The St. John’s basketball program did not make the Top-8 finalists for Class of 2021 prospect Kuluel Mading.
It was an expected outcome but it became a reality on Friday evening as Class of 2021 power forward Kuluel Mading did not include St. John’s in his Top-8 schools.
Jake Weingarten of Stock Risers reported on Wednesday that the Red Storm were one of many programs to recently contact the 6-foot-9 forward but head coach Mike Anderson and his staff never extended an offer to Mading.
The Top-8 schools that are still being considered by Kuluel Mading are Providence, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, VCU, North Carolina Central, Tulsa, Clemson, Eastern Carolina, and Howard.
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Kuluel Mading released his Top-8 via his own Twitter page with a personalized video.
transitioned from fitting in to standing out.. #lltw #4df pic.twitter.com/PyBHU5AGpS
— kmad⁺ (@whereiskmad) April 4, 2020
Mading also held offers from the College of Charleston, Hampton, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Elon, Wichita State, and others.
The Burlington, North Carolina native had conducted virtual meetings with VCU, Providence, and Wake Forest, as the Red Storm, Georgia, Oregon State, Penn State, James Madison, and Iowa were also showing interest but never formally extended an offer.
Kuluel Mading is ranked as the No. 159 recruit in the Class of 2021, No. 31 power forward in his class, and No. 8 player in the state of North Carolina, according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.
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The Burlington School standout could still potentially add to his final list if he receives offers that peak his interest but an offer from the Johnnies or Mading adding St. John’s to his list seems like a distant long shot.
St. John’s only has one commitment in the Class of 2021 in Harlem, New York native Drissa Traore as head coach Mike Anderson tries to add to his recruiting class next season but time is running out in Queens, although the team is scheduled to retain a large portion of its 2020-21 roster.