Steve Masiello’s absence isn’t hurting Manhattan on the recruiting trail.
Thursday morning, the Jaspers landed perhaps the biggest fish of the Masiello era when Queens forward Jermaine Lawrence verbally committed to transfer to Manhattan after one year at Cincinnati, multiple sources told The Post.
The 6-foot-9 Lawrence, a top 25 recruit out of high school, visited Manhattan on Wednesday and also saw Iona and Hofstra last week, but decided to join the Jaspers, who are coming off their first NCAA Tournament berth in nine years.
Lawrence decided to transfer after he learned his father, Bobby Lawrence, had been battling cancer for much of the past year. He plans to file a hardship waiver to gain eligibility immediately.
Lawrence wasn’t able to communicate with Masiello, on leave while he completes his undergraduate degree from Kentucky, but neither Lawrence nor his mother were overly concerned by his absence. The relationship between Jaspers assistant coach Rasheen Davis and his family played a significant role.
Davis, Manhattan’s recruiting ace, set up Manhattan with the all-and-important final visit. St. John’s was involved early in the process, but both sides agreed it wasn’t the right fit. Lawrence was expected to visit Fordham, but never made it to The Bronx because of a scheduling conflict, a source said.
Lawrence averaged just 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 26 games for Cincinnati after a toe injury set him back, just as an injured wrist limited him to 11 games his senior year of high school. Lawrence held numerous scholarship offers while in high school from the likes of Kansas, Syracuse and UCLA, before committing to Cincinnati over UNLV and St. John’s.
“Going down a level doesn’t bother me,” he previously said. “If I’m as a good a player as I am and people think I am, someone will find me.
“I’m really excited about the future, being back in New York.”
The decision shouldn’t come as a total surprise. Manhattan was Lawrence’s last visit before picking Cincinnati and early in his career, Davis — while working as an assistant at Xavier — and Masiello, an assistant at Louisville at the time, recruited him.
Lawrence joins upperclassmen Ashton Pankey and Emmy Andujar in Manhattan’s versatile and talented frontcourt. The Jaspers also are welcoming in a solid four-man recruiting class that includes athletically gifted Brooklyn wing Samson Usilo of Nazareth High School and North Carolina sharpshooting forward Zane Waterman.