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The excitement is high. The line for free tickets reportedly snaked around to Utopia Parkway. French Montana is scheduled to play. And those aren't the only reasons for St. John's fans to be excited about tonight's Red Storm Tip-Off.
Tonight's Red Storm Tip-Off is a chance for the Red Storm to lock things down with their three official visitors - 2015 targets guard Isaiah Briscoe from New Jersey, forward Cheick Diallo from Our Savior New American in Long Island, NY, and guard Brandon Sampson, of Madison Prep in Baton Rouge, LA.
The trio would be a dream recruiting class, rivaling the strength of the 2011 class - the players who will start their senior season in a few weeks and graduate at the end of the year.
But the excitement isn't reserved for the 2015 class. The St. John's staff has brought in a solid crew of recruits for the future as well; it's a huge opportunity to make connections between players, show them a good time and get the ball rolling on future recruiting classes.
The list is compiled from Twitter mentions and the work of beat writers Adam Zagoria and Zach Braziller, who are in the know.
Expected visitors for St. John's Midnight Madness/ Red Storm Tip-Off 2014
- Isaiah Briscoe 2015
- Cheick Diallo 2015
- Brandon Sampson 2015
- Luis Montero (JC) 2015 - the Dominican guard/ forward starred at Westchester Community College - where new recruit Keith Thomas played last season - and averaged 15.6 points per game while shooting 43.7% on three-pointers.
- Kassoum Yakwe 2016 - a power forward from Our Savior New American, originally from Mali is a defense-first forward with strong high-major interest.
- Deandre Hunter 2016 - a 6'7" Philadelphia forward, Hunter is said to be defensively versatile. He earned an offer from Penn State this summer.
- David Cole 2016 - a forward/ center from Christ the King doesn't yet have high major offers but plays at Adonis Delarosa's old school.
- David Beatty 2017 - a slashing lead guard from Philadelphia, Beatty considers current St. John's guard Rysheed Jordan a mentor.
- Nicholas Richards 2017 - Richards is a 2017 center from Queens (Rosedale!) who plays at St. Mary's in Manhasset. He's a four-star recruit on Scout and impressed in recent action.
- Nkosi Cooper 2018 - Nkosi Cooper is a 2018 guard who plays at Long Island Lutheran.
- Sidney Wilson 2018 - the St. Raymond's (BX) wing has interest from Minnesota and a St. John's offer; he is expected to be one of the best players in the New York City in coming years and starred as a freshman this season.