The young Red Storm squad is developing on the court, having won 2 Big East games in a row including last night's 87-81 win over DePaul. But the players and coaching staff know that St. John's needs to recruit more pieces to build a winner. St. John's is looking at touted high school level athletes, but also keeping an eye on some older junior college players.
Per JucoRecruiting, St. John's watched Brandon Parga of Citrus College in California (a junior college); Hawaii and Boston College have interest in him. Pargo's the second leading scorer on his team, hitting 48% of his three-point shots. JucoRecruiting's Brad Winton comments on Parga's ability, stating that "Parga is one of the better JC shooters in the country. Great frame/high bball IQ."
An old video of the 6'5" 200 pound wing, and notes on Orlando Sanchez, below the fold. Warning - autoplaying video below. Adjust your sound, et cetera, appropriately.
Brandon Parga - who used to go by Gilbert Brandon Parga - is from the Los Angeles area, and went to St. John's Bosco Prep and Cathedral High.
By the statistics, it seems that he has a smooth stroke - he's hitting 87% of his free throws as well. He's taken 37% of his shots outside the arc and has a free throw rate of 48.5%, meaning he's willing to go inside; but judging by this old video, he's not particularly quick, so that skill may not carry over into Division I.
Orlando Sanchez
St. John's remains a player for forward Orlando Sanchez' services, though he has drawn attention from many colleges, including a recent offer from Georgetown. Sanchez, a Dominican Republic native listed at 6'9", 200 pounds, averages 10 points per game and 7.9 rebounds (2 on the offensive glass) for Monroe Community College in 25 minutes per game. He also adds 2 blocked shots per contest and 2.2 assists per game.
Reportedlly, he can hit jump shots and make passes. Sanchez played for John Calipari and the Dominican Republic National Basketball team last summer. While he may not be the gritty rebounder that high school prospects like Ricardo Gathers or Chris Obekpa may be, his length can take some of the defensive pressure off of players like Sir`Dominic Pointer, playing very out of position.
St. John's has up to 6 scholarships to use this season, and no verbal commits. Steve Lavin, concentrating on recruiting, will shore up the team's interior and shooting deficiencies by combing the remaining talent pool for players. Lavin has been in Louisiana recruiting not only Rico Gathers, but looking at Jerell Martin (a 6'7 small forward in his first year of organized high school ball, class of 2013) and Damien Jones (class of 2013).
More St. John's basketball recruiting on RITG
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