St. John’s may have lost on the court on Saturday, but they got a win in the recruiting column.
Sammy Barnes-Thompkins, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Phoenix (AZ) Sunnyslope and Planet Athlete National Prep, committed to the Red Storm, according to his AAU coach, Kenny Mullins.
“Big congrats to my boy @Iheart_samson55 and his commitment to St John’s university!!!” he Tweeted.
He is rated the No. 100 shooting guard nationally and No. 3 in Arizona by 247Sports composite rankings. Iowa State and Cal were among the other schools involved.
Gary Thompkins, Sammy’s father, was a guard on the 1986 Iowa State team that reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Earlier this year, Barnes-Thompkins dropped 32 points on Findlay Prep, one of the top programs in the nation.
“I really like him as a player,” Findlay Prep coach Andy Johnson told SNY.tv. “He had a great game against us. He can really shoot the basketball.”
“Thompkins is the best scorer in state from his class,” Gregg Rosenberg, Arizona high school scout for AZProspects.net and ArizonaVarsity.com, told Sports360az.com. “He has deep range on his jumper and can separate from his defender almost at will. He has a thick strong body to get into the lane and score through contact. He does, at times, take poor shots and become a volume shooter, but he has the ability to make his teammates better. He is a very good passer and knows how to set up his man. He has big strong hands to rip defenders on defense and has improved every year for the last 3 years to be the player he is today.”
Barnes-Thompkins is St. John’s third pledge for 2015, following Philadelphia guard Samir Doughty and Louisiana guard Brandon Sampson.
St. John’s, which was crushed 105-68 by No. 4 Villanova on Saturday, loses five scholarship seniors and has plenty of playing time to offer.
The Johnnies are also in the mix for guards Craig Randall, Federico Mussini (Italy), Thomas Akyazili (Belgium) and Marcus Lovett, along with wings and bigs Cheick Diallo, Kassoum Yakwe, Deshawn Freeman and Georgios Papagiannis (Greece). Yakwe may either prep or reclass.
The 6-4 Randall, who has been courted by Cal and Georgia Tech in recent days, will visit St. John’s after the NCAA Tournament.
“St. John’s is still at the top,” Craig Randall Sr. told SNY.tv. “We will take one of our four remaining visits to St. John’s.”
St. John’s could also be in the mix for one or more graduate transfers.
