Nick Faust remains a transfer option for St. John's

As St. John's enters the 2014-2015 season, there is excitement again as the Johnnies look to contend against the early favorites, Villanova, in a down Big East Conference.

The returning backcourt of D'Angelo Harrison, Rysheed Jordan and Phil Greene IV along with the additions of Adonis Delarosa and Keith Thomas to the frontcourt mean this St. John's team has a chance to contend. Also, mix in the returning upperclassmen Chris Obekpa (although it wasn't easy to get him to return) and glue guy/ defensive wing Sir`Dominic Pointer, this team will have a ton of familiar faces.

However,  head coach Steve Lavin must look into replacements for these players for the following season. Harrison, Greene IV, Pointer and point guard Jamal Branch will all be graduating this year. Jordan has said on social media that he plans to stay one more year. In that case, the backcourt will be depleted come the summer of 2015.

This is where Nick Faust's name pops up.

Faust named his list of five schools, which included Alabama-Birmingham, Wichita State, Providence and Long Beach State in addition to St. John's, who expressed interest in Faust weeks ago.

Faust has one year of eligibility left and will be forced to sit out this upcoming season. Faust the 6'6'' guard who is leaving the University of Maryland (along with many others). He played a ton of minutes under Mark Turgeon. He first committed to Oregon State but after the firing of their head coach Craig Robinson, he has re-opened up his options.

Faust  averaged 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game for the Terrapins. He is a good ball handler and an efficient defender so he does make sense for Lavin.

However, Faust at times can play a little out of control and sometimes struggles to finish at the basket.

If Lavin does indeed land Faust, he will definitely give St. John's some senior leadership that they will be lacking with a very young roster.

Lavin's top two targets for the 2015 class are New Jersey guard Isaiah Briscoe and Long Island forward Cheick Diallo.