Former St. John’s basketball commit released from National Letter of Intent
Former St. John’s basketball commit Valdir Manuel was reportedly released from his Letter of Intent from Penn State on Wednesday afternoon.
It’s been a wild recruitment for Valdir Manuel and it only got more strange as the former St. John’s commit was released from his National Letter of Intent from Penn State on Wednesday, according to Mark Brennan of Lions247, the 247 Sports site for Penn State.
Manuel originally committed to the Nittany Lions on October of 2019 after attending Harcum Junior College in Pennsylvania.
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Lions247 reported that there was no reason given for parting ways.
In March of 2018, Manuel committed to the Seton Hall Pirates but never signed a National Letter of Intent and then decommitted from the Pirates due to reports of academic concerns and ineligibility.
The former Patrick School (N.J.) star then committed to St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia but then left the school and ended up at Harcum College.
Following that move, the 6-foot-10 forward committed to St. John’s in December of 2018 but then decommitted from the Red Storm in April 2019 after the school and former head coach Chris Mullin parted ways.
Upon opening his commitment he landed and Penn State but now has been given the ability to pursue other avenues in the college basketball world.
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Coming out of high school, Manuel was a three-star prospect and the No. 202 recruit in the country, No. 20 center, and No. 8 player in the state of New Jersey, according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.
Fast forward two years and the Elizabeth, New Jersey native is ranked as the No. 14 junior college player in the nation, No. 2 center, and No. 1 prospect in the Garden State.
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St. John’s does have one open scholarship left for its 2020-21 season and with a need in its front court, but with no contact between the two sides since the hiring of Mike Anderson, don’t expect Valdir Manuel to land back in Queens.