New Jersey star Jaiden Glover the latest St. John’s coup for Rick Pitino
The Red Storm now are becoming a viable option for top New Jersey prospects.
nypost.com
By Zach Braziller
You have to go all the way back to 2001 and Elijah Ingram for the last time St. John’s landed a prized recruit from New Jersey.
There were some close calls over the years, including Isaiah Briscoe, Kyle Anderson and Luther Muhammad.
But, ultimately, the Garden State’s finest have opted to pass on St. John’s.
With the hiring of Rick Pitino, that is changing.
For the second time in three months, St. John’s has landed a top recruit from New Jersey.
Three months after four-star, top-35 guard Simeon Wilcher signed, his friend Jaiden Glover also has chosen the Queens school.
“Coach Pitino, just having all that NBA experience and the way he coaches,” Glover told The Post in an exclusive interview, when asked about the overriding factor in his decision. “He’s coached so many great players obviously in the NBA for a good amount of years and coached great college players.
“Coach Pitino really put his all [into recruiting me], brought me to MSG, showed me all the history. It was really dope. … I was always interested in St. John’s. It definitely helped with him being there. St. John’s, when I went there, it felt like home.”
The 6-foot-6 Glover, from The Patrick School, becomes the centerpiece of Pitino’s 2024 recruiting class.
The four-star, top-60 wing is joined by skilled Greek guard Lefteris Liotopoulos.
Both are expected to sign in November.
Wilcher, a one-time North Carolina signee, will be part of Pitino’s first roster this winter.
Glover profiles as a 3-and-D wing, one college coach familiar with him said.
Another described him as a “good athlete in space” who can create his own shot.
His best skill is his 3-point shot, and a major factor in his emergence over the last year.
He went from an unknown to one of the top players in New Jersey, building on a strong junior season with a fantastic spring and summer on the AAU circuit.
As a younger player, he was more of an athlete, but he’s become a really good 3-point shooter,” said Jay Gomes, the publisher of NJHoops.com and the premier prep talent evaluator in the state. “He can put the ball on the floor and get to the rim better than you would think. He’s not just a shooter, but that is his strength at this point. He’s also a pretty good passer. He was an under-the-radar guy, wasn’t overhyped as a young kid, but he kept getting better and better.”
Glover, a Newark native who grew up in Brooklyn, visited over the weekend, and felt the time was right to make his decision.
He also took an official visit to St. Joseph’s, and had a final eight that included Seton Hall, Creighton, Illinois, Villanova, Providence and Ohio State.
There were initially plans to visit some of those schools, but the timing didn’t work out with some and others backed off as it became clear he was leaning toward St. John’s.
The previous coaching staff, led by holdover Van Macon, recruited Glover and Pitino made it clear he was still a priority shortly after taking the job.
Associate head coach Steve Masiello had offered Glover a scholarship when he was coaching at Manhattan, so there was an existing relationship in place.
Before this past weekend, Glover was already drawn to the idea of attending St. John’s, based on the opportunity to play close to home and under an experienced coach like Pitino.
During the trip, Glover got to see how Pitino worked, the individual skill sessions he runs and his hands-on approach during practices. It matched what Wilcher had told him regarding his first few months with the legendary coach.
“I really liked how he coached when I was at their practice,” Glover said. “Five-on-five, he’s teaching within the scrimmage instead of doing drills and breaking it down. To me, that’s the best way to learn, which is in the game.”
The individual workouts also stood out. Pitino will put players through drills that teams use in NBA draft prep, separating them from team-wide practices.
“Just his knowledge of the NBA and how to get there and how to thrive there [impressed me],” Glover said.
Since taking over in March, Pitino has already had several major recruiting wins, particularly on the transfer market, landing Ivy League stars Chris Ledlum and Jordan Dingle.
He missed on his first big high school recruit in the spring when Mackenzie Mgbako of Roselle (N.J.) Catholic committed to Indiana, but he rebounded.
Wilcher and Glover are strong additions, especially when you consider the previous drought across the Hudson.
And the Red Storm now are becoming a viable option for top New Jersey prospects.
“Any time you’re getting kids in the top five of the state, it means they can play pretty much anywhere in the country,” Gomes said. “That’s two kids that are going to help win games, that are going to help your program. If they have success, it spurs more success for the future. Kids will say, ‘Hey, they went to St. John’s. I want to follow those guys.’ ”
