Chris Mullin scouts possible recruits at Big Apple Invitational

St. John's head coach Chris Mullin observes a game between Word of God (N.C.) and South Kent (Conn.) during the Big Apple Basketball High School Invitational on Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
A pair of St. John’s targets battled against each other Monday as Chris Mullin and associate head coach Barry Rohrssen watched.
Tremont Waters and South Kent (Conn.) defeated Rawle Alkins and Word of God (N.C.), 87-80, at the Big Apple Basketball High School Invitational at Baruch College.
Recruiting services rank Alkins among the best in the 2016 class. The 6-5 guard from Brooklyn has said that his list of nine schools he is considering includes St. John’s, along with Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina, Indiana, North Carolina State, UNLV and Arizona.
Alkins, who transferred to Word of God from Christ the King in Queens for his senior season, scored 11 points and shot 5-for-12 as the St. John’s staff and Louisville’s Rick Pitino watched.
“They told me they were going to be there, but I didn’t want to show them this game, me playing like that,” said Alkins, who sat for an extended period because of foul trouble.
Alkins has said he plans to commit to a college in the spring. Though he would not list a front-runner at this point, he spoke about his relationship with Kobi Simmons, a five-star point guard who committed to Arizona on Saturday. He said Simmons, in a FaceTime conversation this weekend, tried to recruit him.
“Kobi, we’re real cool,” Alkins said. “He’s been with me, playing over the summer for every event possible.”
Waters, a four-star point guard in the 2017 class, had 18 points and seven assists. He said Duke, Kentucky, Virginia, Stanford, Kansas, Indiana, Yale and Miami (Fla.) also have pursued him, but St. John’s is still in the mix.
“Coach Mullin is a great guy,” Waters said. “He really knows how to run the program.”