The St. John’s basketball program could be fighting uphill for a major local target.
In his first offseason as the head coach of the St. John’s basketball program, Rick Pitino has made it a priority of brining New York kids back home to play.
That largely came from the transfer portal but it seems like he will have his work cut out for him in trying to land Long Island Lutheran (NY) standout VJ Edgecombe, who included the Johnnies in his Top-10 finalists.
Alabama, Baylor, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, UConn, and the NBA G-League also made the cutdown for the 5-star wing as he looks to schedule visits for the fall.
247Sports‘ Eric Bossi reported that visits have been booked for six of his finalists while St. John’s, UConn, Miami, and the G-League are yet to lock in a visit for the New York Gatorade Player of the Year.
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However, Edgecombe is “still looking for times that he can see them and they are still very much in consideration,” according to Bossi.
St. John’s basketball looking for local splash in recruiting market
The 6-foot-5 forward is listed as the No. 17 player in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and the No. 3 player in the state of New York, only trailing Ian Jackson and Boogie Fland.
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St. John’s does not have any players committed yet it in the Class of 2024, although the program remains very high on Jaiden Glover, a 4-star target from The Patrick School (N.J.), and it has only landed two high school recruits, Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap, since Pitino has been hired.
VJ Edgecombe’s list of visits begins next week on September 16 when he travels to Florida and is currently scheduled to wrap up on November 11 with Florida State.