Dom Pointer to St. John’s; Burrell Out 4-5 Weeks; St. John’s Madness Video; Armani Cotton to Yale

Dominick Pointer became the fourth member of Steve Lavin’s vaunted 2011 recruiting class when he committed to St. John’s on Monday.

Pointer, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound wing, is the No. 21 small forward in the Class of 2011, per Rivals. Originally from Detroit, he plays for Winston-Salem (N.C.) Quality Education.

“What made me choose St. John’s was the smaller classrooms,” Pointer, who this summer legally changed the spelling of his first name from Dominique, said by phone. “I’m cool with Coach Lavin. He made me feel comfortable on my visit.”

Isaac Pitts, the head coach at Quality Education, said St. John’s reminds Pointer of his current school.

“I think he really connected with Coach Lavin and the staff and the fact that St. John’s is a little bit like our school, small classroom sizes, intimate,” Pitts said. “Kids can get one-on-one attention. He won’t just be a number. He will be a person. He felt very, very comfortable with St. John’s as a whole.”

Pointer chose St. John’s over Michigan even though his father, Tony Nolan, wanted the home-state Wolverines.

“My dad’s OK with it,” he said. “He said he wanted me [to go to Michigan] but he was good with the decision I made. We’re all together on it.”

Pointer joins Maurice Harkless, JaKarr Sampson and D’Angelo Harrison in Lavin’s first class.

“I know JaKarr Sampson,” Pointer said. “We hung out a few times on the circuit.”

Pitts said St. John’s is getting a terrific wing defender.

“This kid has a very high motor,” Pitts said. “He plays hard on every single play. Never takes a play off. He can shoot it. He can pass it. He’s extremely athletic. He’s very fast. He probably has a 40-inch vertical.

“His skill-set is unbelievable. He attacks the basket very hard. His overall attribute is this kid is a great on-ball defender.”

St. John’s has six more scholarships to hand out and is still in the hunt for a number of players, including JUCO guard Nurideen Lindsey, Findlay Prep wing Amir Garrett and Compton (Calif.) forward Norvel Pelle, among others.

BURRELL OUT 4-5 WEEKS

St. John’s senior forward Justin Burrell has broken a bone in his left hand and will miss 4-5 weeks – a recovery time approximately two weeks shorter than what was originally anticipated – Lavin announced on Monday.

“It’s unfortunate for an athlete to begin his senior season with an injury, but the result turned out better than we anticipated,” Lavin said in a release. “Justin has worked extremely hard this offseason to prepare himself for an outstanding senior year. Our staff has been impressed with the maturity and poise he has shown in responding to this setback. We’re looking forward to monitoring his progress over the next few weeks.”

Burrell fractured the second metacarpal on his left hand during a drill at the end of practice on Friday, Oct. 15, at Taffner Field House when he collided with a teammate.

ST. JOHN’S MADNESS VIDEO

COTTON TO YALE

Armani Cotton, a 6-7, 200-pound wing from Northfield (Mass.) Mount Hermon, committed to Yale over Princeton, Northwestern and Hofstra.

“We call him a Swiss army knife,” NMH coach John Carroll said. “He does it all. He’s not an unbelievable  shooter. He’s a very good shooter.  He’s not an unbelievable penetrator. He’s a very, very good penetrator.

“He’s a very, very good defender, as good as you’ll see.”

Cotton is the 10th NMH player to commit to the Ivy League in the last four years.

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