Potential St. John’s basketball target narrows list down to three schools
A potential St. John’s basketball graduate transfer has narrowed his list down to three schools, two of which reside in the Big East.
Three schools will be vying for the services of Monmouth graduate transfer Ray Salnave, St. John’s DePaul, and Loyola Marymount.
The 6-foot-3 point guard announced his final three schools via his Twitter page on Wednesday afternoon.
UCLA and Illinois also reached out to Salnave but the two power conference programs did not make the final cut for the Elmont, New York native.
A Benjamin N. Cardozo High School product, Salnave spent the last three years in Long Branch, New Jersey and culminated his career at Monmouth with his best season yet.
I would like to thank all programs that reached out and were willing to give me a chance for my last year. After talks, I’ve decided to cut my list to these Final 3 schools 🙏🏿#WhyNot pic.twitter.com/9WKoAwZNnf
— Sugar Ray 🇭🇹 (@RaySalnave) May 6, 2020
Ray Salnave averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 39.6 percent shooting from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range en route to being named as an All-MAAC selection.
Mike Anderson and his coaching staff are no strangers to Monmouth graduate transfers as the Red Storm will be losing point guard Nick Rutherford who came to Queens via Long Branch last summer.
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Rutherford was the heart and soul of the Johnnies last season with his leadership and laser focus intensity.
While being in the Top-3 for Salnave is exciting, the strange proposition is still looming that the only scholarship St. John’s has available is if junior wing LJ Figueroa opts to remain in the 2020 NBA Draft or pursue a professional basketball career instead of returning to Queens for his senior season.
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The NBA has postponed its Draft Lottery and Combine with the June 25 draft almost certainly to be moved in the very near future.
Certainly if Figueroa returns to St. John’s another roster move would have to be made if Salnave commits to Anderson and the Red Storm.
The guards that are scheduled to be on the roster next season are Rasheem Dunn, Greg Williams Jr., David Caraher, John McGriff, Posh Alexander, Vince Cole, and Dylan Wusu with the possibility of Figueroa or Julian Champagnie having the skillset to play the shooting guard position if needed.