Amar Alibegovic commits to St. John's

Steve Lavin's trip to Bosnia during the July live period has paid dividends; Amar Alibegovic, the 6'8" forward from Bosnia & Herzegovina, has committed to the Red Storm and should be eligible to play this season.

Obviously, he loved Times Square and everything else St. John's had to offer.

Times Square http://t.co/A3kjHNJOtn

— Amar Alibegovic (@Amar7Alibegovic) August 12, 2014

(Trust me, there's a picture in that Instagram link.)

"We are pleased that Amar has chosen to join our St. John's basketball family," said Steve Lavin. "Amar has the skill, size and basketball intellect to help fuel our purposes as we continue to build our program into a sustainable winner."

Alibegovic averaged five points and three rebounds for the Bosnian U20 National team, which went 8-0 to take the championship in the FIBA U20 Group B Tournament. He also averaged six points and three rebounds for the Stella Azzurra junior squad.

Shooting is his skill; he has taken more than half of his shots from beyond the arc in his competitions. He profiles as a tall spot-up shooter, but perhaps his game will expand in the NCAA.

Alibegovic was originally announced as a commit weeks ago, before the clarification that the commit was no done deal. But the player came to visit New York, and will boost a front court which lost Orlando Sanchez, God`sGift Achiuwa and Jakarr Sampson.

Assuming no issues with eligibility, the Red Storm will return shot-blocker Chris Obekpa and redshirted Christian Jones, along with JUCO rebounder Keith Thomas, freshman center Adonis Delarosa and his brother Joey Delarosa.

The Johnnies will return with a different look next season - size to spare, and, with the exception of Alibegovic, big men who do not seem likely to drift out to the 15-18 foot mark for jump shots. Is that enough to get the team to the NCAA Tournament, despite the losses of major pieces Sampson and Sanchez?