St. John's adds graduate transfer Arnaldo Toro

By: Troy Mauriello

The sports world may be on pause for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson and his staff can take any days off.

Anderson landed the first recruit of his first full off-season as St. John’s head coach, landing a commitment from George Washington graduate transfer forward Arnaldo Toro. As a graduate transfer, Toro will be immediately eligible for the Red Storm during the 2020-21 season.

Toro, a 6-foot-8 forward from Puerto Rico, appeared in 24 games for the Colonials this past season. He averaged 6.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game, while shooting a career-best 47.6 percent from the field. Oddly enough, Toro’s playing time actually diminished greatly last season, down to just over 18 minutes per game after playing nearly 30 minutes per game in 2018-19 as a junior. Some say this is due to a combination of injury and George Washington head coach Jamion Christian prioritizing getting underclassmen minutes on a young Colonials team.

Despite this, there is no denying that Toro has the potential to be a solid piece for a Red Storm team that hopes to jump out of the bottom of the Big East next season. While Toro’s statistics don’t jump off the page, his size will be a much-needed addition to a team that finished last in the Big East in rebounding margin by a wide number in 2019-20.

Toro will be added to a Red Storm frontcourt that should enter next season with potential, but also a good amount of question marks. St. John’s will return its leading rebounder in G/F Julian Champagnie, but Champagnie stands at just 6-foot-7 and is not considered a dominant presence in the paint. The same could be said for F Marcellus Earlington, who had a breakout 2019-20 season, but stands just 6-foot-6. F Josh Roberts is the Red Storm’s tallest returning player at 6-foot-9, but his season was cut short due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

It'll be interesting to see where Mike Anderson fits Toro into a frontcourt that will also feature F Isaih Moore, who was named Third Team JUCO All-American earlier this week.

The addition of Toro also should fill the Red Storm’s roster heading into next season, presuming that G/F LJ Figueroa decides to return to school. Figueroa declared for the NBA Draft last month, but he is not projected to be drafted and is expected to just be testing the waters.

With Figueroa back, it’s fair to assume the Johnnies should have a shot to finish in the top half of the Big East next season for the first time since 2014-15. St. John’s should return seven of its nine leading scorers next season, and will add Bronx backcourt teammates Posh Alexander and Dylan Wusu, as well as JUCO sharpshooter Vince Cole, a First Team All-American this season.

St. John’s finished the 2019-20 season 17-15 and was in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament before the season was ended prematurely.