NJ Playaz

Ron Roberts Signs LOI for Storm

November 18, 2009 by Dave Krupinski Leave a Comment

St. John’s used their one and only scholarship for the 2010 recruiting class on New Jersey native Ron Roberts of St. Peters Prep and NJ Playaz. Jeff Borzello broke the story today on NBE Basketball.

Roberts is a combo forward who can be a match up problem. He plays bigger than he is listed using his pure athleticism and long limbs. He has range that extends to the three point line. At the next level he could play the three if he continues to improve his ball handling or be a high post big man.

Roberts took an official visit at the end of October while JJ Moore and Myles Davis were on unofficial visits.

“Ron is a good kid. He’s a great teammate who’s really competitive and always wants to get better.” Mark Jarrell, Robert’s AAU coach, told JohnnyJungle.com last month after his visit to St. John’s.

Roberts chose St. John’s over Seton Hall, St. Joes, Indiana, and George Washington. “Well, I really liked St. Joe’s a lot, but I loved St. John’s,” Roberts told NBE’s Jeff Borzello. “I loved the coaches, the players, the atmosphere, the facilities and the campus.”

It was imperative for St. John’s to sign someone in the early period so they can focus purely on the 2011 class and beyond. The signing of Roberts will hopefully open a few new doors for St. John’s which include the state of New Jersey in addition to the NJ Playaz AAU program.

Now the staff will turn its full attention to fill the void of 9 scholarships graduating after next season. It is expected that the staff will use some of these scholarships with junior college players. It has come to our knowledge that St. John’s has already expressed interest in New York natives Winston Graham and Brian Wilson.

Graham is attending South Planes College in Texas who is ranked #15 in the country preseason. Graham has been slotted into the starting lineup and is currently averaging 9 points per game.

Wilson who is attending Indian Hills Community College in Iowa. Sound familiar? Yes this is the same school that Dwight Hardy attended.

We will be following these two players all season long. Please refer to their player bios for more information.

Myles Davis Visits St. John's

November 2, 2009 by Dave Krupinski Leave a Comment

As most of you know St. John’s had two publicized visitors on campus this weekend from the 2010 recruiting class in JJ Moore (unofficial) and Ron Roberts (official) but what no one knew about was Myles Davis also stopped by campus to check it out.

Davis, a member of the 2011 class, plays both his high school and AAU basketball with Ron Roberts. It was nice to see the coaching staff take advantage of a great opportunity to get both of the young men on campus at the same time.

Billy Singleton, Director of Basketball Operations, took Davis for a walk-thru the campus showing him all the facilities while practice was being held in Taffner Saturday afternoon.

Davis has been unavailable for comment so far but we’ll cut him some slack considering today is his birthday.

Who is Ron Roberts?

October 30, 2009 by Dave Krupinski Leave a Comment

Ron Roberts is an up and coming name in New Jersey. The 6’7 combo forward from St. Peters Prep will be taking an official visit along with JJ Moore on Saturday.

Some of you may be asking yourself who is Ron Roberts?

Well Roberts plays for the New Jersey powerhouse Playaz AAU program. His coach Mark Jarrell, the former Fordham standout, told JohnnyJungle.com, “Ron is a good kid. He’s a great teammate who’s really competitive and always wants to get better.”

We believe it, as this time last year schools that were showing interest were Marist and Rider and now high major schools are showing real interest in him according to Jarrell, “Seton Hall, St. Joes, Indiana, St. John’s, and George Washington just to name a few that I know have shown a lot of interest.”

Roberts is the classic tweener who offers intangibles to play inside but Jarrell believes that he is better suited to be a SF in college. “Depending on how hard he works to improve his ball handling and decision making he can be a 3 if not he’ll be a step out 4 that can stretch a defense because he can make the 3 point shot.”

Check back with JohnnyJungle.com for more news regarding Ron Roberts and his visit to St. John’s.