St. John’s basketball completes virtual visit with ’21 wing Rafael Castro

The band for the St. John's basketball team performs at Madison Square Garden. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images).
The band for the St. John's basketball team performs at Madison Square Garden. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images).

The St. John’s basketball program recently completed a virtual visit with Class of 2021 small forward Rafael Castro.

Mike Anderson and the St. John’s coaching staff have recently finished a virtual meeting with Class of 2021 small forward Rafael Castro.

The meeting with first reported by Andrew Slater, recruiting expert for The Athletic.

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Castro stars at Dover High School (N.J.) and has been rising up national recruiting boards as the No. 138 prospect in the Class of 2021, No. 24 power forward, and No. 5 player in the state of New Jersey, according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.

The 6-foot-8 forward and three-star recruit also stars for Team Rio University but the Red Storm have not officially extended an offer yet.

Castro also holds offers from Miami (FL), Providence, Xavier, Florida, VCU, Dayton, and Seton Hall among others.

Programs such as Arkansas, Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest have also shown interest in Castro but no official offers has been made.

In his junior year at Dover High School, Rafael Castro averaged 20.3 points, 16.3 rebounds, 4.7 blocks, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game and Rivals recruiting expert Corey Evans compares Castro’s game to former Texas star and No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft of the New Orleans Pelicans, Jaxon Hayes.

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Mike Anderson and the Red Storm conducted their meeting with Castro on June 30, a week after Shaka Smart and the Longhorns also held a virtual meeting with the prospect.

The Johnnies have made it a priority to target local prospect and meeting with Rafael Castro is another step in that direction as Anderson has extended offers to all of the Top-5 rising seniors in the state of New Jersey.

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St. John’s does not have a commitment from a player in the Class of 2021 as of yet, but the program continues to be a major presence on the recruiting trail.