It was a warm day out in the city of Queens, New York. While many people were hitting the beach in anticipation for the summer, Steve Lavin and the St. John’s coaching staff (which included Mike Dunlap) were at the Elite Skills Camp in the Taffner Field house.
The Johnny’s had already received some good news prior to the camp when it was published that 6-foot-4 Nick Johnson ’11 of Findlay Prep was really into the school. Despite the hustle and bustle over the last month and a half, St. John’s is playing catch up better than the 2004 Boston Red Sox did when they came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS.
With over 50 players in attendance from primarily New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and the rest of the surrounding areas, it was a packed house. Despite Rice’s Jermaine Sanders ’11 not there, due to the S.A.T., big names from the classes of 2011, 2012 and 2013 showed up. Paterson Catholic’s Kyle Anderson ‘12, St. Patrick’s Austin Colbert and Jason Boswell ’13, Roy C. Ketcham High’s Ethan Telfair ’13 (who transferred from Lincoln a few months ago), St. Vincent’s-St. Mary’s JaKarr Sampson ’11, Our Savior New American’s Jevon Thomas ’13, NIA Prep’s Kelvin Amayo ’11, and even UConn-commit and the newest member of the South Kent basketball team, Maurice Harkless ’11. Those were just a few of the names who stood out!
“Yesterday was in a sense, our staffs coming out party and only having two and a half weeks to set it up we were very pleased,” remarked Assistant Coach Tony Chiles. “The turnout, talent, work effort was visible across the board. It was a great day for St. John’s Basketball and we hope it is the beginning of what’s to come.” Chiles, who came over from Drexel, was extremely proud of everything that happened. Both coaches and players alike were happy with the outcome.
“The camp was well run and I like the coaching staff,” said NIA Prep’s Kelvin Amayo ’11. “Their drills made you get after it.” More reviews came in and they were all positive.
St. Patrick’s freshman Jason Boswell had similar thoughts. “Coach Lavin opened up the camp with a big speech about the late great Coach Wooden,” said Boswell, the cousin of Duke-signee Kyrie Irving. “We went into 6 stations. Those consisted of shooting, post play, ball handling, screen defense and agility. We ran by numerous people on the St. John’s staff when we went on a tour of the campus.”
Not only was the pasta and chicken good, but so was the competition. You know the camp had to be stacked when both Kyle Anderson and Maurice Harkless were playing on the same team!
More good news emerged for the Johnnies yesterday when Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com reported that Jermaine Sanders, despite not being in attendance, had plans to visit the Queens schools along with a few others this month. This was according to Sanders’ AAU Coach Kimani Young of New Heights.
The camp was like every other in that it included a tour of the gym and offices at the campus. Basic skills were evaluated through drills and live game sessions. Lunch was served, as well. The kids, parents and AAU coaches got a chance to interact with coaches and administrators, alike, during lunch. To wrap it up and put things in perspective, the one day camp was a success. Everyone who was a part of it did an excellent job at making the best of the situation.
St. John’s Administrator Derrick Wrobel summed it up by saying, “it was a very successful camp to say the least. There was a concerted team effort from a staff perspective.” Watch out for the Johnny’s to make some big moves in the coming year as the new staff looks to rebuild the program to what it once was.
Alex Kline is a high school recruiting expert who is a contributor to Zagsblog.com and Rivals.com. You can follow Alex on Twitter @TheRecruitScoop.
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