Boston College Basketball: Sammy Barnes-Thompkins Commits To Eagles

Boston College basketball got a huge pickup on Wednesday with former St. John's commit Sammy Barnes-Thompkins joining the Eagles.

Great pickup by #BCEagles on 3 star guard Sammy Barnes-Thompkins

— ERIC HOFFSES (@EAHoffses) May 20, 2015

Barnes, a three star shooting guard, comes to BC from Phoenix, Arizona where he played for the AAU Club the Arizona Magic, he is the son of a former Iowa State guard.  He originally committed to St. John's under Steve Lavine but reopened his recruitment after SJ hired Chris Mullins. According to an NBC report the 6-2 guard recently took visits to USC and St. Mary's, but chose the Eagles. According to his Rivals page he also held offers from UC-Davis, San Jose State and Rice.

Boston College seriously needs help at all positions going into next season, but the guard position is particularly weak with the loss of Lonnie Jackson and Olivier Hanlan. A 2015 recruit, Barnes-Thompkins will probably be in line for immediate playing time under Jim Christian.

After the loss of Preston Murphy and a handful of transfers, it's good to hear that Boston College has had some success on the recruiting trail. Given their lack of depth, they still need to grab a grad transfer or two, so hopefully we will have some more good news coming soon.

Fellow SBNation Blog Rumble In the Garden has a good scouting report on Barnes-Thompkins:

The 6'3" combo guard out of Sunnyslope High School can score the ball at ease using different facets of his game. He has a solid mid-range jump shot, can knock down shots from long range and he uses his length and strength to finish around the rim. Barnes-Thompkins has a smooth shot and continues to improve his ball-handling, which is key if he's going to run the point guard position. He also loves to play up-tempo and that is an area of play that St. John's has shined in, particularly this season.

The high school senior needs to improve his shot selection, movement without the ball and his quickness to be successful on the next level, but if he remains consistent and efficient he can be a solid talent for Lavin for years to come within the Big East Conference.

Barnes Thompkins is the fourth commit of the Class of 2015, joining A.J Turner, Jerome Robinson, and Matt Millon, all of whom have already signed their National Letter of Intent.

Welcome to the Heights Sammy!