The Road to St. John’s Basketball: Dwayne Polee II Before the Red Storm

Steve Lavin made it clear from the time he was hired at St. John’s that there were changes to be made.

When Ron Roberts, a New Jersey swingman who had committed under former coach Norm Roberts, decommitted from St. John’s, the field was open for Lavin to make his first big move as head coach.

Meanwhile on the West Coast, Westchester HS (CA) forward Dwayne Polee II was being courted by schools like Oregon, Arizona, Georgia, and UNLV. When Lavin jumped into the mix for the lanky 6’7″ swingman, the Red Storm were right in the thick of his recruitment. Within five weeks, Polee signed his National Letter of Intent to play for St. John’s and the Lavin Era was officially underway.

Polee II is the son of Los Angeles-area legend and Clippers draft pick Dwayne Polee Sr. Both men were named Los Angeles City Section Player of the Year during their respective high school careers, becoming the second father-son combination to win the honor.

While in 9th grade, Polee II committed to play for Southern California and head coach Tim Floyd. After Floyd resigned in June, 2009 on the heels of a scandal involving current Memphis Grizzlies guard O.J. Mayo, Polee II decommitted.

In the five whirlwind weeks that followed Steve Lavin’s hiring at St. John’s, fans were introduced to, familiarized with, and welcomed Polee II to Queens.

Many were mesmerized by Polee II’s incredible athleticism, captured in online videos that circulated quickly throughout the fanbase. Coming from the West Coast, he was widely unknown other than these mixtapes, so the interest grew to see Polee II at St. John’s revamped Midnight Madness Tip-Off in October.

As many expected, the athleticism was undoubtedly there, but the rest of his game was still unproven.

Polee II came out of the gate fast, scoring 16 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals in St. John’s season-opening loss to St. Mary’s. Once again, his athleticism was on display, and he began to show the other parts of his game on both ends of the floor.

He maintained a spot in the starting lineup throughout the season at the power forward position, usually playing the first few minutes, before Lavin substituted his athleticism for the size of graduating senior Justin Burrell.

Though there were times of struggle for Polee II in his first season, there were also times of great promise.

With nine seniors graduating, he and rising junior Malik Stith remain the only players on the roster with Division I experience. He will be surrounded with players similar to himself next season, including freshmen Maurice Harkless, Jakarr Sampson, and Norvel Pelle, which will increase competition for minutes and, the coaching staff hopes, overall play.

Polee II and his long, lanky frame make him a prized piece of Steve Lavin’s full-court pressure, as he has shown a nose for the basketball on the defensive end. He should continue to improve rolling to the ball around the basket, blocking shots when helping on defense, as well as turning that defensive effort into points. He will also need to continue to add weight to be able to rebound down on the block against the size of other big men in the Big East.

Offensively, Polee II averaged just over 4.5 points in his freshman season. He still needs to work on his ballhandling, which will allow him to get to the basket and finish with the size and vertical that few others have. His go-to move was on display last season, when he dribbles across the lane and pulls up for a jumper, a shot he hits with relative consistency.

Polee II’s development in Year Two will not only go a long way in dictating what the rest of his time in Queens will be like, but will also spur or stunt the progress of the nine newcomers. With no proven scorer at the D-I level, Lavin could work an offense that features Polee II more, so long as his ballhandling in traffic improves. Expect him to be the starter to begin the season, but he will have to work hard and prove himself to maintain it. If he plays like he did in St. John’s NCAA Tournament game against Gonzaga when he had 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals, he will be on the right track as he heads into his sophomore season.

If you missed the first installment of this series, check out Justin Brownlee, Before the Red Storm.

Check back to Johnny Jungle for the third installment, when we take a look at Malik Stith, On The Road to St. John’s Basketball.