Bridgton Star Departs for St. Johns
Bridgton Academy swingman Amir Garrett has officially left the prep school team and enrolled at St. John’s for the second semester.
Garrett committed to St. John’s last year out of Findlay Prep, where he spent his senior season, and only arrived at Bridgton in September after failing to meet the criteria set forth by the NCAA Eligibility Center.
But now, after using the first semester to get his academics in order, Garrett has met all NCAA qualifications and was consequently free to suit up with the Johnnies for Wednesday’s game against Texas-Pan Am.
While his departure is an obvious blow for Bridgton, the timing couldn’t be any better for St. John’s as they were left with only six recruited scholarship players on the roster following Nurideen Lindsey’s decision to transfer.
"We are pleased to welcome Amir to our Johnnies basketball family. We appreciate his unwavering commitment to the program we are building here at St. John's," said St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin. "Amir is a person of strong character and an outstanding basketball player. His length, explosiveness, quickness and highly-skilled game make him an ideal fit for our system of play. Amir was the most tenacious competitor that we evaluated in the 2011 recruiting class and his fierce will to win is going to be a critical asset as our team prepares for the BIG EAST conference schedule."
"The fans have been supportive, they've been telling me to keep my head up. That's what kept me going, kept me motivated. Coach Lavin and the whole coaching staff has been supportive, they told me to keep my head up, not to give up, and I just kept the faith since day one. I just kept going forward to reach my goal to get [to St. John's] and now I'm here so that's all that matters," said Garrett, who completed additional coursework at Bridgton Academy (Maine) while participating with coach Whit Lesure's prep squad. "I owe a lot to the fans; they kept me going and motivated. It's crazy to see that I'm finally here after all the stuff I've been going through. It's just a blessing."
Garrett is a two-sport star who was taken in the 22nd round of last summer’s Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds, subsequently earning a one million dollar signing bonus. The six-foot-seven lefty is expected to join the Reds farm system this summer while simultaneously staying on his basketball scholarship at St. John’s.
"We have encouraged Amir to continue developing into the best basketball and baseball player he is capable of becoming. His skill, talent, competitive nature and determination has allowed him to have the opportunity to pursue his goals of competing at the highest level of two sports," said Lavin.
Amir Garrett