/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49842147/usa-today-8231349.0.jpg)
The St. John’s Red Storm may not have any 2017 commits locked up, but on Monday, head coach Chris Mullin was able to score a verbal commit from a highly touted forward in the Class of 2018.
Just shy of high noon on the east coast, Andrew Slater of 247Sports reported that Boubacar Diakite, a four-star hooper from New York who currently plays for the PSA Cardinals, has verbally committed to Mullin and the Johnnies.
Breaking:4 Boubacar Diakite'18 of @OSNA_BVHOOPS & @PSACardinals commits to St.John's #sjubb https://t.co/NlDhuGjxBS pic.twitter.com/zgMOH5FWMR
— Andrew Slater (@ASlater247) June 13, 2016
As noted by Slater, Diakite is a rising prospect in New York and should benefit the Johnnies in a number of ways.
"Bouki" Diakite, a rising four-star junior from Our Savior New American in Centereach, NY, gives St. John's an athletic hybrid-forward to complement the versatile roster that St. John's coach Chris Mullin has been hoping to assemble since taking over the reigns of his alma mater.
Seton Hall was also interested in Diakite’s services according to Slate'r’s report, as well as former Big East peers UConn and Pittsburgh. So, suffice it to say this is a victory for Mullin, his staff, and the program to be able to score such a talented player over rivals in their neighboring area. With plenty of talent coming into the fold in Queens over the next few years, Diakite should no doubt assist in the attempt to bring St. John's back to success in the Big East and in the entire realm of college hoops.
As noted, Diakite becomes the first member of the Red Storm's Class of 2018. St. John’s’ Verbal Commits page would indicate that there are a host of other talented hoopers that they will be targeting, and getting a head start here in June of 2016 is quite a way to make a splash.