


St. John’s has filled a major need on the wing.
Glenn Taylor Jr., a talented 6-foot-6 standout at Oregon State, is transferring to St. John’s to play for Rick Pitino, he announced on Monday.
Taylor, a Las Vegas native, took an official visit to St. John’s last week and should slot in as next year’s starting small forward.
He is arguably the most significant addition of the Pitino era so far.
Taylor averaged 11.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the Pac-12 last season and shot 30.8 percent from 3-point range.
The skilled sophomore took an official visit to Ohio State and was also being recruited heavily by Texas A&M.
“Good athlete, he really burst on the scene as a freshman. Has an ability to play in space and get by guys, finish at the rim in traffic. He has some on-ball offensive talent,” a college coach familiar with Taylor said. “He needs to be more efficient. It’s hard to say if that’s a product of him playing on a team that wasn’t particularly good and he had to shoulder a big offensive load. The talent is undeniable. He should be good for them. He’s a good fit for Pitino and that style of play.”
His addition leaves Pitino with four open scholarships left.
St. John’s is actively looking for a starting power forward capable of stretching the floor to play alongside star center Joel Soriano.
This weekend it hosted Mackenzie Mgbako, a top-10 ranked senior from Roselle Catholic (N.J.) who recently was let out of his National Letter of Intent at Duke.
St. John’s is also in the mix for four-star high school wing Brady Dunlap and high-scoring guard Jordan Dingle, a Penn transfer from Valley Stream, N.Y. who was one of the country’s top scorers last year.