Former St. John’s basketball target Mark Armstrong commits to Villanova

Former St. John’s basketball target Mark Armstrong commits to Villanova. 

The rich get richer in the Big East Conference as four-star point guard Mark Armstrong committed to Villanova after previously holding an offer from the St. John’s basketball program.

Prior to his announcement, Armstrong released the group of schools his decision would come from and he did not include the Red Storm after landing an offer from head coach Mike Anderson and his staff on April 10, 2019.

Armstrong’s finalists were Villanova, Auburn, Louisville, UConn, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Stanford, and Kansas.

The St. Peter’s Prep (NJ) standout also held offers from Rider, Marist, Creighton, Illinois, St. John’s, VCU, Fairleigh Dickinson, St. Peter’s, Bryant, Hofstra, DePaul, UPenn, and Iona.

Despite the plethora of offers, Armstrong’s recruitment was wrapped up once receiving an offer from head coach Jay Wright and the ‘Cats on November 24, 2020.

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Mark Armstrong becomes the first commitment to Villanova in the Class of 2022 and is ranked as the No. 130 player in the country, No. 19 combo guard, and No. 6 player it the state of New Jersey, according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.

Armstrong also continues a pipeline from The Garden State to Villanova, joining players on the roster such as Trey Patterson and Bryan Antoine who starred in New Jersey.

St. John’s basketball still looking for first Class of 2022 commitment

The Johnnies are still looking for its first pledge in the current junior class after seeing long time target and legacy recruit Kyle Cuffe Jr. opt for the Kansas Jayhawks in addition to Armstrong heading to Villanova and Jaquan Harris following his brother, Jamir, to Seton Hall.

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However, there still is a lot of time left in 2022 recruiting cycle as prospects are hoping that the ban on in-person recruiting, as set down by the NCAA, is lifted this summer.

St. John’s has made high school teammates in the state of New York a priority since naming Mike Anderson as its head coach with Our Savior Lutheran stars Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu along with Long Island Lutheran standouts Rafael Pinzon and Drissa Traore.