By ADAM ZAGORIA
Rick Pitino will host his former Iona backcourt on an official visit Friday.
Walter Clayton Jr. and Daniss Jenkins will visit St. John’s as Pitino looks to rebuild the roster by potentially adding a pair of his former players.
“Coming into this year, when Coach P. was recruiting me, he [saw] how me and Walt were going to fan out together in the backcourt,” Jenkins said after the Gaels lost to eventual champion UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“And we knew, if we were on the same page, we can get the team to run the right direction.
“Coach P. has just been big on, he taught me what it’s all about to win and also handling adversity.”
The 6-foot-3 Dallas native averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 assists and 4.4 rebounds while helping Iona to win the MAAC regular-season and tournament titles.
The 6-foot-2 Clayton is a native of Lake Wales, Fla., who has already visited Florida. He averaged 16.8 points and 3.2 assists
“Obviously., St. John’s [has] Coach P,” he said. “Basically same thing, come play for him. He makes pros, I’m trying to be a pro.”
As expected St. John’s has had a slew of players transfer out since Pitino took over: Andre Curbelo, Posh Alexander, Dylan Addae-Wusu, Rafael Pinzon, AJ Storr, David Jones and O’Mar Stanley.
In other St. John’s news:
–Pitino met Thursday with Class of 2023 commit Brandon Gardner Jr. of Christ the King High School, who pledged last June to former coach Mike Anderson’s staff.
–Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum is visiting Indiana this weekend and Tennessee next. The Staten Island native who averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds last season is expected to take an unofficial to St. John’s at some point.
–VMI transfer Sean Conway will visit St. John’s next weekend, per reports. He averaged 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds this past season while shooting 37% from deep.
–St. John’s is no longer recruiting Temple transfer Zach Hicks and canceled his visit. He is visiting Georgetown and Penn State this week.
–Class of 2023 guard Garwey Duel is playing in the Nike Hoop Summit and may visit St. John’s sometime afterward.
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