You missed my point. The staff has made it a priority to pursue NY kids. My understanding is that we are not strongly pursuing Washington and/or Alvarado because the chances of them coming to St. John's with who we already have on board are slim. These kids will want to play right away. Having three players in the fold for the PG/lead guard position (Simon, Lovett and Ponds), all of whom were ranked higher than either Washington/Alvarado, is a huge deterrent. If Washington came on board (assuming as schollie were available), he'd have a redshirt junior PG/lead guard (former 5 star) transfer from a high major program, a former 4 star PG as a redshirt soph (Lovett), and a former 4 star lead guard as a true sophomore (Ponds, who I understand will ultimately get some run at the point if he develops as expected). No PG ranked in Washington's range is going to be as interested in that situation as they are in another program where they might be able to start or play significant minutes off the bat.
Mussini's presence isn't impacting a guy like Washington's decision. Simon, Lovett and Ponds most definitely are, coupled with some of the stud PG prospects (like Muhhamed) that we are making a strong push for in 2018.
Mussini isn't the issue. With Simon, Lovett and Ponds I don't see any top 100-150 PG signing on. The front court was the bigger need and we locked up a great talent. We are focusing big time on 2018 guards, hence the full court Muhammed press.
Mussini was a big part of the issue because he was asked to run the offense an he wasn't quick enough to do it. He isn't quick enough to play any position in D1 ball. He'll be fine as a shooter off the bench, when they zone us.
But as it relates to this kid, we want to be known for NYC point guards once again. If this kid is willing to stay in the city in the high school, there seems to be a good chance he'll want to for college as well.