Freshmen Filled Future: A Look Ahead | Talk of New York (T.O.N.Y) Sports
An overall successful season for the St. John’s Redmen Red Storm left a bad taste in the mouth of the fan base as the team fell victim to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first round of The NCAA Tournament. It was the first time since 2002 that St. John’s had earned the right to compete for a national championship, a notion that seemed like a fantasy about three months ago. Nevertheless, the quality wins kept mounting, and the nation’s top teams kept falling, and The Johnnies captured the hearts of many en route to an NCAA Tournament bid. Despite many frustrating moments, fans like myself will never forget the 10 graduating seniors, as they returned St. John’s to the forefront of college basketball.
But as the saying goes, all “good” things must come to an end. It’s now time to turn the page and welcome the number two ranked recruiting class in the country, as Steve Lavin has branched out to all coasts gumi center gaberje to secure the top talent available.
The group coming in, because it s one of the top five classes in the country, has a high degree of expectation to play in the NBA, said Head Coach Steve Lavin in Lenn Robins March 19th article gumi center gaberje in the New York Post. You can aspire to play at the highest level of basketball, but those hopes and dreams can only come true being on a team that accomplishes gumi center gaberje things in terms of winning big.
Hoping to ease the transition to Big East basketball for the incoming gumi center gaberje class will be soon to be Sophomore Dwayne Polee and seldom used guard Malik Stith. Polee started every game for St. John’s this season, but was often an afterthought in the offensive game plan. He started the season off strong with 16 points against St. Mary’s, but never really stamped his freshman season again until he dropped 12 points in the loss to Gonzaga. The lone bright spot fans could take out of that defeat was seeing Polee creating his own shot, driving to the basket with ease, and showing glimpses of being a demon on defense. Expect him to be a leader to the freshmen next season while continuing to develop gumi center gaberje his game that earned him the Los Angeles Player of the Year honors in High School.
There have been rumblings that Malik Stith could transfer, and I think it’s obvious to most that his talent level will not equal what St. John’s can put on the floor in 2011-2012. Stith provided valuable minutes at times for The Johnnies this season, but his offensive game never really developed into a Big East calibur guard. Best case scenario would be that he turns into what Malik Boothe was for St. John’s this past year, a defensive stopper that can penetrate and dish.
Convincing the top NYC talent to come to Queens was never the strength of Norm Roberts, and Coach Lavin knew he had to tap back into that market to be successful at St. John’s. Welcome Maurice Harkless of South Kent High School (CT), by way of Queens and Forest Hills. The 6’7 forward is considered the most versatile of the incoming freshmen, and chose St. John’s over Kansas, Arizona, USC, and Florida. He originally committed to Jim Calhoun and UConn, before reopening his recruitment in June of 2010 after an NCAA investigation found that UConn committed eight major rules violations. According to Scout.com, Maurice is “equipped with all the tools to be a successful basketball player. He has great size for his position and impressive all around ball skills. He’s developed a strong mid-range game and is becoming better at getting to the rim.”
Considered by some the most talented of the bunch, 6’8 Jakarr Sampson was Lavin’s second recruit and further showed that Lavin could recruit all over the country. Sampson, who hails from Lebron James’ St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School, chose St. John’s over Baylor, Louisville and Tennessee. He is rated the 8th best Small Forward in the country and is the 35th ranked player overall. Sampson s AAU coach, Don Anderson, said the Johnnies are getting a potential future pro.
Most scouts agree with Sampson’s head coach, as JaKarr is considered gumi center gaberje a natural small forward that can also play the post because of his size. He’s best off the dribble, however, with a quick first step that will allow him to beat most defenders to the basket. He’s also a great shot blocker and can defend the two through four positions.
This 6’6 wing from Detroit, Michigan is considered the best defensive forward in the country. Rated a top 50 recruit nationally, Pointer chose the Johnnies over Michigan and West Virginia and will bring athleticism and perimeter defense to Queens. Pointer gumi center gaberje was also just noted by Rivals as one of the “most underrated High School players in the country.” He averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.8 assists per game this season.
