St. John's expecting recruits, alumni, and Lupe Fiasco for Red Storm Tip-Off

It took a few days for names to leak, but tonight's Red Storm Tip-Off - which earned a long line of students waiting for tickets in the morning - is looking to be the banner event St. John's hoped it would be.

The confirmed musical guest is Lupe Fiasco, the Chicago-bred rapper famous for his political stances, conscious rap, and albums like "Food & Liquor" and "Lasers".

Along with Lupe and the likely player scrimmage, the Red Storm will also host a number of alumni - including Felipe Lopez, Tyrone Grant, Rob Thomas, and Tomas Jasiulionis - for an alumni game. Women's alums like Sky Lindsay and Tesia Harris will also set foot on the Carnesecca court once again.

But the real banner list is in the group of uncommitted players coming to Carnesecca to see St. John's. Along with the aforementioned Isaiah Briscoe (2015 guard, New Jersey), a number of other top prospects will show:

- big man Adonis DeLaRosa, who the Red Storm have had serious interest in. He's 6'10" and is a space-eater from Christ the King in Queens; the Red Storm recruiting coverage has mentioned him frequently. He has had interest from Purdue as well.

- the coveted big man Cheick Diallo (2015 power forward) from Our Savior New American, a fast, 6'9" forward with an edge who plays for New York's Team Scan. The Mali native's profile rose over the summer, including strong performances at Nike's Global Challenge. He sports interest from Syracuse and Kentucky, and should be a top-10 recruit.

- an emerging big man, Kassoum Yakwe, also from Mali (and also from Our Savior New American). The 6'7" forward is considered a top-50 recruit in the class of 2016. He's known for his defense, and has offers from the likes of Pitt and Oregon already - as well as St. John's.

- Devonte Green, now of Long Island Lutheran, is a 2016 guard with solids bloodlines - his brother is the San Antonio Spurs wing Danny Green. Devonte is 6'2" - shorter than his brother by about 4 inches - and is working on his point guard game.

Getting recruits on campus before what should be one of the Red Storm's best seasons in decades is the first step.

Getting them to think about committing comes next.

Tip-Off should start at 6:30, and will be broadcast as part of Fox Sports 1's wraparound coverage of the Big East - so there's no excuse to not check it out. We'll have a report from Tip-Off as well.

More from Rumble In The Garden:

• Recruiting update: NJ's Isaiah Briscoe scheduled to attend Red Storm Tip-Off
• What's the downside to parity? Why's the media quiet about Rutgers? And Dave loves linkbait.
• Jay Wright: FOX Sports 1 gives coaches a 'different' confidence than did ESPN
• Big East newcomers excited about exposure opportunities
• Roundup: media notes + links from Big East Media Day: Johnnies talented, need to prove it on the court