Babacar Sane of U.S. Monastir drives to the basket during the game against Petro de Luanda during the 2025 Basketball Africa League Playoffs on June 9, 2025 at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, Tshwane. NBAE via Getty Images

St. John’s suffered its first loss of the season this week: a season-ending injury to highly regarded Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman. 

The expectation was that the 6-foot-9 rising junior would be the Johnnies’ starting power forward next season. Without him, that spot could belong to high-flying Senegalese forward Babacar Sane. 

“He was going to have a big role whether Donnie was healthy or not,” coach Rick Pitino told The Post in a phone interview Wednesday. “He is the best athlete on the team by far. He was going to have a big role anyway.” 

The 6-foot-8 Sane spent last season playing in the top professional league in Germany, averaging 10.1 points and 3.8 rebounds for Riesen Ludwigsburg. He previously spent two years with G-League Ignite, the developmental team for top prospects.