LOS ANGELES — The dismissal of coach Steve Lavin by St. John’s on Friday was met with mostly shrugs from the New York City high school basketball coaching community.
Very few relationships were developed between Lavin and the local coaches in his five seasons in Queens. Lavin preferring to recruit nationally — where he was successful, specifically in his first two years — than get involved with the locals.
“He was a bit aloof,” local talent evaluator Tom Konchalski said. “He should’ve been more visible and visited more gyms and extended his hand.”
It rubbed some the wrong way, one coach, speaking anonymously, told The Post. Cardozo coach Ron Naclerio said Lavin never stepped foot in his gym, and his February visit to Christ the King — a national powerhouse that churns out Division I prospects — was his first trip to the Queens school.
“The high school coaches never got to know him,” Naclerio said. “I can’t say they didn’t like Lavin, they didn’t know him. He didn’t come around.”
Louisville coach Rick Pitino, speaking about recruiting in general as his Cardinals prepare to face Michigan State on Sunday in Syracuse, said success starts in your own backyard.
“To get it going, it starts locally and bridges out,” he said. “I think, when you keep your local talent home and you get the Mark Jacksons and the [Walter] Berrys and the [Chris] Mullins and those guys. St. John’s was a lot of fun back then. They’ll get it going again. They’ve just got to keep some of the local product home, but the local product has sort of not been as big as it once was.
Naclerio and Konchalski were sad to see Lavin go, describing him as a nice man who just never acclimated himself into the local basketball landscape. Lavin did land one very talented local player in his full recruiting class, Queens forward Moe Harkless, who left after one year and was a first-round draft pick. And he signed Queen big man Adonis De La Rosa in his 2014 class, though De La Rosa didn’t play this year after being ruled a partial qualifier.
“St. John’s constituency, I think, was very upset they didn’t have New York players,” Konchalski said. “People who are going to invest money want to see New York faces.”
One of Lavin’s biggest recruiting misses was former Lincoln star Isaiah Whitehead — the lone McDonald’s All-American from the city in the past five years. Whitehead picked Seton Hall over St. John’s, though it should be noted, his high school coach, Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, was given an assistant-coaching position on coach Kevin Willard’s staff.
But the summer leading up to Whitehead’s senior year St. John’s recruiting efforts on him were tepid. Lavin also failed to land Bronx forward Chris McCullough, losing out to Syracuse. And the staff didn’t show much interest in Whitehead’s Seton Hall teammate, Khadeen Carrington of Brooklyn, who enjoyed a solid freshman season.
“The new guy will already have done a better job [recruiting New York City] the minute he steps into a high school gym,” the anonymous coach said.
New York City isn’t producing the same number of high-major talents it once did, Konchalski said. And for St. John’s to compete in the Big East and be an NCAA Tournament team, it can’t just rely on locals players. But Konchalski said he believes there are worthy players in the area, players who can supplement the program.
“When really good players come from New York, they’ve got to get them,” he said.
Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello said the new St. John’s coach likely would be given a great opportunity to get involved with Rawle Akins — the area’s top prospect, ranked among the top 30 best players in the country in his class — if that coach so chooses. The 6-foot-4 Alkins seems inclined to want to stay close to his Brooklyn home, Arbitello said, and definitely would listen to the new coach after there was limited interest from Lavin’s regime.
The city’s future does seem brighter. The junior class is loaded. Alkins, Cardozo guard Ray Salnave and Jefferson guard Shamorie Ponds are also high-major talents. St. Raymond sophomore Sidney Wilson is considered an elite prospect. Lavin did extend scholarship offers to the latter three.
“There are still a handful of New York City that can help you win,” Naclerio said.
— Additional reporting by Paul Schwartz.