St. John’s basketball: Brandon Gardner sets commitment date

One of the St. John’s basketball prime recruits has announced his decision date. 

A full-court press has been put on by the St. John’s basketball program for four-star forward Brandon Gardner and the time has come to see if their efforts were worth it.

Gardner told Joe Tipton of On3 Sports that he will announce his college decision on Monday, June 27 at 8:00am EST and he has trimmed his finalists down to four schools; Auburn, LSU, St. John’s, and Georgetown.

The Raleigh, North Carolina native is ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 71 player in the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Brandon Gardner also is the No. 14 ranked power forward in his class and No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina.

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The 6-foot-7 forward also held offers from Alabama, Clemson, DePaul, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina State, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Wake Forest.

Gardner has been linked to St. John’s throughout his recruitment and spoke glowingly about the program to Tipton, ““They are saying they love my game. They play at a fast pace, and I am a fast-paced player,” the prized recruit said in a previous interview to Tipton about the Johnnies.

“They think I would change their program all around…New York is crazy. They get to play in Madison Square Garden; not many people get to play there…so it is just on you to show out.”

St. John’s basketball hoping for massive Class of 2023 haul

St. John’s has yet to land a commitment from a player in the Class of 2023 but Brandon Gardner could become the highest ranked recruit to commit to the Red Storm in the era of head coach Mike Anderson.

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However, the program remains involved with numerous other top prospect including four-star local product Brandon Williams.

Williams, a Christ the King (NY) star, is ranked as the No. 136 recruit in the nation, according to 247Sports.