Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Justin Minaya, Son of Former Mets GM Omar Minaya, to Visit St. John’s
NEW YORK — Justin Minaya is already connected to one great team from Queens.
Now he’s hoping to potentially be part of another one.
Justin is a 6-foot-5, 180-pound junior shooting guard from Old Tappan (N.J.) High School who is the son of former Mets GM Omar Minaya.
During the same weekend the Mets will host World Series games in Queens, the younger Minaya will visit St. John’s for their Red-White Scrimmage.
“I’m going on Saturday,” Minaya said after the Sharette Dixon Classic on Sunday night at the Gauchos Gym. Asked if he thinks Chris Mullin and his staff will offer him a scholarship, he said, “I don’t know, I hope so.”
Minaya holds offers from Boston University and American, and has interest from Stanford, San Diego State and St. John’s, which he already visited unofficially this summer.
“I think more [offers] will come because I’m getting a lot more interest from some of the top schools,” Minaya said.
His father, who helped put together the current Mets team, proudly watched his son in the Sharette Dixon Classic, which featured many of the top prospects from New York and New Jersey.
“Yeah, I’m really proud of him,” Omar said. “He’s a 16-year-old kid and he hasn’t been exposed yet so he has a lot of things to learn. He played AAU with Juice last year….The exposure is slowly growing for him but it’s fun for him to come here and play.”
Meantime, with Game 1 of the World Series set for Tuesday night in Kansas City, both Minayas are rooting for the Mets to win their first title since 1986.
“I am because I kind of grew up with them,” Justin said.
“To me, it’s fun to watch the guys [on the Mets] because similar to this [basketball game], it’s like watching these kids when they were 16, 17,” Omar said. “Most of the players on the Mets, it’s like seeing them at this stage.
“I feel great for the scouts and the players because it’s a team effort from top to bottom.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
NEW YORK — Justin Minaya is already connected to one great team from Queens.
Now he’s hoping to potentially be part of another one.
Justin is a 6-foot-5, 180-pound junior shooting guard from Old Tappan (N.J.) High School who is the son of former Mets GM Omar Minaya.
During the same weekend the Mets will host World Series games in Queens, the younger Minaya will visit St. John’s for their Red-White Scrimmage.
“I’m going on Saturday,” Minaya said after the Sharette Dixon Classic on Sunday night at the Gauchos Gym. Asked if he thinks Chris Mullin and his staff will offer him a scholarship, he said, “I don’t know, I hope so.”
Minaya holds offers from Boston University and American, and has interest from Stanford, San Diego State and St. John’s, which he already visited unofficially this summer.
“I think more [offers] will come because I’m getting a lot more interest from some of the top schools,” Minaya said.
His father, who helped put together the current Mets team, proudly watched his son in the Sharette Dixon Classic, which featured many of the top prospects from New York and New Jersey.
“Yeah, I’m really proud of him,” Omar said. “He’s a 16-year-old kid and he hasn’t been exposed yet so he has a lot of things to learn. He played AAU with Juice last year….The exposure is slowly growing for him but it’s fun for him to come here and play.”
Meantime, with Game 1 of the World Series set for Tuesday night in Kansas City, both Minayas are rooting for the Mets to win their first title since 1986.
“I am because I kind of grew up with them,” Justin said.
“To me, it’s fun to watch the guys [on the Mets] because similar to this [basketball game], it’s like watching these kids when they were 16, 17,” Omar said. “Most of the players on the Mets, it’s like seeing them at this stage.
“I feel great for the scouts and the players because it’s a team effort from top to bottom.”
