St. John’s basketball lands commitment from 4-star guard Simeon Wilcher

The St. John’s basketball team has landed 4-star guard Simeon Wilcher. 

News in the world of college basketball happens fast and the St. John’s basketball program is right in the middle of it.

Simeon Wilcher, a 4-star guard from Roselle Catholic (N.J.), requested his release from his National Letter of Intent to North Carolina on Tuesday and there was immediate interest with the Red Storm.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon and Wilcher is a Johnnie, announcing his commitment on social media.

The 6-foot-4 guard possesses the ability to both play on or off the ball — although he is much more comfortable with the basketball in his hands — and has a rare combination of skill and athleticism that makes him stand out among his peers.

Wilcher began a visit to Queens on Thursday morning and is listed as the No. 34 player in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, and the No. 4 player in the state of New Jersey.

He now joins 4-star wing Brady Dunlap, a former Notre Dame signee, as the two high school prospects to join St. John’s and Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino ahead of his first season with the program.

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St. John’s has already added ten players in the transfer portal this offseason; Daniss Jenkins, Quinn Slazinski, Cruz Davis, Sadiku Ibine Ayo, Nahiem Allyene, Sean Conway, RJ Luis, Jordan Dingle, Glenn Taylor Jr., and Zuby Ejiofor.

Joel Soriano and Drissa Traore are the only two players that remain on the team from last season.

Seton Hall, Texas Tech, Xavier, Louisville, Indiana, Georgetown, California, and Georgia Tech were other schools interested in Simeon Wilcher, according to reports.

St. John’s basketball needs to create scholarship for newest recruit

St. John’s still has to find a corresponding move to clear a scholarship for Simeon Wilcher.

The New York Post reported that Iona’s Daniss Jenkins still has credits to complete to graduate this summer in order to be eligible this season as he is a two-time transfer, despite St. John’s announcing him as a graduate transfer upon his signing.

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The Red Storm could also try and move a player who was thought to be on scholarship to a preferred walk-on role, or a player that was going to be a graduate transfer could reenter the transfer portal and look for another situation that would find him more playing time.

Graduate transfers can enter the transfer portal at any time and remain eligible for next season while the portal has closed for undergraduates and players would need a wavier from the NCAA to be on the court this November should they enter the portal now.