Sid Wilson commits to St. John's
Premium Story: Wilson talks about why he committed to Red Storm
NEW YORK, NY - A quiet signing period didn't spell doom for St. John's 2017 recruiting class. Two weeks after making Sidney Wilson's top six, the Red Storm received a verbal commitment from the four-star forward, notching the lone high school addition of the offseason.
Wilson announced Saturday at the Milbank Center in Harlem his intentions to further his education close to home after reversing course on doing a post graduate year at Brewster Academy, where he played this past season after transferring from St. Ray's in the Bronx. The New York native choose St. John's over Connecticut and Texas, while Syracuse and Florida were also in the mix.
The 6-foot-7 combo forward joins Quinnipiac transfer Mikey Dixon as the two new offseason pickups for St. John’s, which will have 10 scholarship players eligible to play next season while maintaining two more open spots, likely to stay vacant in advance for a potential blockbuster 2018 recruiting haul.
Wilson’s addition provides the Johnnies with a crafty interior scorer that’s capable of finding buckets in the paint while he’ll look to continue developing his perimeter touch to make him a tough cover night in and night out on the collegiate level. He’ll easily be one of the most athletic players on the roster, giving fast-paced lead guard Marcus LoVett a nice running mate on next year’s squad.
More importantly, the move to sign Wilson bolsters Chris Mullin & Co.’s quest to keep blue-chip prospects from the Big Apple inside the city and put them on the highest stage in front of familiar family and friends. Shamorie Ponds was the torchbearer last year, signing with the local program as a top-50 recruit out of Thomas Jefferson in Brooklyn, joining 2015 signee Kassoum Yakwe, a four-star product by way of Mali and Our Savior New American.
The relationship between St. John’s and Wilson seemed to waver throughout the course of his recruitment. Initially one of the leading schools pursuing the standout swingman in his early high school days, Wilson made little to no mention of St. John’s after announcing last summer his intentions to reclassify to 2018 and spend his next two years at the prep powerhouse in New Hampshire.
Nevertheless, after tracking him during the April Evaluation Periods, the Red Storm made an appearance on Wilson’s shortlist of schools after deciding to stick with the 2017 route. Now an empty recruiting class welcomes a top-100 talent and a breath of relief as the recruiting calendar heads into a crucial stretch for future targets.
