With an 8-24 season in the rearview mirror, Chris Mullin and his staff are awfully active on the transfer market.
St. John's has three scholarships remaining, as they get set to host former Arizona Wildcat Justin Simon and former Michigan State Spartan Marvin Clark Jr. for visits this weekend, The Red Storm will also take a peek at former Arkansas State big man Anthony Livingston, who will visit the school officially on April 28.
Simon is a former four-star recruit from California, who provided Sean Miller and the Wildcats with very little production during his freshman season. The 6'5" guard averaged just over seven minutes per game, put up 2.3 points per outing and grabbed 1.2 rebounds.
He has intriguing length, a high IQ, good size for a lead guard and shows off excellent vision and passing abilities. Because of his height and wingspan, there is no doubt that Simon could be an impact defender that uses his versatility effectively.
Simon was unlikely to see extended minutes next year at Arizona due to the logjam in their backcourt, but he could be another solid guard for the Johnnies in 2017-18.
Clark only averaged 3.9 points per game and 2.5 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per night, but he has experience playing at one of the best college basketball programs in the country. Any player who plays under Tom Izzo must have a high IQ, play hard and be physical in the interior, three valuable assets that Mullin should be seeking.
While Clark only stands at 6'6", he is 225 pounds and would give the Johnnies an undersized bruiser. He could be a solid compliment alongside Yankuba Sima, Kassoum Yakwe and Tariq Owens in 2017-18.
Livingston may not have the name recognition of Simon or Clark, but there is no underestimating this Arkansas State product. The native of Washington DC averaged nearly 16 points per game and grabbed 9.4 rebounds per game last season. He shot 43 percent from the field, though has range extending to the three-point line, and is a good free throw shooter at 86 percent.
Livingston is 6'8", 250 and would give the Johnnies another valuable enforcer on the interior. He doesn't shoot well from the outside, is not going to burn you with speed and is not a strong defender, but would provide toughness, rebounding and experience.
Also, Livingston is a graduate transfer, which means he would be immediately eligible.
With the departures of Amar Alibegovic and Christian Jones, the Red Storm are clearly prioritizing depth inside, along with players like Simon who fit their up-tempo system and can play numerous positions.