St. John's basketball updated scholarship chart 4-23 (Updated)

With this weekend's commitments of Marco Bourgault and Orlando Sanchez, the previous verbal commitments from Felix Balamou and Jakarr Sampson, and the transfer of Jamal Branch, Coach Steve Lavin is refilling his "Ark" with players who can fill in some of the gaps/ deficiencies of last year's team.

Now that St. John's anticipated recruits are coming in - and some surprising new names have been added to the brewing Storm prospect list - it's time to update the scholarship chart with anticipated years of graduation, caveats, and a recap of the recent action.

The Red Storm have a number of talented players who could potentially look for professional opportunities as Moe Harkless has done, but until those players declare, we will list their full eligibility on the site. The scholarship list and a look at the possible roster, below.

(UPDATED FOR MAX HOOPER COMMIT)

Until the National Letter of Intent paperwork comes in, we'll mark the verbal commits as such. As we know from last year, a roster can be more fluid than expected.

But the additions are promising.

In Branch, the team has a passing lead guard. In Sampson, the Johnnies have an athletic attacking wing who can pick up some of the slack from Harkless' departure. Balamou provides athleticism and potential, and the ability to finish above the rim. Bourgault should provide a court-spacing shooter on a team that was inconsistent at scoring. And Sanchez provides an athletic and versatile complement in the post who can run with an uptempo team.

There are three 6'8" players, multiple ballhandling options, and multiple shooting options.

Still, last year's team also lacked rebounding ability and defensive size, and only two players could consistently create offense. So the staff is pounding the pavement for talent. Per Zagsblog, Darrick Wood's Twitter, and some other sources, a number of players are under consideration - with some visiting this week. The players include:

• Former commit Darrick Wood is visiting St. John's next week. Wood decommitted from St. John's in January, but indicated he could come back to the recruiting class. Sources indicated there may have been issues with his grades/ eligibility. He had interest from the University of Washington but his recruitment has been quiet.
• Talented 6'3" point guard Josiah Turner has transferred from Arizona and is looking at St. John's as a landing spot. A later post will discuss his upside and the issues surrounding his transfer; he is slated to visit Queens.
• Forward Chris Obekpa is said to be a Cincinnati lean, but has not committed yet. He has visited St. John's.
• Harvard transfer Max Hooper - who is close with JaKarr Sampson - is a possibility as an additional sharpshooter; he would be eligible in 2013. (committed)
• Center Michael Chandler was a coveted prospect, and committed to Louisville, Xavier, and Central Florida over the years. After not qualifying at UCF, Chandler went to prep school. He is a 6'10" prospect who has attracted a lot of interest; if he is eligible, look for St. John's to lock him down quickly.
• Center Philip Nolan from Milwaukee is a possible visitor this weekend. Some continue to say he will go to prep school and reclassify, but Nolan says his grades aren't an issue. We're hoping to catch up with him this week.
• Zagsblog mentions a transfer in University of San Francisco center Justin Raffington, a German 6'10" center. Raffington rebounded decently, but enjoyed very limited time for the West Coast Conference school; he's probably not a serious prospect.
• Philadelphia forward Savon Goodman has been hearing from St. John's recently. Many schools backed off because of questions about whether he would qualify for 2012; but UCLA, Pittsburgh, and Missouri are reaching out to the undersized but talented high-motor forward.

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