LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kenny Payne has shaken and stirred the University of Louisville men's basketball roster. University of Kentucky fans are shaking and stirring because they fear John Calipari has serious roster work to do.

At Indiana, Mike Woodson looks confident and determined on his rebuilt right knee. At Bellarmine, Scott Davenport has sold out four weeks of the Knights' popular summer camp.

Am I forgetting anybody?

Just the guy who is always on the minds of local hoops fans: Rick Pitino of St. John's.

Here is the safest prediction for the 2023-24 men's college basketball season: Pitino will break his tie with Tubby Smith and Lon Kruger and become the first coach to direct a half-dozen programs to the NCAA Tournament.

You know the often turbulent flight path: from Boston University to Providence to Kentucky to Louisville to Iona, with assorted stops in the NBA, the NCAA doghouse and European basketball mixed in.

But after winning 86 games in three seasons at Iona and getting the personal all-clear from the NCAA after two investigations that put the Cardinals' program in free fall, Pitino is ready to take Manhattan and the other four boroughs of New York City.

Nobody in New York City is talking about Katina Powell or Brian Bowen. They are talking about playing eight of the Red Storm's 10 home Big East Conference games at Madison Square Garden. Warm up your pipes, Dickie V.

We already know Pitino's team will host Juwan Howard and Michigan on Nov. 13 in the Gavitt Games. Don't be surprised if Pitino gets his team in a holiday tournament in The Bahamas.

As a member of the Big East, St. John's will play in Cincinnati against Xavier and Indianapolis against Butler. Road trip?

As you can see from the Tweet above, Pitino hooked up with former Card and avid Mets' fan Donovan Mitchell on Tuesday night at Citi Field.

That's correct: Pitino got the call to throw out the first pitch for the opening game of the Mets-Yankees Subway Series.

That might be the only break he has taken while reshaping the Johnnies roster, building a team that national college basketball writer Jeff Goodman said he will put in his preseason top 25 next fall.

Pitino bounced the pitch to Mitchell. But he threw a strike earlier this week when he secured a commitment from Simeon Wilcher, a point guard from suburban NYC ranked the No. 46 prospect in the Class of 2023 by 247Sports.

Wilcher de-committed from North Carolina after the Tar Heels added another guard to their incoming class. Although there was chatter about Wilcher going elsewhere or joining Overtime Elite, he picked Pitino. The decision sent a chill down Tobacco Road, because North Carolina and Duke have feasted on fetching top recruits out of the New York and New Jersey.

And I meant to write that Wilcher picked Pitino, not that he picked St. John's. (For the record, the Red Storm have not won an NCAA Tournament game since defeating Northern Arizona in 2000.)

"To have coach Pitino back in New York City is a big deal," Wilcher told Andrew Battifarano of the New York Post.

"Knowing everybody is going to love that, and to be part of that first group he has back in New York, means a lot.

"I'm excited for it. ... It felt like the situation at St. John's is the best situation for me."

Pitino has taken industrial strength cleanser to the roster that he was left by Mike Anderson, who was fired after averaging 17 wins over four seasons.

Only two players will return from last season. Pitino will welcome two freshmen and nine transfers. That second group includes former UMass wing R.J. Luis (who was recruited by Louisville) and former Pennsylvania guard Jordan Dingle (recruited by IU).

Four of the transfers played for Pitino at Iona, including former Cardinal Quinn Slazinski, who missed most of last season with a foot injury. At 247Sports, the group is ranked the 6th best transfer portal class, trailing (in order) Kansas, West Virginia, TCU, Villanova and Arkansas.

And Pitino might not be finished.

"We're just always on the market to improve the team," Pitino told Roger Rubin of Newsday.

"I'm always going to be that way. I'm looking at the European market right now to see what's available. ... If I take one more, that'll be it."

I'm not ready to put Pitino and St. John's in my preseason top 25. But he will be a top-five story in college basketball.

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.