Colleges are done. High schools are coming to a close. The spring is tapering into the hot summer, and college basketball players are Instagramming about the grind.
In a best-world-possible - as it concerns college hoops - we would be talking about the finalized 13-man scholarship roster and intriguing walk-ons for St. John's basketball.
Alas, the transfer season is long and can go on forever almost forever. Many players are uncommitted, working on their next move - both in the transfer pool and in the high school ranks.
Still, the calendar has flipped to June and the number of days until summer practices are shrinking.
Is the 2014 recruiting class done? Possibly, according to a tweet from St. John's head coach Steve Lavin (a tweet that made me hungry).
Closing on 2014 Class. Carbone definitely a top-shelf dining experience. Tasty chow w/ great service. #NYC #SJUBB pic.twitter.com/cFCq3BNjCW
— Steve Lavin (@SJUCoachLavin) June 5, 2014
Closing? So... maybe the recruiting is done? Time to sit down to the table and eat? Or are we making too much of a tweet?
From what we know, St. John's had interest from Maryland's Nick Faust, who would have one year of eligibility left in 2015-16, is still available and there is mutual interest.
Ahmed Hamdy - a 6'9" Egyptian transfer from Houston who was ineligible to play last year- was also mentioned as a transfer option for St. John's, and could be eligible to play immediately. He's still available.
Local guard Shane Rector is leaving Missouri after averaging five minutes per game, and has St. John's on his list of possible landing spots. He would have three years of eligibility left starting in 2015-16, and has not yet taken his visits.
After those players - and after deciding not to pursue Jermaine Lawrence after he transferred from Cincinnati - that's about all that's left in the transfer market.
We know that 2014 high school wing Jay Henderson came to New York this week to see St. John's on an unofficial visit. According to Zach Braziller, he loved the trip, and met Fat Joe along the way. But again, it's June, and we haven't heard about Henderson committing, so perhaps he will prep for a year or go to junior college and improve his game, conditioning and strength.
Certainly, the high-impact players have signed their letters of intent or scholarship papers and are packing up their favorite swag shirts and shoes for a move to the college where they hope to star next season. And any transfers could be considered parts of the 2015 recruiting class. So maybe it's the end for recruiting for the summer. We can watch the Belmont Stakes and the World Cup and not scramble to look up intel on a new, unheralded player.
So at the end of the 2014 recruiting effort, St. John's loses Orlando Sanchez, God`sgift Achiuwa, Jakarr Sampson, Max Hooper and Marc-Antoine Bourgault, and brings in Adonis Delarosa, Keith Thomas and well-regarded walk-on shooter Myles Stewart (and possibly Joey Delarosa, Adonis' older brother, as a walk-on).
If St. John's steps on the court next year at Red Storm Tip-Off with these ten scholarship players - impact guards Rysheed Jordan and D`Angelo Harrison, impact forward Chris Obekpa, some solid role players - do you think the roster going to be enough to contend for a championship in the Big East?
What does the future look like to you in six months (early December)? In nine months (around conference tournament time)? In a year?