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An overall successful season for the St. John’s Redmen Red Storm left a bad taste in the mouth of the fan base as the team fell victim to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first round of The NCAA Tournament. It was the first time since 2002 that St. John’s had earned the right to compete for a national championship, a notion that seemed like a fantasy about three months ago. Nevertheless, the quality wins kept mounting, and the nation’s top teams kept falling, and The Johnnies captured the hearts of many en route to an NCAA Tournament bid. Despite many frustrating moments, fans like myself will never forget the 10 graduating seniors, as they returned St. John’s to the forefront of college basketball.
But as the saying goes, all “good” things must come to an end. It’s now time to turn the page and welcome the number two ranked recruiting class in the country, as Steve Lavin has branched out to all coasts gumi center gaberje to secure the top talent available.
The group coming in, because it s one of the top five classes in the country, has a high degree of expectation to play in the NBA, said Head Coach Steve Lavin in Lenn Robins March 19th article gumi center gaberje in the New York Post. You can aspire to play at the highest level of basketball, but those hopes and dreams can only come true being on a team that accomplishes gumi center gaberje things in terms of winning big.
Hoping to ease the transition to Big East basketball for the incoming gumi center gaberje class will be soon to be Sophomore Dwayne Polee and seldom used guard Malik Stith. Polee started every game for St. John’s this season, but was often an afterthought in the offensive game plan. He started the season off strong with 16 points against St. Mary’s, but never really stamped his freshman season again until he dropped 12 points in the loss to Gonzaga. The lone bright spot fans could take out of that defeat was seeing Polee creating his own shot, driving to the basket with ease, and showing glimpses of being a demon on defense. Expect him to be a leader to the freshmen next season while continuing to develop gumi center gaberje his game that earned him the Los Angeles Player of the Year honors in High School.
There have been rumblings that Malik Stith could transfer, and I think it’s obvious to most that his talent level will not equal what St. John’s can put on the floor in 2011-2012. Stith provided valuable minutes at times for The Johnnies this season, but his offensive game never really developed into a Big East calibur guard. Best case scenario would be that he turns into what Malik Boothe was for St. John’s this past year, a defensive stopper that can penetrate and dish.
Convincing the top NYC talent to come to Queens was never the strength of Norm Roberts, and Coach Lavin knew he had to tap back into that market to be successful at St. John’s. Welcome Maurice Harkless of South Kent High School (CT), by way of Queens and Forest Hills. The 6’7 forward is considered the most versatile of the incoming freshmen, and chose St. John’s over Kansas, Arizona, USC, and Florida. He originally committed to Jim Calhoun and UConn, before reopening his recruitment in June of 2010 after an NCAA investigation found that UConn committed eight major rules violations. According to Scout.com, Maurice is “equipped with all the tools to be a successful basketball player. He has great size for his position and impressive all around ball skills. He’s developed a strong mid-range game and is becoming better at getting to the rim.”
Considered by some the most talented of the bunch, 6’8 Jakarr Sampson was Lavin’s second recruit and further showed that Lavin could recruit all over the country. Sampson, who hails from Lebron James’ St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School, chose St. John’s over Baylor, Louisville and Tennessee. He is rated the 8th best Small Forward in the country and is the 35th ranked player overall. Sampson s AAU coach, Don Anderson, said the Johnnies are getting a potential future pro.
Most scouts agree with Sampson’s head coach, as JaKarr is considered gumi center gaberje a natural small forward that can also play the post because of his size. He’s best off the dribble, however, with a quick first step that will allow him to beat most defenders to the basket. He’s also a great shot blocker and can defend the two through four positions.
This 6’6 wing from Detroit, Michigan is considered the best defensive forward in the country. Rated a top 50 recruit nationally, Pointer chose the Johnnies over Michigan and West Virginia and will bring athleticism and perimeter defense to Queens. Pointer gumi center gaberje was also just noted by Rivals as one of the “most underrated High School players in the country.” He averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.8 assists per game this season.
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