A second commitment for the St. John's Red Storm in the class of 2011 - Jakarr Sampson, a forward from Akron, Ohio. And yes, he went to the same high school as LeBron James.
He has a wealth of skills, ability off the dribble, and some rebounding ability, it is said. Sampson attended the St. John's skills camp earlier this summer - a camp that is paying dividends - and chose St. John's over Baylor, Tennessee, and Louisville.
On the ESPNU Recruiting Insider show, he said that he like that St. John's "is a small school, but it's big time basketball." Welcome, Jakarr, New York's got its arms open for you. And a nice get by Steve Lavin and his coaches; word is that they were up at Brewster yesterday, checking in on Sampson.
Where will he play, with another top 100 recruit, Maurice Harkless in the fold? He has inside skills and outside skills. Will he be at power forward with some dribble and skill? And will point guard Naadir Tharpe also come with Sampson, now that they're both at Brewster Academy for prep school? (Hey, we can dream here.)
Links:
Zagsblog: JaKarr Sampson to St. John’s
ESPN: Jakarr Sampson commits to St. John's
Defensively, Sampson is a good shot blocker whether it is on the ball or from the weak side and is capable of defending multiple positions because of his length and athletic ability. As he extends his shooting range and becomes a more confident shooter, he will be a viable threat on the perimeter behind the arc.
On any given night, Sampson can impact the game in a variety of ways. However, he does his best work on the glass. He has the ability to pull down a defensive rebound and start the break or grab an offensive rebound and score on put-back buckets.