Briscoe’s decision key to St. John’s future plans

By the end of next week, the Isaiah Briscoe sweepstakes is expected to have a winner.

As a result of Briscoe's looming decision, Steve Lavin should know which direction his 2015 recruiting class is headed.
The two are interlocked, because of how much time and effort St. John's has put into the star New Jersey lead guard — they've recruited him since his freshman year — and what his commitment would mean to the program's future.

In many ways, this is a crossroads for Lavin and the program, as important as any game this year. It would make up for 2014 nonexistent recruiting class, for losing out to Seton Hall for projected Big East freshman of the year Isaiah Whitehead, make fans forget about the ineligibility of Keith Thomas, the impact rebounder from Westchester

Community College who was entangled in the alleged transcript-fixing scandal.

At the moment, the cupboard is bare next year, seven open scholarships and not a single commitment. The entire backcourt will likely be gone, seniors D'Angelo Harrison, Phil Greene IV and Jamal Branch graduating and sophomore Rysheed Jordan likely headed to the NBA. Forward Chris Obekpa may join Jordan, depending on the season the junior has.

The 6-foot-3 Briscoe, projected by experts to be selected for the prestigious McDonald's All-American game in Chicago, isn't the only prospect St. John's is involved with, but he is by far the most important, the kind of big local star the Johnnies have missed out on aside from Maurice Harkless.

St. John's is in the final five of Long Island forward Cheick Diallo, a consensus top 10 recruit, but sources believe he is a long shot, likely to end up at Kansas, Iowa State or Kentucky. Top-50 shooting guard Brandon Sampson of Louisiana is down to St. John's, LSU, USC and California, but will decide in the spring. The odds of him coming to Queens improve if Briscoe is in the fold.

The five-star recruit from Roselle Catholic, considered by some to be the top point guard prospect in the country, recently cut his list down to St. John's, Kentucky and UConn. Sources believe UConn is an afterthought, that Briscoe will either stay close to home at St. John's or join all the other recent blue-chip prospects at Kentucky.

One source close to the situation believes Briscoe is "torn" between St. John's and Kentucky. He likes the idea of being the face of the program at St. John's, playing his home games at the Garden, has developed a close bond with Lavin and his staff, but is wary of the future there, unsure if he will have enough help to win. At Kentucky, however, he would be just another highly rated recruit, and might not even be able to play point guard, his preferring position.

It speaks volumes that St. John's is right there with Kentucky for a prospect of Briscoe's ilk. Lavin has worked hard, putting in the time, pushing the right buttons. But there are no moral victories in sports, especially not in recruiting.
Lavin — with just one year left on his original six-year contract — and St. John's desperately need Briscoe, need a player that would attract others to follow him, so next year is a rebuilding season, not a lost campaign. The program's future is depending on it.

Rutgers landed the second member of its 2015 class on Thursday by nabbing three-star forward Kejuan Johnson of Hargrave Military Academy (N.C.). The 6-foot-6 wing joins top 75 point guard Corey Sanders in future Scarlet Knights recruits.

Iona Prep sharpshooter Matt Ryan will sign his National Letter of Intent Wednesday — the first day of the early signing period. Wings duo Jessie Govan (Georgetown) and Desure Buie (Hofstra) will also sign this coming week.

Seton Hall watched Cardozo junior guard Rashond Salnave on Monday and St. John's stopped by the Queens school on Tuesday. Both schools have offered Salnave a scholarship.

Seton Hall will host guard Dalton Soffer of California, Chicago forward Myles Carter and Philadelphia guard Samir Doughty this weekend. The Pirates with three open scholarships, are still looking for their first 2015 commitment.

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