INDIANAPOLIS — New St. John’s coach Chris Mullin and his assistant Matt Abdelmassih are wasting no time making moves in recruiting.
One day after offering 6-foot-5 Christ the King junior guard Rawle Alkins, the St. John’s coaches reached out to offer Naz Reid, a 6-10 freshman man-child from Roselle (N.J.) Catholic and the Sports U AAU program. Both players were targets we suggested Mullin should offer.
Reid already owns offers from UConn, Virginia, N.C. State, Maryland and Iowa State, among others.
“It was great to get the opportunity to speak to both Matt and Chris Mullin,” said RC coach Dave Boff, whose team has won two of the last three New Jersey Tournament of Champions titles.
“For them to reach out to us early and offer Nazi means that not only is he a priority for them but also a relationship with Roselle Catholic is important to them.”
St. John’s also reached out to 2016 Seton Hall Prep guard T.J. Gibbs to say they will watch him in the live period this month.
New Jersey is loaded with talent, and St. John’s would be wise to develop relationships throughout the state, as we wrote here.
Meantime, St. John’s is getting involved with several transfers.
Tariq Owens, a 6-10 freshman from Tennessee, is looking to get a release after meeting Thursday with new head coach Rick Barnes.
“We are going to open up his recruitment,” Renard Owens told SNY.tv. “We will go see St. John’s. I’m from Queens.”
Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com first reported the Owens visit to St. John’s.
St. John’s will also target Drexel transfer Damion Lee, according to the New York Post.
The 6-6 junior averaged 21.4 points this past season.
“Basically everyone from far and wide [has called],” Lee told Scout.com. “If you named a conference, they’ve called. It’s just so much to process.”
Photo: AP
