St. John’s basketball suffers massive departures due to transfer

St. John’s basketball saw its roster turn upside down on Wednesday afternoon due to transfer. 

The transfer portal had been slowly chipping away at the St. John’s basketball roster but the atomic bomb dropped on Wednesday afternoon as juniors Greg Willams Jr. and Marcellus Earlington announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal.

Williams Jr. was the first to announce his decision as the guard had been dealing with back injuries the last two seasons but was the best three-point shooter on the team, firing at 44.8-percent from three-point range.

The Lafayette, Louisiana native averaged 9.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game as a junior.

Marcellus Earlington announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal shortly after Williams Jr.  and it’s another veteran leader that will be leaving Queens.

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The Don Bosco Prep (NJ) standout averaged 6.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game as a junior, down from 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Earlington shot 42.4-percent from the field last season and 40.3-percent from three-point range.

Both Marcellus Earlington and Greg Williams Jr. will join their teammate Josh Roberts to enter the transfer portal this season, all of whom committed to St. John’s to play under head coach Chris Mullin.

St. John’s basketball has serious roster questions at the moment

Should none of the players opt to remove their name from the transfer portal and return to Queens, the St. John’s roster would no longer have any player from the Mullin era on it.

St. John’s has now seen seven transfers this season, six in the offseason, with David Caraher, Isaih Moore, Vince Cole, John McGriff, Roberts, Williams Jr., and Earlington.

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The Johnnies are also waiting for the NBA Draft decision of sophomore star Julian Champagnie as the program now has five open scholarships for the 2021-22 season.

Head coach Mike Anderson has landed the commitment of Vermont graduate transfer Stef Smith this offseason and more transfers will be needed in Queens for next season.