s decision, there have been a slew of unconfirmed reports on an assortment of outlets and on social media about the offer St. John’s made to coax him out of the draft. Some of these unconfirmed reports put the Red Storm’s offer at $5 million and others as much as $7.5 million.
“I’ve seen and heard the rumors and speculation surrounding my decision,” Yessoufou wrote. “The truth is, none of that affects me. My entire life, I’ve been criticized, doubted and questioned, and I’ve learned to stay focused on what matters.”
“I love what Coach Rick Pitino has built at St. John’s,” he added. “His experience, leadership, and résumé speak for themselves, but what stood out 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.”
St. John’s went 30-7 this past season and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. Three members of the Red Storm — Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins — were at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago and have gotten pre-draft workouts with teams.
“Ever since I was a kid, my dream has always been to play in the NBA, and that dream has never changed . . . and have always been self-aware enough to understand what I need to do to put myself in the best position to succeed,” Yessoufou wrote. “At every level I’ve played, my goal has always been to compete for championships. I made this decision based on where I believe I can best develop as a player, grow as a leader, and put myself in the strongest position to achieve my ultimate goals.
“This was a basketball decision. This was a development decision. This was a winning decision . . . That’s the truth.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
