St. John’s basketball: LJ Figueroa’s departure might not be as devastating

The loss of LJ Figueroa from the St. John’s basketball program might not be as devastating as once thought.

Reports of LJ Figueroa entering the transfer portal while still keeping his name in the 2020 NBA Draft came as a shock to many but while the initial surprise of the decision looked devastating for St. John’s, things might not be as bad as they appeared.

If Figueroa were to return to Queens for his senior year, he would surely be a Preseason First Team All-Big East selection and could have been received some votes for Preseason Player of the Year, however, Mike Anderson’s system does not solely rely on one player and that won’t change without the 6-foot-6 wing in the fold.

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Having Mustapha Heron and LJ Figueroa return for the 2019-20 season was so important to the success of the Red Storm last season because those were the only two players that had experience in the Big East, now with a full season in the books for players like Greg Williams Jr., Julian Champagnie, Marcellus Earlington, and others they will have to carry the load of the program next year.

ALSO READ: LJ Figueroa shockingly enters transfer portal

Figueroa was a very good player for St. John’s, and despite his departure dropping the Johnies’ ceiling from a Top-3 team in the Big East to a middle of the pack bunch, there is no clear-cut team in the conference outside of the top two teams (Villanova and Creighton) that should cause Red Storm fans serious concern.

Mike Anderson is going to utilize, and win, with the players he has because it’s still a very deep and versatile group that will now highlight JUCO All-American Vince Cole who has been given glowing endorsements by many of coaches that had to game plan for the  6-foot-6 wing.

Vince Cole’s future teammate, Isaih Moore, also had some remarks on the elevated role his fellow JUCO product will have next year.

ALSO READ: Transferring makes the least sense for LJ Figueroa

https://twitter.com/Zay_bucks11/status/1265382936674795521?s=20

To further that point, rising sophomore Julian Champagnie is also ready for the challenges that lie ahead without LJ Figueroa on the roster.

https://twitter.com/JulianChampagn2/status/1265433712633708546?s=20

Losing LJ Figueroa obviously hurts St. John’s, but the impact will be lessened, to an extent, with the rising stars that Mike Anderson is cultivating in Queens in just his second season with the program.