Entering the 2013-14 college basketball season, Steve Lavin has arguably the best team of his four-year tenure at St. John’s.
Lavin has a full complement of returning players along with several key additions as his club enters the new-look Big East.
The coach is confident and has high expectations for the Johnnies as a result.
“We’re right in stride and we probably have higher expectations for ourselves than people outside the program have,” Lavin said Saturday at the Third Annual Dribble for the Cure event. “For us it’s about the next step. It’s about making the NCAA Tournament and winning the BIG EAST Conference Tournament, it’s why we all came here. It’s always the same goals every year but this year we’re in position to do something special and that’s what we’re working towards every day.”
Several Big East coaches told SNY.tv that the Johnnies have as much talent as any team in the league, although SNY.tv picked them second in the Preseason Poll behind Marquette.
With the exception of transfer Amir Garrett, the Johnnies return their entire team from last year, while adding highly-regarded freshman point guard Rysheed Jordan, shooter Max Hooper and bigs Orlando Sanchez and God’sgift Achiuwa into the mix. Sanchez was declared ineligible last season, but will suit up this year, while Hooper and Achiuwa red-shirted last year.
“We have a lot more new guys at key positions than we had last year,” said sophomore forward JaKarr Sampson, the reigning Big East Rookie of the Year. “Some of the players like Max and Orlando that are coming in this year sat out last season and they are going to play a big role. This year might [be] the year.
Jordan is expected to play a key role at point guard, with junior guard D’Angelo Harrison manning the shooting guard spot.
“Rysheed is a game-changer for me because of the way he can get in the lane and make plays for myself and others,” said Hooper, a Harvard transfer. “The sky is the limit for Rysheed, as well as the impact he can have on our team.”
On the recruiting front, the Johnnies missed out on Brooklyn Lincoln guard Isaiah Whitehead when he picked Seton Hall over St. John’s.
But they remain in the mix for several bigs and wings, including 2014 center Adonis Dela Rosa of Christ the King.
Several onetime St. John’s targets, including Pascal Chukwu of Fairfield (Conn.) Prep; Payton Dastrup of Mesa (AZ) Mountain View; Abdul Malik Abu of Kimball (N.H.) Union; Jared Terrell, Abu’s Expressions Elite teammate out of Brewster (N.H.) Academy; and Robert Johnson of Chesterfield (Va.) Benedictine landed elsewhere or cut St. John’s from their lists.
“As a result of three consecutive elite recruiting classes we now have positioned the program nicely for a bright future,” Lavin told SNY.tv. “Barring injuries on our present roster will have as much depth as any team I’ve coached in my career. With only a few scholarships available for the 2014 class, we will be appropriately discerning in terms of who we target from a recruiting standpoint.
“We will use the next six months to continue evaluating and recruiting prospects that we believe to be the best fit for our particular needs.”
