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The Red Storm have their first commit of the 2020 class in top New England player Nate Tabor, who is originally from Queens but plays at Waterbury, CT’s Sacred Heart High School and summer league ball with Renaissance Hoops. He committed last night, and Evan Daniels announced it on Fox Sports.
Nate Tabor verbally commits to St. John'sThe future is looking bright in Queens! According to Evan Daniels, 4-star junior Nate Tabor is verbally committing to St. John's Red Storm.
Posted by College Basketball On FOX on Wednesday, January 2, 2019
St. John’s has been following Nate Tabor for a while. Matt Abdelmassih and the rest of the staff has had the 6’6” Far Rockaway wing on campus, bringing him to Red Storm Tip-Off, even as he went from Our Savior New American back to Sacred Heart High School in Waterbury.
The 6’6” guard is close with the similarly-sized Mustapha Heron, who went to Sacred Heart HS as well. Tabor, ranked #63 in the 247 Sports Composite, let it be known that he wants to follow in Shamorie Ponds’ footsteps at St. John’s as a hometown baller.
From the New York Post, on seeing the success Shamorie Ponds has had at home:
“It attracted me in a big way; he’s from [the city] also,” the 18-year-old Tabor told The Post in a phone interview, announcing his verbal commitment to St. John’s and coach Chris Mullin on Wednesday night. “He grew up in a somewhat similar situation I’m in. He’s giving me motivation to go there and see what I can become.”
With another full year of high school to play, Tabor, a top-75 recruit, will not be seen in uniform for the Red Storm until 2020.
Tabor had offers from Auburn, Connecticut, LSU, New Mexico, and others.
In AAU play with the NY Rens, Tabor has been more of a slasher, taking more of two-thirds of his shots inside the arc. Despite a high turnover rate, he was a force to be reckoned with, getting to the line, finishing well in the paint, defending well and rebounding.
Per 247, Tabor picked St. John’s because it was close to home, and the coaching staff’s credentials in the NBA appealed to him.
St. John’s has relied on transfers, but the commitment of Nate Tabor is a reminder that the Johnnies have pursued a number of highly-regarded high school players.
The Johnnies are also in pursuit of 2019 top-10 forward Precious Achiuwa, and top-35 center Kofi Cockburn.
Top-75 guard Lester Quinones in the 2019 class was at the game against Marquette, with 2020 recruits Andre Curbelo and forward Zed Key and top-10 2021 forward Jonathan Kuminga.
As of now, St. John’s has 1 scholarship left in the 2020 class, though with talented players and transfers, that number can change.