Sunday afternoon in Newark, St. John’s and Seton Hall will meet for the first of two regular-season meetings, a significant game for the present of both programs.
Seton Hall is looking to regroup after three straight road losses in its quest to return to the NCAA Tournament, while St. John’s is hoping to build off a win over DePaul and make progress amid a strong start to the Big East season.
The more important battle, however, may be taking place off the court in recruiting circles, at least as far as the future of the two programs is concerned.
That’s where they both doggedly are going after two elite New Jersey prospects — four-star Hudson Catholic guard Luther Muhammad and five-star Roselle Catholic forward Naz Reid, AAU teammates from powerhouse Sports U.
“If either program could land both, it would mean a lot, both in terms of giving a major infusion of talent that could lead to a NCAA Tournament appearance and sending a message locally that whichever program locally lands [them] is the place for others to choose,” 247Sports.com national recruiting analyst Andrew Slater said. “There are only so many opportunities for the local programs to land a pair of top 50 talents that it raises the stakes.”
The last time Seton Hall and St. John’s battled for a top prospect was in the fall of 2013, when Brooklyn’s Isaiah Whitehead ended up in South Orange. Lincoln High School teammate Desi Rodriguez followed him to the Pirates, part of a blockbuster recruiting class that produced last year’s Big East Tournament crown, Seton Hall’s first in 23 years.
The commitment affected the future of both programs. It may have saved Kevin Willard’s job and cost former St. John’s coach Steve Lavin his.
Now, with a new staff that has made the local area a focal point of recruiting, St. John’s is hoping to reverse that result, to land a few highly touted New Jersey prospects. The Red Storm see New Jersey as a key recruiting ground.
“I’m sure these two guys, if they were to go to the same school, they could make a similar impact,” said Sports U coach Brian Coleman, referring to the New York City natives who made such a difference for Seton Hall.
Slater expects both Reid and Muhammad to attend colleges in the Northeast. He said St. John’s has done a good job with both prospects, particularly the versatile Muhammad, and sees the 6-foot-10 Reid coming down to the two locals or Rutgers or Syracuse.
While Seton Hall is one of three schools to offer scholarships to the entire Sports U starting five — Atiba Taylor, Louis King and Jahvon Quinerly are the others — St. John’s has identified Muhammad and Reid as their top targets, along with Archbishop Molloy five-star center Moses Brown of Queens, for what it hopes it a breakthrough 2018 class.
There has been talk of the entire Sports U team attending college together — “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility,” Coleman said — though their recruitments are being handled separately. Reid and Muhammad could always go to school together, too. After all, they have known each other since the sixth grade.
Both Reid and Muhammad have plenty of other options — Kansas just recently came into the picture for Reid while Syracuse, Temple and Notre Dame have jumped in with Muhammad — and neither has created a list yet. But the two locals have been consistent with both prospects for years and have “gone hard,” according to Coleman.
“If he committed [to one of the schools first], that would make me even more interested, or if I committed somewhere early, that would [make] him more interested,” Muhammad said.
Coaches from both schools were at Kean University on Friday for a doubleheader to see both Muhammad and Reid in action. And Sunday, Muhammad will be at Prudential Center to see St. John’s and Seton Hall play.
At this point, the high school players might be evaluating the programs more than vice versa.
“I’m looking for how both teams coach, how the team goes through adversity, how they handle — can they handle it? — how the coaches handle it,” Muhammad said.
Coleman said Seton Hall plays up the local angle, while St. John’s pushes the future, the ability to learn under coaches Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond, who were Hall of Fame players.
Muhammad described the style in which Seton Hall and St. John’s has recruited him as similar, offering him immediate playing time and freedom in their offensive systems. He has developed a strong relationship with both school’s leading recruiters, Shaheen Holloway for Seton Hall and Matt Abdelmassih for St. John’s.
Whereas Holloway jokes around with him more and sends him quotes of inspiration, Abdelmassih makes it a point to praise his work ethic and check in frequently.
“If I was to stay [close to] home,” Muhammad said, “I’ve got great options.”