A staple of the St. John's Red Storm's renaissance under head coach Rick Pitino has been the work the team does in the transfer portal .
There is a lot of turnover on the roster year after year, but one position on the team has been immune to it. After having Zuby Ejiofor as the starting center for three seasons, the team looks like it will transition to Ruben Prey being in the middle.
One of the rare cases of a freshman who not only committed to St. John's under Pitino but has stayed, Prey is entering his junior year with the program. And he looks ready to take that next step, given how well he has performed on the court this summer, representing his country, Portugal, in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.
In his debut with the senior national team, the Red Storm big man has made quite an impression against one of their biggest rivals, Spain. For the first time in Portuguese senior national team history, they defeated Spain.
Mar 20, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Ruben Prey (17) watches the ball against the Northern Iowa Panthers during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Prey was a major factor, scoring 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting in 33 minutes of action. He knocked down two 3-pointers, showcasing the emerging versatility of his offensive game, while grabbing four rebounds and recording two steals.
While Portugal was unable to come away victorious against Georgia in their next game, Prey once again played well. He scored 15 points again, shooting 4-of-5 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
The talented big man made a living at the charity stripe, attempting 14 free throws in two games, making 71.4% of his attempts. That is certainly a good sign, showing that he aggressively attacks the basket and isn't becoming reliant on his improving jump shot to produce offensively.
Through his first two seasons with St. John's, Prey has appeared in 70 games. He saw his role grow from his freshman year, when he averaged 7.7 minutes per game, to 10.8 minutes per game as a sophomore.
As one of only three returning rotation players, along with Ian Jackson and Lefteris Liotopoulos, a massive role awaits Prey, especially with Ejiofor off to the NBA. There is a real chance he gets close to tripling his minutes per game, as Ejiofor averaged 30 minutes per contest last year as the starting center.
The confidence in his offensive game was already growing down the stretch last season, going 5-for-5 on 3-point attempts in the NCAA tournament, averaging 8.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Now, he has built upon that this summer during international competition and is ready for a breakout campaign.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/st-johns as St. John's Basketball Star Ruben Prey Shining for Team Portugal .
