Rick Pitino enters his third season as head men’s basketball coach at St. John’s, leading a program ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press preseason poll. (Photo: Courtesy of St. John’s)

Unfortunately, sometimes we remember the ending more so than the journey to get there.

Look at the famed HBO series “The Sopranos.” An epic television masterpiece, yet all we talk about is that ending. What really happened to Tony? The end-screen cut still does not sit well with many fans of the show.

Such can also be said of the 2024-2025 St. John’s University, Jamaica, men’s basketball campaign.

What was a disappointing ending overshadowed an incredible journey.

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After a 31-5 regular season record coupled with a memorable run to the Big East Conference championship, the Johnnies earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. St. John’s won its opening round contest — its first victory in the “Big Dance” in 25 years — against the University of Nebraska Omaha, but then fell in the second round to the University of Arkansas.

A team destined for a Cinderella ending left its dedicated fans yearning for more … just like that “Sopranos” ending.

All that said, the Johnnies seriously retooled this offseason under third-year head coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Pitino and are ready to take the Big East and the entirety of the NCAA men’s basketball landscape by storm — a Red Storm!

In its top 25 preseason poll, The Associated Press ranked St. John’s No. 5 in the nation behind only Purdue University, the University of Houston, the reigning national champion, University of Florida, and UConn.

That is the highest the Red Storm have ever been ranked in a preseason poll in program history, and the first time St. John’s has made this poll since the 1999-2000 season.

Before this ranking, the Johnnies’ highest preseason ranking came before the 1984-1985 campaign, when St. John’s checked in at No. 7.

Led by the late great Lou Carnesecca, that team — featuring St. John’s legends Mark Jackson, Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, and Bill Wennington — won 31 games, finished as Big East Conference championship runner-up, and advanced to the Final Four.

In what’s become an ever-changing system in college basketball with the transfer portal, St. John’s will only return four players from its impressive season last year. The most notable of the bunch is senior forward Zuby Ejiofor, an All-Big East selection and the reigning Big East Most Improved Player of the Year, who averaged 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game last season.

According to ESPN, St. John’s has the top-rated transfer class. Five of the new players were ranked inside the top 100 of ESPN’s transfers rankings.

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The group includes two former McDonald’s High School All-Americans in Ian Jackson (from the University of North Carolina) and Dillon Mitchell (from the University of Cincinnati), a former First Team All-Big East selection Bryce Hopkins (from Providence College), a former top-25 high school recruit in Joson Sanon (from Arizona State University), and a 40% 3 point shooter in Oziyah Sellers (from Stanford University).

A major key for this squad will be to see how these new faces adjust to the Big Apple. Last year’s St. John’s team finished a whopping 21-0 at home, including a 12-0 record at the Mecca of basketball itself, Madison Square Garden.

When the brightest lights are shining, this group must prove it can handle the pressure faced by a preseason No. 5-ranked team.

In a system now based on the transfer portal, team chemistry will have to be developed early.

These players were not teammates last year and are coming in from various systems, so playing together as a unit will be a focus for them right away.

If anyone is poised to lead this squad, it’s Pitino, who’s coming off of a Big East Coach of the Year selection. The regular season is one thing, but the savvy veteran coach has his sights set on a deeper postseason run through the NCAA Tournament.

The journey begins Oct. 18 with an exhibition contest against Towson University. Let’s hope this year’s journey has the fitting ending, since we wouldn’t want another “Sopranos” situation in Queens.