St. John's basketball in review: 2008-09 Phil Wait

#50 - Phil Wait

2008-2009 Class: Sophomore

Position: Center

Height: 7'1"

Weight: 260

Age/ DOB: 22/ February 2, 1987

Home: Manchester, England, UK

stats taken from Statsheet, kenpom.com, and my own calculations

2008-2009 Highs

Phil Wait came in to the Red Storm program as the mystery man from England, the man that Glenn Braica had been following (and it seems that Braica might be a decent recruiter, all things considered). He was tall, and even though he came in as a 21-year old "project," one hoped that he would be a competitive player and show some skills.

But despite the thinness of the roster, Wait didn't get much time. In fairness, one of the places the roster wasn't very thin was at center, where forward Sean Evans started and Dele Coker and Tomas Jasiulionis backed up. And in some of those games against low-level opponents, St. John's needed a second-half run to put the team away, or St. John's was going with a faster pace and a run.

Even when Coker was suspended for the rest of the season for not fulfilling his academic responsibilities, Wait didn't see the floor. The Johnnies certainly found themselves on the wrong side of some blowouts that the British center could have played in. Then again, when he did play, he often seemed out of position, unsure of his game, and not yet strong enough to be affective Big East post player. And Wait's height would not have been a help; the problems were often turnovers/ ballhandling and a lack of scoring.

Phil Wait has chosen to transfer to another institution. Though no official release has come out, word has it he will be at Monmouth University in New Jersey, where he will have 2 years of eligibility left starting in 2010-11 season. He's 22 now, not entirely immobile/ stiff, and though he didn't get on the court, his height should allow him to be a decent rebounder. He doesn't come with big hops, but maybe in Jersey, his wandering basketball career can lay down some roots.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Phil Wait should have been logging 15 minutes per game. But maybe theRed Storm didn't have a chance to see what he could do; and if he was not ready enough to contribute, they could have redshirted him. But what's done is done; we wish the best for Phil Wait.