Louisiana lightning for Lavin
Johnnies secure top recuit after miss
Steve Lavin is batting .500. The St. John’s coach whiffed on heralded New Jersey point guard Isaiah Briscoe, but Monday morning landed the other guard he has been tracking for years, Louisiana shooting guard Brandon Sampson.
The top100 recruit — Scout.com’s 19thranked shooting guard — verbally committed to the Red Storm, joining Philadelphia guard Samir Doughty in Lavin’s 2015 recruiting class. Sampson picked the Johnnies over USC and California.
“Coach Lavin has done an outstanding job, recruiting the kid from [his] freshman year and Brandon has been real consistent with what he wants in terms of a school,” said Jeff Jones, Sampson’s high school coach. “Come in and play as a freshman, have a chance to start, make an impact. St. John’s gives him that opportunity. Everything kind of lined up.
“He can be a hell of a combo guard. He’s Stephen Curryish with his jump shot.”
Sampson, who officially visited St. John’s in October, likely will start from Day 1, with seniors guards D’Angelo Harrison, Phil Greene IV and Jamal Branch all graduating. He is averaging 17 points and seven rebounds per game for Madison High School (La.).
“I think his shotmaking ability and athleticism can impact St. John’s right away,” Scout.com na tional recruiting analyst Evan Daniels said in a phone interview. “He needs to spruce up his ball handling and his shot selection at times, but he’s loaded with talent and they need his scoring output.
“This helps them cope with the loss of Isaiah Briscoe.”
When Briscoe opted for Kentucky over St. John’s, sources told The Post Sampson reassessed his recruitment. Sampson had told Briscoe he would pick the Johnnies if Briscoe also did, sources said. But his hometown school, LSU, chose another shooting guard, Antonio Blakeney, and St. John’s made Sampson a priority.
Lavin made an impact on Sampson and his family, developing a bond and convincing them he will be around for the long haul, despite his iffy contract status. Lavin has just one year left on his initial sixyear deal.
“He’s pretty confident about that,” Jones said, adding the opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden in a major media market “ultimately” won Sampson over.
Sampson is a key addition, but work remains to be done. St. John’s could be losing its top six players if junior Chris Obekpa and sophomore Rysheed Jordan declare for the NBA draft, as some expect, and there isn’t much depth on the roster otherwise.
The Johnnies are in the mix with top10 recruit Cheick Diallo of Our Savior New American on Long Island, who is down to the Johnnies, Pittsburgh, Iowa State, Kentucky and Kansas. He is likely to decide in late April, and a source said he is “wide open” at the moment. They also are involved with JUCO forward Deshawn Freeman, Chicago point guard Marcus LoVett Jr. and Italian combo guard Federico Mussini.