St. John’s and Steve Lavin are on the board in 2014.
The Red Storm received a dose of much-needed good news when Christ the King senior center Adonis Delarosa picked the Johnnies over Pittsburgh, Miami, South Carolina and Alabama at a press conference at the Queens school Wednesday, giving Lavin his first recruit for this incoming class.
Delarosa, a Bronx native, revealed his choice in the Christ the King library by taking off his sweater to reveal a white St. John’s T-shirt with red lettering. Surrounded by jubilant family, friends and teammates, he immediately put on a black Red Storm hat, smiling broadly, satisfied with his decision.
“There’s nothing better than playing and putting on for your city, and also, you get to play at the Garden,” Delarosa said. “It was by far the hardest decision I had to make. I was thinking about going to St. John’s for a while.”
The 6-foot-11, 275-pound Delarosa led Christ the King to a second straight state title, averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds per game. His older brother Joey, who played three seasons at Florida International, is now enrolled as a student at St. John’s, which Adonis said played a factor. So did the relationship he built with Lavin and assistant coach Tony Chiles, a noted top city recruiter. St. John’s disappointing season didn’t sway Delarosa, who noted the Johnnies finished just a win or two shy of reaching the NCAA Tournament.
“They didn’t have an inside presence that they could throw the ball into and could score,” he said. “But definitely next year they will with me on the team. I think I can come in and be a very good impact player.”
A three-star recruit, Delarosa could see immediate frontcourt minutes after JaKarr Sampson declared for the NBA, Chris Obekpa received his release to transfer and with Orlando Sanchez and God’sgift Achiuwa set to graduate in May. St. John’s is also trying to recruit Westchester Community College forward Keith Thomas, the top-ranked junior college rebounder in the country.
“Maybe because he’s my kid — 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 guards are a dime a dozen. [Players that are] 6-11 with great hands and great feet don’t come every day,” Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello said. “I think over the summer when he gets his body into a little better shape and he gets a little stronger, I think he can help them right away.”
Delarosa is the first New York City player to pick St. John’s since Queens product Maurice Harkless chose the Red Storm four years ago. That didn’t put Delarosa off.
“I also know players from New York that normally leave New York always end up coming back,” he said.
Delarosa, however, isn’t going anywhere.
Andre Walker, Delarosa’s Christ the King teammate, also picked a school at the press conference, choosing Loyola of Baltimore over Boston University.