Former Oregon point guard Dominic Artis may soon commit to St. John’s but the school is also conducting due diligence on the matter.
“I think so, I think so,” Mark Olivier of the Oakland Soldiers said by phone of a possible commitment during or following Artis’s upcoming weekend visit. “They’re a great school. It’s a private school. You gotta remember, Dominic came from a private school so it’s a really good fit. Going back to his roots. He was thinking about St. John’s during that time [when he was first recruited].”
Artis and St. John’s coach Steve Lavin are both California natives, and Lavin recruited Artis the first time around before he ultimately landed at Oregon.
“Coach Lavin was one of the guys that was recruiting Dominic,” Oliver said. “It’s hard to get kids from the West Coast to the East Coast because there’s so many schools here, but because of [Lavin’s] Northern California roots, I definitely think it’s a good fit for Dominic, the East Coast. Someone from Northern California is the head coach, it’s a perfect fit for his style of play.”
Olivier added that Artis’s family was “really excited” about the St. John’s situation, and said no other visits are planned at the moment.
Still, the Artis situation does depend on how things play out with the legal and on-campus matters at St. John’s, sources told SNY.tv. St. John’s is reviewing the case to evaluate if Artis is a safe bet to recruit because of the charges in Oregon and the potential backlash from St. John’s students and fans.
That may mean that Artis wouldn’t necessarily be able to commit on his visit.
The 6-foot-1 Artis was one of three players — along with Brandon Austin and Damyean Dotson — dismissed last month from the Oregon program after they were not charged despite accusations of rape from an incident on March 8. The DA’s office “no-filed” charges in the sexual assault.
Artis averaged 4.1 points and 2.2 assists last season for the Ducks.
He wil have two years of eligibility after sitting out one year.
