St. John's PG Marcus LoVett will not play this season
St. John's freshman point guard Marcus Lovett Jr. will not play this season, announcing it on Thursday evening.
Zach Braziller of the New York Post reported the news earlier in the morning.
Following the Red Storm's 80-70 loss to Creighton in the Big East opener, LoVett posted a picture to his Instagram account with this caption: "Sorry for the wait. Won't be playing this year. Catch me next season. Lots of buckets will be handed."
LoVett was one of two, consensus four-star commits in Chris Mullin's first recruiting class. LoVett was ruled a partial qualifier back in November, meaning he could practice, but not play. St. John’s interim athletic director and general counsel Joseph Oliva, Esq. suggested LoVett's family seek legal counsel to appeal the decision.
Earlier this month, the program was hopeful LoVett could be eligible for the start of the second semester.
LoVett wowed fans in the preseason, scoring 22 points and dishing eight assists performance in the Red-White Scrimmage. The flashy point guard was expected to be the primary ball hander, a position being filled by fellow freshman Federico Mussini, the team's leading scorer. Although Mussini is averaging more turnovers than assists.
LoVett will become part of an incoming class that features shooting guard Shamorie Ponds, Tennessee transfer Tariq Owens and junior college transfer Bashir Ahmed, who committed to the Johnnies earlier this week.