Morning rumble: let’s call late summer recruiting the tightening

The end of the summer means players are headed back to school, like Federico Mussini (below); and high school players are tightening their choices while programs are tightening their focus.

For the Red Storm, St. John's 2018 target Jahvon Quinerly (30 in 247 Sports's composite rankings) , a point guard from New Jersey, now holds an offer from the University of Kansas.

The 6'1" guard plays for the Sports U AAU team and the Johnnies have been on the hunt for his high-level talent. St. John's currently has at least two scholarships available for the 2018-19 academic year, though a scholarship crunch next year could mean an early departure.

Quinerly is listed as #38 in ESPN's 2018 rankings. Chris Mullin would love to land Quinerly as a high-level NY-area prospect - and the point guard to lead the next generation of his St. John’s rebuild. Obviously, Kansas’s interest could change things a touch in the next year; how much does staying home mean to Quinerly? What will Kansas’s pitch to him be?

In other recruiting news, four-star wing Jordan Tucker (47 in 247 Sports's composite rankings) officially cut St. John's from his list of eight.

Still, the relationship between Tucker and St. John's had cooled considerably since the beginning of the season, with Tucker showing tepid interest.

St. John’s has moved on to other plans - especially with the commitment of wing Boubacar Diakite, the addition of Michigan State transfer Marvin Clark, Jr., this summer, and the lack of scholarships.

Around the Big East

Villanova received a commitment from Jermaine Samuels, a four-star wing who received a recent Duke offer. Samuels is a defensively-skilled athletic wing. The Wildcats also have center Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree as a verbal commit, and possibly three more slots remaining. The National Champions are looking for their next generation.

Seton Hall is looking at a pair of less-regarded seniors for their 2017 class in point guard Daron Russell from Philadelphia and De’Vondre Perry; the Hall already has 6’4” guard Myles Cale in the fold, who is currently at #85 in 247 Sports’ composite.

In Cincinnati, Xavier coach Chris Mack and his wife Christi started a foundation aimed at helping small, underfunded organizations that are focused on children. Part of the initial donation for the Foundation comes from a booster who also helps pay for Coach Mack's salary.

DePaul's head basketball coach's son committed to Nebraska, in football. Reese Leitao, a tight end in the 2017 class, still lives in Oklahoma where his father was an assistant at Tulsa. Dave Leitao has another son, David III, who will likely get minutes as a forward for DePaul this season.

Other news

Syracuse has landed immediately-eligible transfer wing Andrew White III, who chose Syracuse over Miami and VCU after leaving Nebraska. He scores a lot - taking more than half his shots outside the arc and hitting at a 41% clip whle shooting 55% inside the arc last year, and can rebound a bit as well. The 6'7" forward, who also played two years at Kansas, is a big pick up for the Orange, who face St. John's on December 21st this year in Syracuse.

And as far as his personality, this article on White has a great human touch on his aspirations to get to the next level; he’s 23 years old and looking for a shot.