It’s an offseason that will never end in college basketball and the St. John’s Red Storm are taking its first dip into the 5-in-5 pool, landing a commitment from former Indiana forward Reed Bailey on Tuesday afternoon.
Bailey is currently eligible by an injunction against the NCAA granted by the court system in Colorado that is granting him a fifth year in the sport. He played three seasons at Davidson before transferring last spring to Indiana for his senior year.
As a sophomore and junior, Bailey shined in the Atlantic 10, averaging 18.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game on 47.7-percent shooting from the floor and 41.5-percent from 3-point range with the Wildcats.
He did not have as much success in his only season with the Hoosiers, starting ten games and posting only 8.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per contest. He connected on a career-high 57-percrnt from the field but attempted only four 3-pointers the entire season, a career-low.
St. John’s has been in the market to add a player to its frontcourt since the late June injury to Donnie Freeman that will sideline him for the season. The Johnnies continued to add international players to its roster with Hungarian forward Zsombor Maronka, but Spanish point guard Gilas Gimenenz was deemed academically ineligible which opened up a roster spot.
The program has been connected with Auburn transfer Keyshawn Hall but the chatter around his recruitment has significantly slowed in the last week.
Reed Bailey is most comfortable playing power forward but at 6-foot-10 gives the Red Storm the versatility to use him at center as well, joining forces with junior Ruben Prey.
In the meantime, St. John’s players will be reporting back to campus within the next two weeks to begin the fall semester while trying to defend its back-to-back Big East regular season and championships.
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