/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46244524/usa-today-8337047.0.jpg)
About a month in to Chris Mullin's tenure as head coach of St. John's, and the excitement is still strong - even though we don't know just how competitive St. John's will be next year. (It was similar in Steve Lavin's first year, as news of assistant coaches and recruiting triumphs were leaked).
Below is a scholarship chart, filled with new names as Mullin and his assistants, Matt Abdelmassih and Barry Rohrssen, have leveraged their connections and skill to lure in players who can compete next year - much as Steve Lavin may have done with much of his roster graduating at the end of this season.
There has been a lot of turnover, with Adonis Delarosa and walk-on Myles Stewart transferring, with Samir Doughty being released from his Letter of Intent, and with Brandon Sampson opening his recruiting and choosing to stay home to play on a stacked LSU Tiger team.
But freshman Yankuba Sima committed, and transfers Durand Johnson, Darien Williams, Tariq Owens and Ron Mvouika have all either signed their papers or committed to transferring to St. John's
We don't really know how good they all will be, but we know one thing - this team, unlike some of the Red Storm teams in the past, will be tall. Each of the nine available scholarship players are 6'4" or taller.
St. John's Red Storm roster, April 2015 |
|||||||||||
Scholarship Player | Jersey |
Pos
|
Ht
|
Wt | School |
Home
|
YR
|
15-16
|
16-17
|
17-18
|
18-19
|
Chris Obekpa |
12
|
C
|
6'10"
|
236 | Our Savior New American |
NGA
|
sr
|
sr
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
Felix Balamou |
24
|
G/F
|
6'4"
|
192 | Our Savior New American |
GIN
|
sr
|
sr
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
Ron Mvouika |
10?
|
G/F
|
6'6"
|
201 | Missouri State |
FRA
|
sr
|
sr
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
Durand Johnson |
5?
|
G/F
|
6'6"
|
210 | Pittsburgh |
MD
|
sr
|
sr
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
Christian Jones |
4
|
F
|
6'7"
|
230 | IMG Academy |
TX
|
jr
|
jr
|
sr
|
x
|
x
|
Rysheed Jordan |
23
|
G
|
6'4"
|
193 | Robert Vaux |
PA
|
jr
|
jr
|
sr
|
x
|
x
|
Amar Alibegovic |
14
|
F
|
6'9"
|
230 | Istituto Tecnico Minerva |
ITA
|
so
|
so
|
jr
|
sr
|
x
|
Darien Williams |
xx
|
F
|
6'8"
|
210 | San Francisco CC |
CA
|
so
|
so
|
jr
|
sr
|
x
|
Yankuba Sima |
xx
|
C
|
6'11"
|
215 | Elev8 Basketball Academy |
SPA
|
fr
|
fr
|
so
|
jr
|
sr
|
Tariq Owens |
11?
|
C
|
6'10"
|
205 | U. of Tennessee |
MD
|
n/a
|
n/a
|
so
|
jr
|
sr
|
[Open Scholarship] |
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
||||||
[Open Scholarship] |
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
||||||
[Open Scholarship] |
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
||||||
Currently available roster spots |
3
|
7
|
9
|
11
|
|||||||
Projected walk-ons |
Home
|
YR
|
'16
|
'17
|
'18
|
'19
|
|||||
David Lipscomb |
5
|
G
|
6'2"
|
180 | Wheeler (GA) |
GA
|
jr
|
jr
|
sr
|
||
Jay Henderson |
22
|
G
|
6'4"
|
180 | Lake Highland Prep (FL) |
FL
|
so
|
so
|
jr
|
sr
|
|
Olisa Nwachie |
30
|
F
|
6'7"
|
225 | Fairfax (CA) |
CA
|
so
|
so
|
jr
|
sr
|
|
Samuel Harris IV |
25
|
G
|
6'0"
|
175 | Tampa Catholic (FL) |
FL
|
so
|
so
|
jr
|
sr
|
|
Elijah Holifield? |
xx
|
G
|
6'3"
|
171 | Pace Academy (GA) |
GA
|
fr
|
fr
|
so
|
jr
|
sr
|
And St. John's will have at least four open scholarships next year, for targets like NY Rens AAU teammates Rawle Alkins and Mustapha Heron at the guard positions, which will be bare - especially if Rysheed Jordan leaves after his junior season.
But the Johnnies are recruiting for this year as well, with guards Marcus LoVett and Federico Mussini as targets, with available transfers still taking visits, and with college coaches bound to shift positions (and open up scholarships) with Billy Donovan moving on to the pro ranks from the Florida Gators to the Oklahoma City Thunder.