St. John's Adds Montenegrin Forward Jovanovic

0:00On April 20th, St. John's Coach, Rick Batino, keeps stacking his roster with season European pros. Just days after grabbing 23-year-old point guard, Quinn Ellis from England, the red storm locked in Montenegro in wing, Jorge Giovanović, who's HAR. Turning 23 next month, this six-width seven-forward from Padgarisa brings real Adriatic League experience with his hometown club, KK Budugnost. Giovanović shines as an off-ball shooter, hitting 38.6% from deep this season on 4.9 points per game. He stepped up from Montenegro's national team at Eurobasket qualifiers last summer, averaging 6.2 points and three rebounds across five. Gaines, including a strong 13-point night off the bench against Lithuania, alongside NBA vet Nicola Vusovic. He's no stranger to U.S. courts either, logging two G-League seasons with the Ontario Clippers, where he averaged 5.7 points and shot.

1:00From beyond the arc, for a high-simple St. John squad that's crave steady perimeter scoring, his catch and shoe game plus defensive size fits Patino's system perfectly. Now he's the sixth scholarship guy for the 2026-27 roster, linking up with Ellis and returners like Ian Jackson, Ruben Prey, Foltis Constantinitas, and Cas Repoto, with nine spots left and the transfer portal shutting down to new entries on Tuesday, the Johnny's missed out on Robert Morris' transfer to Sean Goode. Who picked Miami? But they're chasing Arizona State's Moor Masamba Diop, Cincinnati's Mustafa, TM, and Kentucky's Mohamed D. U. Bi. Patino's building a squad with international edge watch. How these vets push St. John's deeper into contention next fall.