Lost & found?
Alkins’ exit a worry for Johnnies
ATECHNICALITY is forcing New York City’s top high school basketball player to leave the area.
Now, the question is, will he return for college?
Rawle Alkins, Christ the King’s dynamic and versatile 6foot4 guard, announced Thursday he will be attending prep school for his final year of high school because there was the chance he would be ruled ineligible by the Catholic league for playing a few games as a freshman when he lived in Florida.
A consensus fivestar recruit ranked among the top 25 players in the country, the Canarsie native was hoping to finish at the Queens Catholic school and win a fourth straight city title and third state crown. But being forced to wait until the fall by the Catholic league to make its decision, Alkins had no choice but to begin looking for a place to attend school.
“He’s the best junior I’ve ever coached,” said Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello, whose phone hadn’t stopped buzzing with calls from prep schools and reporters since news broke. “I played with three firstround NBA picks [at Christ the King]. He’s in the upper echelon of Christ the King history.
“He keeps getting better and better. He’s not one of those guys who fizzles out, he continues to improve his game.”
St. John’s has made Alkins a priority since Chris Mullin replaced Steve Lavin and made known his intentions to keep the best players from the immediate area in Queens. Arbitello praised their recruiting efforts with Alkins — he was Mullin’s first call after being introduced on April 1 — who oddly wasn’t offered a scholarship by the previous coaching staff. Mullin has pitched Alkins on being the king of New York and face of the program, leading a St. John’s resurgence.
“They’ve been very good reaching out to his family, been very good reaching out to Christ the King, very good reaching out to him,” Arbitello said. “They’re doing it the right way. They’re making everybody comfortable.”
But now, Alkins is leaving Queens, complicating matters. He has several suitors, notably heavyweights such as Indiana, Kentucky and Villanova.
Arbitello said he could see the move helping and hurting St. John’s. Alkins won’t be in the Red Storm’s backyard anymore, so they obviously won’t be able to see him nearly as much. But, Arbitello said, Alkins loved New York City and is very close to his family, specifically his mother, Derline Zephir, so a year away could make him want to come back home.
However, a source close to Alkins said it hurts the Red Storm. Alkins will go from a 10minute drive from St. John’s to potentially another region of the country.
“The distance is not good,” the source said. “You don’t know if he moves somewhere and falls in love with the place. That doesn’t mean St. John’s is dead with him, but it sure doesn’t help them at all. Wherever he goes, there are a lot of unknowns.
“Other schools are looking at this as a chance to bury St. John’s with Rawle.”
It’s a setback for New York City, losing one of the top basketball prospects in the country at a time when so many highcaliber players do the same. And it could negatively impact St. John’s as well. Connecticut transfer Ter
rence Samuel committed to continue his college career at Penn State on Tuesday. Samuel, a point guard from Brooklyn, also had visited VCU and Hofstra.
Iona landed a commitment from junior college forward Jan
Svandrlik of Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, on Thursday. He is a member of the Gaels’ 2016 recruiting class. St. John’s transfer Chris
Obekpa visited Minnesota on Thursday and reportedly also is being recruited by Arizona State, North Carolina State and Alabama.