St. John's ended a two week period of turmoil with a
commitment from a local star. Christ the King's 6'11" center Adonis
Delarosa becomes St. John's first recruit in the 2014 class when his letter of
intent becomes official next week. The Bronx native also becomes coach Steve
Lavin's first New York recruit since Queens native Mo Harkless arrived 3 years
ago for what was a productive but brief stop on his way to the league and guaranteed
first round money. Delarosa has NBA ready size but his stay in college figures to be a
bit longer thanks primarily to conditioning issues. Make no mistake though, he
brings a few things, size being just one, that St, John's needs.
Before discussing
those things it must be noted that he arrives at a time when the program has
experienced some turmoil. Sophomore forward JaKarr Sampson declared for the
draft despite a complete lack of buzz on
draft sites, limited shooting range and a non-functioning left hand finishing
plays around the basket. Chris Obekpa, who was the nation's leading shot
blocker two years ago transferred after
reportedly refusing to re-enter his team's Big East tournament loss to
Providence. The team then suffered a dismal home loss to Robert Morris in the
N.I.T. which has been followed by speculation of other defections. Their coach Steve Lavin spent a week during
this time testing his TV muscle memory at Fox in Los Angeles. Unfairly or not
that has fueled internet chatter questioning his long term commitment to
coaching in New York at St. John's. With all this in mind, I don't envy the
position that my young friend with great hands passing acumen size and strength
has put himself in. I worry that people looking for a guy who can carry the Red
Storm to an N.C.A.A. tournament will not be happy with a guy who's a great
complimentary piece. And for those who use the term "role player" to
imply that a guy is less important to a team's ability to win games I say no
sir. Those players are also essential to winning. And the skill set that Adonis
brings to the table includes lots of winning things.
Like any
young player moving to the proverbial next level he will need time for the game to
slow down for him. But once that happens his coaches and teammates will be able
to trust him to do two things; catch the ball and make good decisions once he
gets his hands on it. In fact, his passing might be his most college ready
skill as his passes to both cutters and spot up shooters are almost always on
time and on target. And his willingness
to use that skill brings a needed dose of unselfishness to the team.
His size
and girth may help in another way that's a bit less noticeable but still
important. Beginning with their season
opening loss to national semi-finalist Wisconsin. St. John's was hurt
repeatedly by teams that had wide bodies
as well as long ones. Nowhere was that more evident than in the team's second
loss to Xavier at Madison Square Garden on Feb 25th where Muskies' freshman
Jalen Reynolds chewed up the Red Storm and their vaunted lineup of shot blockers
for 17 points and 16 boards. Delarosa may not be as athletic as the departed
Sampson and Obekpa but he's long and
wide and reads the game well defensively.
St. John's will need to continue their re-tooling with some run and jump athletes but Delarosa's
combination of a wide low post presence and skill compliments those players,
and could ultimately help them be better prepared for a new league that carries
basketball ethos that is familiar to urban Catholic schools; one that emphasizes rugged play under
the basket. Just as the speed of the game will take some adjusting so will its
physical play.
Adonis is
not the kind of star recruit that could force local sports talkers to discuss
St. John's basketball on a semi daily basis. He can however be an essential
part of a team that gets back to the tournament
and helps St. John's regain a place in New York's sports consciousness
that goes beyond its fiercely loyal fan base. The recruitment of this talented
big man is a small but essential step forward for the program as it seeks to
regain its footing both on and off the floor.
