St. John’s freshman forward Moe Harkless is expected to decide within the next few weeks whether he will leave early for the NBA or return to campus for his sophomore season.
“We have had a number of productive conversations over the past four days,” St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin told SNY.tv. “Naturally, the discussions covered the pros and cons of leaving St. John’s to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA.
“Moe knows regardless of what his ultimate decision is, we enthusiastically support him. He understands that either outcome will clearly help the Johnnies cause as we continue to build our basketball program.”
SNY.tv reported in early February that Harkless might test the NBA waters.
The Big East Rookie of the Year, Harkless put up 25 points and 9 rebounds in St. John’s final game of the season, a 73-59 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday in the first round of the Big East Tournament.
The 6-8 Harkless averaged 15.3 points and 8.6 rebounds on the season.
DraftExpress.com has him listed as the No. 21 prospect in this year’s draft class.
“I just have to sit down and think about it and I’ll talk with my coaches and everything,” Harkless said Tuesday. “And I don’t know yet.”