From Zags/SNY
3. ST. JOHN’S (17-16, 8-10 Big East)
Coach Steve Lavin has arguably the most talented roster of his four-year tenure and the pressure will be on him and the Johnnies to live up to the hype and help carry the flag for the new Big East without Syracuse, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. Junior guard D’Angelo Harrison, the team’s leading scorer at 17.8 ppg, is expected to work his way back onto the team after being suspended March 1, and all eyes will be on his maturity level. JaKarr Sampson, the reigning Big East Rookie of the Year, also returns with his 14.9 ppg and 6.6 rpg as he attempts to build his NBA profile. Chris Obekpa brings his 4.0 blocks per game back for his sophomore season, and he will be joined up front by Orlando Sanchez, a 6-9 senior forward from the Dominican who was given a waiver to play this season. The Johnnies bring in talented Philly combo guard Rysheed Jordan, who will have to mesh with Harrison in the backcourt for this team to maximize its potential.
Top Recruits Per ESPNU Top 100:
17. PG Rysheed Jordan, St. John’s
27. SG JaJuan Johnson, Marquette
39. SF Deonte Burton, Marquette
53. PG Duane Wilson, Marquette
56. SF Brandon Austin, Providence
63. SF Reggie Cameron, Georgetown
73. PF Kris Jenkins, Villanova
89. PG Brandon Randolph, Xavier
91. PG Jaren Sina, Seton Hall
92. SF Josh Hart, Villanova
94. PG Billy Garrett, Jr. DePaul
***
SNY ALL-BIG EAST PRESEASON TEAM
Preseason Player of the Year
Doug McDermott, Sr. F, Creighton
Preseason All-Big East First Team
D’Angelo Harrison, Jr. G, St. John’s
Bryce Cotton, Sr. G., Providence
Semaj Christon, So. G, Xavier
Davante Gardner, Sr. F., Marquette
JaKarr Sampson, So. F, St. John’s
Preseason All-Big East Second Team
Ryan Arcidiacono, So. G, Villanova
Markel Starks, Sr. G., Georgetown
Fuquan Edwin, Sr. G/F, Seton Hall
Kadeem Batts, Jr. F, Providence
JayVaughn Pinkston, Jr. F, Villanova
Preaseason All-Big East Third Team
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, So. G, Georgetown
Rysheed Jordan, Fr. G., St. John’s
Greg Whittington, Jr. F, Georgetown
Cleveland Melvin, Sr. F, DePaul
Chris Obekpa, So. F., St. John’s
Preseason All-Rookie Team
Rysheed Jordan, G, St. John’s
JaJuan Johnson, G, Marquette
Deonte Burton, F, Marquette
Brandon Austin, F, Providence
Aleksandar “Aleks” Vezenkov, F, Xavier
“@AdamZagoria: SNY Big East Preseason Rankings; All-Big East Teams; Top Incoming Recruits
http://zagsblog.com/articles/sny-big-east-preseason-rankings-all-big-east-teams-top-incoming-recruits/ @SNYtv”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
And like ZAGS on Facebook