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Postponed NBA Combine puts St. John’s basketball roster in flux

By Kevin Connelly

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 17: LJ Figueroa #30 of the St. John's Red Storm handles the ball on offense against the Xavier Musketeers at Madison Square Garden on February 17, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 17: LJ Figueroa #30 of the St. John's Red Storm handles the ball on offense against the Xavier Musketeers at Madison Square Garden on February 17, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /
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The recent postponement of the NBA Draft Combine will put the St. John’s basketball roster in flux as the Red Storm await a decision from junior forward LJ Figueroa.

COVID-19 has caused cancellations and postponements of hundreds of sporting events around the world and the pandemic forced the NBA to make another adjustment to its schedule in postponing the NBA Draft Lottery and Combine.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news on Friday afternoon and it has an impact on many college basketball teams around the country, including the St. John’s Red Storm.

Both events were scheduled to take place in May in Chicago.

St. John’s wing LJ Figueroa announced his intentions to declare 2020 NBA Draft on March 28, his 22nd birthday, but the Massachusetts native is maintaining his colligate eligibility throughout the process.

However, as the NBA Draft process will be prolonged due to the pandemic, it could have an impact on how Mike Anderson constructs his roster with only one scholarship spot remaining for the 2020-21 season.

Should Figueroa eventually withdraw his name from consideration, he will return to Queens and fill that scholarship spot but the Red Storm have been linked to Gardner-Webb transfer Jose Perez.

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St. John’s is just one of a long list of suitors for Perez after the Bronx native averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.0 steals per game in his sophomore season while shooting 34.0 percent from the floor.

The expectation is that LJ Figueroa will eventually remove himself from the 2020 NBA Draft and embark on his senior season at St. John’s in hopes of the Red Storm making the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1999 and 2000 seasons.

The 6-foot-6 wing averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.9 steals per game in his first season under new head coach Mike Anderson in which the Johnnies went 17-15 (5-13 Big East) and were leading No. 1 seed Creighton by three at halftime in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament before the season was canceled.

Excluding LJ Figueroa, St. John’s should return seven players from a season ago and bring in highly touted recruits, Vince Cole, Posh Alexander, Dylan Wusu, Isaih Moore, as well as George Washington graduate transfer Arnaldo Toro.