Justin Simon, Bryan Trimble leaving St. John's as exodus continues | Zagsblog
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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.
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Tuesday / November 5.
  • Justin Simon, Bryan Trimble leaving St. John’s as exodus continues

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    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    Whoever becomes the next head coach at St. John’s will have to conduct a major overhaul of the roster.

    On the same day the school formally announced that Chris Mullin was out as head coach, junior guard Justin Simon declared for the NBA Draft and agreed with an agent. He will join fellow junior Shamorie Ponds among players leaving for the pros. St. John’s also lost forward Marvin Clark to graduation.

    The Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Simon averaged 10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Red Storm.

    Meantime, sophomore guard Bryan Trimble is expected to transfer, sources said. The 6-3 Trimble averaged 2.4 points and 1.3 rebounds.

    St. John’s AD Mike Cragg met with the players Tuesday to inform them that Mullin was leaving and told them he would support whatever individual decision each player made about his future, sources said.

    On the coaching front, there was nothing new on whether Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley would take the job, although several industry sources said the smart for St. John’s would be to hire Iona coach Tim Cluess and call it a day. Cluess, who played at St. John’s, has been to six NCAA Tournaments in nine years at the MAAC school, and is 19-4 in the MAAC Tournament.

    “That’s the most safe logical decision,” one source said.

    Hurley is said to be looking for in the neighborhood of $3 million annually after making $2.4 at Arizona State, where he’s under contract through 2022. He also has a reported $2.5 million buyout, and it’s unclear if St. John’s is willing or able to pay that.

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    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.

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