By Stretch Jenkinson

The 2024 NIT selections were released Sunday night, with some big-time schools choosing to participate in tournament, surprising Indiana State, Ohio State and Villanova.

But with a chance to give players and teams more experience and to play more games, six notable schools decided to decline invitations to the National Invitation Tournament, the oldest basketball classic around.

Those schools for various reasons are: Indiana, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and St. John’s.

With Indiana, playing well down the stretch of the season, you would think the Hoosiers would still want to develop a young team.

As far as Memphis goes, Anfernee Hardaway, no matter who you talk to media, fans or alumni, say he is on the hot seat for not winning the American Athletic Conference regular season or tournament title. Wouldn’t he want to redeem the fan base’s trust in him and the team?

St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino had his own take on not accepting the NIT bid because their schedule was stacked with tough teams to get into the NCAA Tourney. His released statement is the following: “First and foremost, we have great respect for the National Invitation Tournament and St. John’s storied history in the event. After thorough consideration of all that goes into postseason participation, we believe at this time it is best for our team and basketball program to prepare for next season. We remain focused on building a championship-level basketball program here at St. John’s. I would like to thank all our fans for their wonderful support this past season and look forward to the bright future ahead for St. John’s Basketball.”

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