The St. John’s Red Storm have gotten off to a strong start in the 2026-27 men’s college basketball season.

In their opener against the Monmouth Hawks at Carnesecca Arena, they picked up a solid 78-63 victory to get off on the right foot. Their second game, the first played at Madison Square Garden, was a near-perfect performance, dominating the Iona Gaels 104-65.

The No. 13-ranked team in the country, the Red Storm has a lot of talent on its roster. Head coach Rick Pitino is excited about the group’s upside but knows there is still plenty of work to do to get to the level they believe they are capable of performing at.

One of the players who is going to help St. John’s reach that level is Keyshawn Hall, who has gotten off to a stellar start over the first two games. He has played so well that he was named to the first Big East Weekly Honor Roll of the season.

Keyshawn Hall named to Big East Weekly Honor Roll

Against Monmouth, Hall was unstoppable. He scored a game-high 26 points in 33 minutes, shooting 9-of-16 from the field, including 1-of-3 from 3-point range. Physical play from the Hawks wasn’t enough to knock him off track, as even when they fouled him, he made them pay, knocking down all seven attempts from the charity stripe.

He made his presence felt on the interior, grabbing nine rebounds. To round out his stat line, Hall handed out two assists and had two steals.

Against the Gaels, Hall played only 23 minutes because of the blowout, but he still managed to score 13 points with four rebounds. He made half his shots from the field, both free throw attempts and 1-of-3 from 3-point range.

One of the top-ranked players in the transfer portal this past cycle, Hall is going to be an integral part of the team’s game plan this season, as long as he remains eligible. He is currently eligible to play under a temporary restraining order issued by the Queens Supreme Court.

A fifth-year player, he has produced at an incredibly high level at every stop in his career, with the Red Storm being the fifth different program he has played for in five seasons. He could certainly turn into the No. 1 option for the team offensively, and his life will be made a lot easier based on the talent around him.

It is going to be tough for opponents to slow down Hall when he is sharing the court with two other excellent perimeter scorers in Ian Jackson and Tounde Yessoufou, with emerging star point guard Quinn Ellis running the show.