Bright Lights is coming to Broadway.
Marcus LoVett Jr., a flashy and highly skilled point guard from Chicago with a nickname to match, committed to new St. John’s coach Chris Mullin late Wednesday night and signed his National Letter of Intent, capping a long recruitment that began with former coach Steve Lavin and continued with Mullin and his staff.
LoVett broke the news early Thursday morning on Twitter by posting a photo of his NLI.
The 6-foot LoVett is a major late addition, a four-star southpaw ranked 62nd in the nation by Rivals.com — the highest prospect Mullin has landed since taking over at his alma mater on April 1.
LoVett’s high school coach, Nick Irvin, credited both the previous staff and the current one, citing assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih’s dogged effort from the moment he joined Mullin’s staff and Mullin closing the deal.
“The way he talked about St. John’s won him over,” Irvin said.
A number of top programs were involved with LoVett in recent months, such as Memphis, Illinois, DePaul, Pitt, UNLV, Kansas and San Diego State.
The major question mark with LoVett was academics. He attended two California high schools before moving to Chicago and finishing up this year at Morgan Park, but sources said his transcript was looked through by the St. John’s compliance office, and the coaching staff received the go-ahead. All signs point to him qualifying, a source said.
“Marcus is a bright kid,” Irvin said. “He had a little work to do. He was willing to do everything he had to do to get qualified. He’s on the right path.”
LoVett joins what is now a crowded backcourt, alongside rising junior point guard Rysheed Jordan, senior Felix Balamou and newcomers Malik Ellison, a three-star HS recruit from New Jersey, and Missouri State graduate transfer Ron M’Vouika.
There could be one more guard to join the group: Federico Mussini of Italy is weighing a decision of whether to attend college in the United States or play professionally back home. St. John’s, which has one open scholarship for next season, is the heavy favorite if he chooses the college route.
At the moment, Jordan’s academic eligibility status is up in the air, which is why LoVett was such an important addition.
LoVett enjoyed a memorable senior year, leading Morgan Park to the Chicago Class 3A state semifinals, where he scored 45 points in defeat. LoVett averaged 25 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and four steals this season, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Marcus is going to be the Freshman of the Year [in the Big East],” Irvin boldly predicted. “He wants to win and be the best player on the floor all the time. He’s got a competitive drive I haven’t seen in a long time.”
Rivals.com recruiting analyst Eric Bossi said while LoVett is a point guard, he is also an adept scorer, capable of piling up points in a hurry. Bossi said he would put LoVett up there with the best incoming recruits in the Big East, such as McDonald’s All-Americans Henry Ellenson (Marquette) and Jalen Brunson (Villanova).
“You’re getting someone who is like a throwback New York City point guard,” Bossi said. “He’s flashy, he’ll play to the crowd a little bit. He’ll wear his emotions on his sleeve. He’s someone who can rise to the challenge in a big game.
“I would expect him to come in and make an impact right away.”