Busting Brackets
Fansided

St. John’s Basketball: Breaking down the 2020 recruiting class

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: The St. John's Red Storm logo on the scoreboard which hangs from the famous Madison Square Garden ceiling during a game on January 28, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: The St. John's Red Storm logo on the scoreboard which hangs from the famous Madison Square Garden ceiling during a game on January 28, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 01: A general view. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 01: A general view. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images) /

Vince Cole (USC Salkehatchie)

SG | 6-foot-6 | 195 lbs | No. 6 JUCO Transfer

St. John’s suffered from a few issues during this past season. Perhaps most notably, though, the Red Storm lacked the perimeter shooting necessary to win consistently in the modern era. They shot just 32.1 percent from three as a team during and this caused them to struggle tremendously on the offensive end of the floor against high-quality defenses.

Looking ahead to the future, head coach Mike Anderson appears poised to fix those 3-point woes, and adding JUCO transfer Vince Cole is a great start in that department.

JUCO transfers are often overlooked, but that shouldn’t be the case here. With a 6-foot-6 frame and a smooth shooting stroke, Cole is the type of player that should fit with the Red Storm right away. He is a proven scoring talent and should be ready to make an impact right away on the perimeter. His size also allows him to play multiple positions, and that versatile is not to be ignored.

Here is a look at his highlights as a freshman with USC Salkehatchie:

Over the course of this past season, though, he posted stronger overall numbers of 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game on elite shooting splits of .518/.446/.901. He buried 86 total trifectas on the season and his high free-throw percentage also indicates that his shooting should easily translate to the Big East.

Cole was named to a First Team JUCO All-American for his play and could be a high-impact player at SJU from the opening tip. He has two years of eligibility remaining and it is reasonable to expect that he will be a key contributor on the wing in 2020-21. If he is not a member of the starting lineup, he will be one of the team’s top reserves.