Boys’ basketball: Polee picks St. John’s

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Dwayne Polee Jr., the City Section player of the year from Westchester, has selected St. John’s as his college choice, his father, Dwayne Sr., confirmed Thursday.

It’s a triumph for new St. John’s Coach Steve Lavin, the former UCLA coach.

‘He was in love with Coach Lavin,’ Dwayne Sr. said. ‘Lavin is a West Coast guy and he was comfortable with him.’

Add to that, St. John’s is scheduled to play UCLA at Pauley Pavilion next season, which will be a homecoming for Lavin and Polee.

Lavin can’t comment until Polee signs his letter of intent.

The 6-foot-7 Polee committed to USC as a freshman but opened up his recruiting after USC’s coaching change last year. He helped lead Westchester to the City Section Division I championship and state Division I championship with his rebounding, scoring and shot-blocking skills.

Polee visited Oregon last weekend and also considered Georgia.

-- Eric Sondheimer