Where does St. John’s go now that Zach Brown has been released from his commitment?

According to New York Post sources, former St. John’s commit Zach Brown was arrested for robbing a Walgreens in Hollywood, Florida. Standing tall at 7-foot-1, Brown has struggled to keep himself out of trouble. Prior to his commitment at St. John’s, this Miami, FL native ran into credit card fraud issues, along with other cases of theft.

Brown’s fate with the Red Storm has been decided by the university, and he is no longer committed to the St. John’s basketball program.

Supporters in Queens were eagerly awaiting the arrival of this talented big man. Throughout Big East play, the Johnnies frontcourt has proven to be too thin, both in depth and strength. Brown was supposed to be a force that could come in and solidify this unit.

Now where will the Red Storm turn to reinforce their frontcourt?

The answer to that question is unlikely to be found within the 2017 class. The Johnnies currently have no serious involvement with a 2017 center.

They were said to be in the running for New York’s Mohamed Bamba, but he recently cut his list to Michigan, Texas, Duke, and Kentucky.

Despite the Johnnies lack of involvement with a 2017 center, they are still heavily pursuing a stretch forward that can play next season. That forward would be three-star Derrick Walker.

Per Zach Braziller, Walker’s visit to St. John’s has been rescheduled due to weather concerns in the Midwest. He was expected to attend the Villanova contest, but instead will visit Madison Square Garden on January 29th, when the Red Storm battle Xavier.

Walker’s top three seem to be St. John’s, Tennessee, and Georgia, in no particular order. By February, he will have visited all of these schools.

He has been described by ESPN scouts as an athletic big, who effectively uses his size to grab and finish offensive rebounds. St. John’s currently struggles to do just that, so Walker’s talent would be put to good use in Queens.

One place the Johnnies may look to grab a big man, is the upcoming transfer market. We have already heard about their interest in South Florida transfer Jahmal McMurray, but so far little noise on a possible big man. Don’t be surprised if that changes in the near future.

Wendell Cruz/Finish First Photos

Looking ahead to 2018, you will find St. John’s heavily involved with numerous big men. Some examples include Bol Bol, Moses Brown, and Nazeron Reid. All three are highly touted nationally.

Currently out of those three high school juniors, Brown has the most buzz around his name. St. John’s Matt Abdelmassih just recently attended one of his games.

Brown has been ranked the best in New York by 247 Sports. Current crystal ball predictions have this 7-foot talent committing to Maryland.

As for both Bol and Reid, St. John’s will have to stiff arm some serious competition for their services. Despite the efforts from opposing schools, St. John’s seems to in good shape with both those players. Right now, 247 Sports crystal ball gives Kansas a hefty lead over St. John’s for Bol, but has St. John’s leading Kentucky for Reid.

Add in Boubacar Diakite -who has already committed to the Red Storm- and you can begin to see St. John’s recovery plan without Zach Brown. Diakite, is an explosive forward that has a developing jump shot. He is listed as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports.

St. John’s has the playmaking guards in place, simply adding one skilled center would greatly improve this team. Outside of Zach Brown, that frontcourt piece is still out there. Responsively, coach Mullin and his trusted staff are chasing it.

**This post was updated following the release of Zach Brown**