Rick Pitino’s second St. John’s roster is now complete, and he finished it off with a high-ceiling big man from Portugal he and his staff recruited for more than a year.Â
Big man Ruben Prey committed to St. John’s on Tuesday night, filling a major need up front for the Johnnies.
The 6-foot-10 Prey has been touted as a potential NBA prospect down the road.
Prey, 19, nearly committed to St. John’s last summer, but opted to stay overseas.
He’s a skilled forward who can play both the four and the five and will battle returning forward Zuby Ejiofor and USC transfer Vincent Iwuchukwu for minutes up front.
Prey averaged 11.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in 16 games this past season for CB Prat and also played limited minutes for Spanish club Joventut Badalona.
The addition of Prey caps a strong offseason for Pitino and Co., led by the additions of highly regarded transfers Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall) and Deivon Smith (Utah).
St. John’s had its first summer workout on Tuesday.