St. John’s coach Steve Lavin has wrapped up his 2011 recruiting class and is already working on 2012.
Ricardo Gathers confirmed by text he will visit the Queens campus Thursday.
“They basically told me I’ll come in and bring a lot of energy to them and create a lot of matchup problems,” he said last month. “Just coming into New York, the atmosphere of the city and the background and history of the city, as far as basketball goes it’s one of the biggest basketball meccas in the nation.”
The 6-foot-8 junior post player from Reserve (La.) Riverside is also considering UConn, Syracuse, Kansas, Texas and Florida.
The Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year, Gathers averaged 20.7 points, 16.2 rebounds, 3.9 blocks, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals during the 2010-11 season.
He led Riverside to a 33-6 record this season and its second consecutive Class 2A state championship. He was selected the Louisiana Class 2A All-State Player of the Year in 2010. He is ranked the No. 10 power forward in the Class of 2012.
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Lavin, who is battling prostate cancer, is one of 10 coaches slated to attend the Coaches vs. Cancer pregame home plate ceremony today at Yankee Stadium.
The 10 coaches scheduled to attend are Lavin, Jim Boeheim (Syracuse University), Mitch Buonaguro (Siena College), Mo Cassara (Hofstra University), Tommy Dempsey (Rider University), Matt Doherty (Southern Methodist University), John Dunne (Saint Peter’s College), Mitch Henderson (Princeton University), Mike Lonergan (George Washington University) and Mike Rice (Rutgers University).
