St. John's got a verbal from Adonis Delarosa today, and are looking at junior college rebounding monster Keith Thomas from Westchester County Community College.
But with five more scholarships open after Delarosa signs, an inexperienced frontcourt, and a need for bigs who can run with the transition game, the Johnnies are also looking at Chicago big man Marlon Jones from Orr High School. The Red Storm have an official visit coming from the 6'8", 200 pound forward who at one time was ranked in the top 150 on Rivals.com.
Orr senior big man Marlon Jones with scheduled visits (in order) in the coming weeks to St. John's, Tulane and Loyola
— Joe Henricksen (@joehoopsreport) April 9, 2014
Described in his ESPN evaluation as a "live body forward" with energy and a mid-range jumper, St. John's has expressed interest in Jones in recent weeks. Jones was also described as one of the best unsigned seniors not named Cliff Alexander (Kansas) or Jahlil Okafor (Duke).
Jones, a Chicago sleeper like Phil Greene IV was coming out of high school, sat out his sophomore season after a transfer, switched AAU teams to Meanstreets when his AAU team disbanded midseason, and dealt with a foot injury that slowed him down.
Still, he could be a nice surprise of a forward late in the game. From Scott Phillips at CSN Chicago:
Marlon Jones, Orr - The 6-foot-8 Orr center has been the Spartans' best player this season, and although he's been battling an injured foot, he's still putting up solid numbers against good competition. Orr assistant coach Jimalle Ridley informed CSN Chicago that Loyola and Tulane are the two most active schools in Jones' recruitment and his athleticism and activity level on the interior are coveted by Division-I programs searching high and low for big men at this point in the season.
Highlights
From 2014
No word if St. John's is still interested in 6'6" Morgan Park wing Josh Cunningham, who may be the best unsigned senior in Chicago. Creighton, Minnesota and Indiana were pursuing him hard. St. John's had early interest, and could get in the mix again.
St. John's returns scoring stars D`Angelo Harrison and Rysheed Jordan, along with Windy City guard Phil Greene IV, from a roster that went 20-13 last season, but struggled to rebound.