The fractured St. John’s roster is recovering faster than anticipated.
Nine days ago, Steve Lavin landed Christ the King center Adonis Delarosa, beating out Alabama, Rutgers and South Carolina for the 6-foot-11 big man. Friday afternoon, the school announced game-changing shot-blocker Chris Obekpa rejected his own idea of transferring, opting to return after a series of talks with Lavin this week.
Furthermore, the Red Storm are involved with a handful of other prospects, notably Westchester Community College forward Keith Thomas, the top junior-college rebounder in the country, who will officially visit the Queens school on Monday, and Chicago top 100 wing Josh Cunningham, who will take an unofficial visit to St. John’s this weekend.
Cunningham’s coach, Nick Irvin, said St. John’s is “definitely a realistic option. … They’ve been recruiting him for a while.”
The losses of Orlando Sanchez, God’sgift Achiuwa and JaKarr Sampson don’t look so crushing anymore.
Obekpa, a junior from Nigeria whose shot-blocking prowess ranks up there among the best in the country, had an up-and-down season. He was at his best in the Red Storm’s late-season run, flashing offensive skills he previously lacked. He led the Big East for the second-straight year with 2.9 blocks per game, which was tied for 11th in the nation. But he also was suspended for the team’s two exhibition games for violating university policy and played just 13 minutes combined in the Big East Tournament and NIT, a pair of disappointing losses.
Similarities can be traced between the 6-foot-9 Obekpa and D’Angelo Harrison, who had to earn his way back into Lavin’s good graces after he was suspended for the final three games of the previous season for disciplinary reasons.
In a statement, Lavin said he and Obekpa had “good dialogue” and he is “pleased” to welcome the big man back into the program.
Obekpa’s return, coupled with a potentially elite backcourt of Harrison, Phil Greene IV and Rysheed Jordan, could make St. John’s a Big East contender next season — especially, if Lavin can add a few more pieces, which he is known to do this time of year. In addition to Thomas and Cunningham, St. John’s is recruiting California JUCO forward Adom Jocko, Michigan transfer Jon Horford and Chicago high school forward Marlon Jones.
Greene’s role shouldn’t be diminished in Obekpa’s decision. The two are close friends. After Greene shut down rumors he was looking to transfer by tweeting on Apr. 6: “I’m here to stay! #sjubb #unfinishedbusiness,” last Sunday night Obekpa tweeted at Greene: “Let’s do this.” In his statement, Obekpa hit on the early theme of next year, in addition to doing “whatever is necessary to win back the trust of my coaches, teammates and our fans.”
“My brothers and I have unfinished business and I am determined to help St. John’s continue the climb up the mountain,” he said.
It got a little less steep Friday afternoon.
Cardozo sophomore guard Ray Salnave recently spoke to Kansas head coach Bill Self and is hearing from St. John’s, UConn and Miami as well. He holds offers from Fordham, Manhattan and St. Peter’s.
Highly ranked Wings Academy junior forward Jessie Govan had an in-home visit with UConn and head coach Kevin Ollie on Friday, a few weeks after Georgetown paid a visit to the big man’s Queens home, and will have another in-home visit with Seton Hall and head coach Kevin Willard on Monday. He isn’t expected to pick a school before the fall, however.
Fordham signed Serbian point guard Nemanja Zarkovic on Wednesday. The talented guard joins Dobbs Ferry’s Eric Paschall, along with redshirt freshmen Manny Suarez and Antwoine Anderson, in Tom Pecora’s recruiting class.
Westchester Community College guard Giovanni McLean will visit Oklahoma next week.
As part of the early signing period, Queens point guard Trey Dickerson of Williston State JUCO signed with Iowa and LIU Brooklyn received a National Letter of Intent from Albany guard Jamil Hood Jr.
St. Raymond junior forward Luis Santos received an offer from South Florida and is planning an official visit to the AAC school.