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Chris Mullin and company have been very active recruiting in the Tri-State area, but on Sunday night, St. John's extended offers to two California 2018 prospects, Naseem Gaskin and Jordan Brown.
2018 Bishop O'Dowd (CA) G Naseem Gaskin has received an offer from St. John's. (HT @ArsenalAAU) https://t.co/7HywbKBHK7
— Verbal Commits (@VerbalCommits) April 25, 2016
2018 Roseville (Calif.) Woodcreek PF Jordan Brown picked up an offer from St. John's.
— Josh Gershon (@JoshGershon) April 25, 2016
Gaskin is a 6'3" shooting guard who plays his high school basketball at Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, CA. He plays his AAU basketball with Team Arensal, who competed in the Oregon Open Run tournament this past weekend. Gaskin has long arms, is very aggressive with the basketball in his hands, and is capable of scoring in bunches due to his versatile offensive prowess.
The Oakland native can knock down open threes and has the ability to slash into the lane because of his excellent ball handling skills. Gaskin hasn't generated any interest at the high major level as he has received offers from Weber State, Boise State, Pacific, New Mexico State, Nevada and Montana.
This is excellent news for the Red Storm, as Gaskin is sure to develop his defensive game and fill out his frame over the next couple of years. If Gaskin's stock does explode, the Johnnies can say that they were the first high major to offer him a scholarship.
Brown is a 6'9" power forward who is currently ranked number four on ESPN's top 25 recruiting rankings for the class of 2018. The Roseville, CA native plays his high school basketball at Woodcreek. He has offers from California, Texas, San Francisco, Kansas, Arizona, Nevada, UCLA and Stanford, making St. John's the first east coast program to jump in the mix.
Last weekend in Dallas, Brown put up a double-double in an Adidas Gauntlet victory and showed off his mobility, skills in the post and high basketball IQ. Brown is only 190 pounds so filling out his frame will be the number one area of improvement over the next couple of high school seasons.