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3 St. John's Freshmen Ineligible for Fall Play

The players may become eligible for the spring semester.

Thursday, Sep 15, 2011 | Updated 6:16 PM EDT

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3 St. John's Freshmen Not Eligible to Play

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St. John's coach Steve Lavin will be facing the first half of his basketball season without three of his top recruits.

St. John's has announced that freshmen Amir Garrett, Norvel Pelle and JaKarr Sampson did not qualify for the fall semester.

The school said Thursday that the three members of the highly regarded recruiting class will work to become eligible for the spring semester. If so, they would be able to participate in practice on Dec. 19.

The 6-foot-6 Garrett, a native of Los Angeles, was drafted in the 22nd round of the baseball draft in June and signed with Cincinnati in August. NCAA rules allow Garrett to play college basketball and professional baseball.

The 6-10 Pelle is from Compton, Calif., while the 6-7 Sampson is from Akron, Ohio.

The remainder of the nine-member recruiting class is eligible to compete in the fall.