St. John’s basketball loses redshirt freshman John McGriff via transfer

St. John’s basketball lost redshirt freshman John McGriff to the transfer portal. 

Another St. John’s basketball player has entered the transfer portal with redshirt freshman point guard John McGriff.

The Bowie, Maryland native did not play in his first year in Queens as he suffered a preseason shoulder injury which required surgery and the program opted to redshirt the guard.

McGriff was ready to go at the start of the 2020-21 year and played in just 18 games for the Red Storm his season, averaging 5.1 minutes and 0.7 points per game.

ALSO READ: St. John’s Julian Champagnie testing NBA Draft waters

Verbal Commits was the first to report the transfer news of the St. John’s reserve point guard.

The playing time for the 6-foot guard was very sparse but he provided very good minutes on the defensive end of the floor in the final two games of the regular season due to the thumb injury of Posh Alexander.

McGriff played eight minutes in a comeback victory against Providence and 14 minutes against Seton Hall in the regular season finale.

The highest scoring output of the season for the point guard was against Stony Brook where the Bishop McNamara (MD.) standout added five points, three rebounds, and four assists in the 23-point victory.

St. John’s basketball transfer had interesting suitors in high school

Coming out of high school, John McGriff was ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 435 overall prospect in the Class of 2019, No. 61 point guard, and No. 4 player in the state of Maryland, according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.

McGriff held offers from Rutgers, Minnesota, Iona, Kansas State, UNLV, Hampton, Kent State, and Howard prior to joining the first freshman class under head coach Mike Anderson at St. John’s.

Julian Champagnie was the only other player in Anderson’s first freshmen class in Queens as the sophomore star recently declared for the 2021 NBA Draft while still maintaining his colligate eligibility.

ALSO READ: St. John’s lands Vermont transfer guard Stef Smith

St. John’s has now seen four players enter the transfer portal since the conclusion of the season including McGriff with Isaih Moore, Vince Cole, and Josh Roberts, while David Caraher opted to transfer in the middle of the season.

With the official addition of Vermont graduate transfer Stef Smith, St. John’s still has three open scholarships for the 2021-22 season.

As a fan favorite for his nickname ‘Crime Dog’, the sense among St. John’s fans on social media is disappointment regarding John McGriff’s transfer but the understanding that he could thrive at a mid-major with a lack of playing time in Queens given the pending sophomore season of Posh Alexander.