New York Post, Sunday, November 15, 2020nypost.comM
IkE Anderson certainly
has a type.
He likes character, high-
effort, grinding types who have
won. It’s why St. John’s is so high
on this three-man recruiting
class, even if it doesn’t include a
top-100 prospect and it is ranked
at the bottom of the Big East by
247Sports. In St. John’s release
announcing the signings, Ander-
son played up their character
and toughness — two traits he
values above all else.
The 60th-ranked group in the
country includes Long Island Lu-
theran duo Drissa Traore and
Rafael Pinzon, and Missouri big
man O’mar Stanley, a three-
some that provides significant
size — three players at least
6-foot-6 — a defense-first
mentality and the high motors
needed to play Anderson’s up-
tempo style. Interestingly, this
is the second year in a row St.
John’s will add a pair of high
school teammates, significant
since Anderson is so big on
creating a family environ-
ment within his program.Anderson has given St. John’s
an identity in a short period of
time, that of a lunch-pail pro-
gram that looks to outwork the
opposition. It is evident in the
type of prospect the Johnnies
have landed. There haven’t been
any big stars, but players the
staff believes are capable of de-
veloping into very good college
players and fits their style. You
saw it last year when unheralded
recruit Julian Champagnie was
arguably the third-best freshman
in the Big East. Point guard Posh
Alexander, the key to Anderson’s
first full recruiting class, is ex-
pected to start this year and has
drawn rave reviews in practice.
The player I’m most intrigued
by is Pinzon, who picked St.
John’s over Florida and New
Mexico and is rated as the third-
best prospect in New York State.
He’s a 6-foot-6 guard who some
believe would’ve been a top-100
player and may have seen his re-
cruitment explode had there
been an AAU season. Pinzon can
play, and defend, multiple posi-
tions, is a threat from beyond the
arc and is best known for his
playmaking abilities.
“He should make an immediate
impact in the Big East,” one
coach familiar with him said.
Here are some other takeaways
from the early signing period:
The biggest recent recruiting
storyline — players opting for
the G-League select team for a
six-figure, one-year salary over
college — has been quiet so far.
The new G-League route is
something that will likely have towait until the spring, which was
the case last year when five play-
ers opted for money over school.
Eight of the top 23-ranked play-
ers in 247Sports’ rankings are un-
committed. The other big story-
line, top prospects picking his-
torically black colleges and uni-
versities, has seen some move-
ment after five-star Makur
Maker opted for Howard over
the summer. Top-175 forward
Kuluel Mading picked Howard
on Saturday and top-150 forward
Duncan Powell committed to
North Carolina A&T this week.
For this to really become a trend,
though, Maker will have to be
successful this year.
UConn’s rise, to a top-10
class, in its first year back in the
Big East was somewhat predicta-
ble. DePaul and Georgetown se-
curing top-20 classes, however,
was not. Neither program is ex-
pected to be very good this year.
Neither was good last year. And,
yet, the two potentially set them-
selves up well for the future. At
Georgetown, Patrick Ewing
desperately needed a big class,with the Hoyas expected to be
one of the worst power-confer-
ences teams in the country this
year, and he got it — led by four-
star big man Ryan Mutombo,
the son of former Hoya Dik-
embe Mutombo. DePaul’s suc-
cess was an even bigger surprise,
considering the uncertain status
of coach Dave Leitao, now that
the Blue Demons have a new
athletic director in place, and
their class a year was ranked
117th. Beating out Illinois, Mis-
souri and Nebraska for Chicago
guard Ahamad Bynum last No-
vember got the ball rolling.
Sean Miller and Will Wade
have so far managed to keep
their jobs despite their programs
involvement in the FBI’s investi-
gation into corruption in college
basketball. Though both of them
may be on tenuous ground as the
NCAA’s cases against their pro-
gram move at a snail’s pace.
Arizona is facing five Level 1
violations, which are the most
severe — it hasn’t seemed to
hurt either too much in the eyes
of prospects. Wade is expectedto sign a strong four-man group
at LSU, and Miller has inked a
trio of four stars at Arizona.
Seton Hall would’ve received
its highest seed in the NCAA
Tournament in 27 years last
March if not for the pandemic
ending March Madness, and that
team success was not based on
elite recruits. Its three best play-
ers were a transfer (Quincy
McKnight), unsung junior col-
lege transfer (Romaro Gill) and
overlooked top-80 prospect
(Myles Powell). That team’s
success, and the overall emer-
gence of the program over the
past half-decade, has begun to
translate on the recruiting front.
The Pirates have a top-25 class
— headed by four-star, top-70
Brooklyn native Brandon
Weston, the biggest addition at
Seton Hall since Isaiah White-
head led the 2014 blockbuster
class, and beat out Michigan,
Maryland and Iowa State for
Harvard grad transfer Bryce Ai-
ken. Kevin Willard has been
winning by developing talent
and finding hidden gems. Nowhe’s starting to attract more
ready-made prospects.
On Friday, Hofstra landed a
commitment from three-star
guard Jaquan Carlos — a Brook-
lyn native who had been recruited
by the likes of Oklahoma State,
Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. The
5-foot-10 Carlos is a skilled scorer,
crafty and able to create his own
shot. He’s the biggest-name high
school recruit Hofstra has nabbed
in the Joe Mihalich era, which
dates back to 2013. The Pride
earned this one, doggedly recruit-
ing him over the summer. Interim
coach Mike Farrelly — Mihalich
is on temporary medical leave —
put in a lot of the work and assist-
ant coach Speedy Claxton
closed, sources said — develop-
ing a strong bond with Carlos,
who attends Thomas Jefferson
High School. In Claxton, who also
was a major factor in former star
Justin Wright-Foreman going
to the Long Island school, Hofstra
has a former NBA player and
alum who can attract quality tal-
ent.
[email protected]RECRUITING
CONFIDENTIAL
By Zach Braziller
LIFE OF THE PARTY: St. John’s coach Mike
Anderson is building a team filled with defense-first,
high-motor players. Paul J. Bereswill