St. John’s basketball reaches out to Belmont transfer Adam Kunkel

The St. John’s basketball program has contacted Belmont transfer Adam Kunkel following his surprising announcement.

College basketball was hit with a surprising announcement on Tuesday when Belmont guard Adam Kunkel made it public that he would be transferring from the school.

Kunkel was named to the First-team All-Ohio Valley following last season and had one of the biggest jumps from his freshman to sophomore year in terms of scoring and production.

In his first year at Belmont, the 6-foot-3 guard averaged just 2.3 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game but as a sophomore the Kentucky native posted 16.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 39.0 percent from 3-point range.

However, despite the contact between St. John’s and the transfer, the Red Storm will have some tough competition if head coach Mike Anderson does extend an offer.

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ESPN’s Jeff Borzello was first to report that Xavier, Creighton, Dayton, Arkansas, Iowa State, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, and Louisville have all also reached out to Adam Kunkel in the hours he officially entered the transfer portal.

According to NCAA transfer rules and regulations Kunkel would have to sit one year and still have two seasons of eligibility remaining starting in the 2021-22 season.

Despite Kunkel not being able to play this upcoming season, he would still be under scholarship, as St. John’s still has one remaining.

While interest is certainly a positive, there might not be much that develops between St. John’s and Adam Kunkel, especially if the Red Storm are able to land Class of 2021 four-star recruit Jordan Riley.

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Riley will announced his college decision on Friday at 10:00AM and if he’s selects to become a Johnny, Mike Anderson will have a plethora of guards on his roster, something that proved to be pivotal in his first year at the helm of the program.

With that being said, it might just be due diligence from Anderson and his coaching staff but it’s still good to see St. John’s being active on the recruiting trail late into the summer.