Report: St. John's freshman point guard could be eligible for second semester
St. John's could could potentially add another impact freshman before conference play begins at the end of the month.
According to Zach Braziller of the New York Post, freshman point guard Marcus LoVett, a consensus four-star recruit in the Class of 2015, could become eligible for the second semester. In November, LoVett was ruled a partial-qualifier by the NCAA, meaning he is allowed to practice but not play this season. St. John’s interim athletic director and general counsel Joseph Oliva, Esq. suggested his family seek legal counsel to appeal the decision.
LoVett was one of two highly-touted freshmen to begin the season on the bench for the Red Storm. Kassoum Yakwe, a 6-foot-8 shot-blocker, missed the first six games of the year before the NCAA finally cleared him. In two games, Yakwe is averaging 5.5 points and 1.5 blocks in 17.5 minutes per game.
Multiple sources told The Post there has been dialogue between the school, the NCAA Eligibility Center and LoVett — ruled a partial qualifier, meaning he can only practice — could get fully cleared if he comes through the first semester — which ends next week — well. All indications are that is the case at the moment.
While Yakwe is still getting adjusted to the college game, Chris Mullin's other freshmen, Yankuba Sima and Federico Mussini, have made their contributions in the starting lineup. Sima is third in the nation in blocked shots at 3.8 per game, while Mussini leads the team (and second among all Big East freshmen) in scoring at 14.4 points per game.
If LoVett were to become eligible, he would provide an additional ball handler, a department that is currently limited to just Mussini. The 6-foot-1 point guard has been a pleasant surprise early in the season, but turnovers have been an issue, something that was expected of the first-year guard. He's also cooled off in the past two games, shooting a combined 3-of-18 from the field in St. John's games against Fordham and St. Francis (Brooklyn).
During the preseason, LoVett had a 22-point, eight-assists performance in the Red-White Scrimmage.
According to the New York Post, the earliest LoVett could make is debut is against Incarnate Word on Dec. 18. The Red Storm host Syracuse on Saturday at noon on FOX Sports 1.
