St. John’s tops Hall for local recruit

The present appears bright for St. John’s — and its future may be too.

Just over five weeks after landing AJ Storr, his highestrated recruit since taking over in Queens three years ago, head coach Mike Anderson picked up a verbal commitment from another highly regarded prospect.

Queens native Jaquan Sanders — the former high school teammate of current Johnnies Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu at Our Saviour Lutheran in The Bronx — picked St. John’s over Seton Hall. Providence, Auburn, Pittsburgh, and Kansas State were also recruiting him.

“I feel like St. John’s is the best decision for me,” Sanders told The Post in a phone interview. “To be honest, I love the coaching staff. We talked every day, every other day. I felt like coming to St. John’s and staying in my city would be the best thing for me.”

A three-star, top-150 recruit, Sanders joins four-star guard Storr and point guard Kolby King in the Red Storm’s 2022 recruiting class. St. John’s is projected to be one of the top teams in the Big East and is expected to reach the NCAA Tournament.

Sanders, a skilled 6-foot-3 shooting guard, has been a priority recruit for Anderson and his staff for quite some time. He made an official visit to St. John’s over the weekend, on the heels of his visit to Seton Hall. Sanders said that as recently as June, he was leaning toward joining the Pirates, but changed his mind.

The Red Storm coaching staff made it clear how much they wanted him by how frequently they reached out. Sanders said he felt the close bond Anderson has created within his program during his official visit, when he spent time with the team, visited the coach’s home and went out to eat with everyone. He said he even felt close with the players he didn’t know.

“Everything was family with them,” Sanders said.

“There’s nothing like playing for the [city] you live in,” Sanders said. “I’m letting you know right now: I’m ready to put on for my city.”