Simeon Wilcher has basketball pedigree and a flashy rating.
He was a dynamic four-year starter at Recent Jersey powerhouse Roselle Catholic and the highest-rated recruit to go for St. John’s prior to now decade.
The last top-50 prospect to turn out to be a Johnnie, Shamorie Ponds, was a Day 1 starter who barely needed to fight for his spot.
This latest era of St. John’s under Rick Pitino, nevertheless, is different. The roster is flooded with talented and experienced transfers. His prized freshman seems to get that.
“I realize it’s going to take time, and I’m not rushing or anything,” the 6-foot-4 Wilcher told The Post on Sunday after the Johnnies held an open practice for fans. “I just want to point out I is usually a point guard, lead my team and help my team win. … It’s basketball. We’re all going to get a likelihood to play and I just wish to win.”
Pitino insisted that he doesn’t have any locked-in starters immediately, particularly within the backcourt. It’s still too early for that, even when it seems very likely that Iona University transfer Daniss Jenkins will likely be his start line guard and Yale transfer Jordan Dingle will start next to Jenkins.
Each are entering their fourth 12 months of faculty. Wilcher just had his fourth official practice in college.
“He’s similar to [NBA players Pitino coached at Louisville] Donovan Mitchell or Terry Rozier [when they first got to college]. He’s in the training stages of basketball,” Pitino said. “I believe he’s going to be an ideal player. He’s just learning the sport, like they learned the sport. It takes time to leap from highschool to school. He’s not a physical specimen. He’s going to want to get stronger. But I believe he’s got an ideal future.”
One in every of Pitino’s favorite attributes in Wilcher is his desire to learn and willingness to listen. He has seen it not only with how the freshman takes coaching, but through his interactions with Jenkins.
Wilcher was thrilled that the senior was in a position to graduate this summer, and gain immediate eligibility, even when it meant a lesser role for him. They ceaselessly go up against one another in practice.
“It’s extremely helpful. He’s a vet, so he has more experience. Anything I can pick up from him is great,” said Wilcher, who averaged 15.4 points, 5.6 assists and 4.5 rebounds as a senior for Roselle Catholic.
“He gives me gems on how you can do certain things while we’re playing, so I enjoy our relationship. I feel prefer it’s speeding up my progression as we catch up with to the season.”
The plan is to play Wilcher at each guard spots, and use him in tandem with Jenkins at times. Wilcher did admit he has some personal goals for the approaching season, but he desired to keep those to himself.
They aren’t as necessary because the team’s goals, which is to win and win big.
Wilcher took a circuitous path to St. John’s. He initially committed to North Carolina in October of 2021 and signed last November.
But in June, Wilcher asked out of his National Letter of Intent. He wound up selecting St. John’s over Seton Hall, Georgetown and Indiana, mostly as a consequence of the chance to remain near his Plainfield, N.J. home and play for a legend in Pitino.
“Every thing that individuals say, it’s really not a lie. He really knows rather a lot about basketball. Things he says will occur, they occur right after he says it,” Wilcher said. “He’s an ideal coach to learn under. I feel like he’s going to organize all of us for a really long future with this basketball thing. Coach just knows a lot. It’s different from everybody else, which is why he wins a lot.”
Freshman Brady Dunlap (ankle) was held off form on Sunday. The team held a scrimmage at the top of the workout. UMass transfer RJ Luis led all scorers with 13 points and Kansas transfer Zuby Ejiofor added 10 points, nine rebounds and two assists.