Moe Harkless will declare for the NBA draft, according to a person familiar with the decision.

The St. John’s forward was long rumored to be planning on leaving for the NBA after being named Big East Rookie of the Year.

Harkless averaged 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a freshman in helping to lead the Johnnies to a 13-19 campaign.

JaKarr Sampson, who was ruled ineligible last fall, has re-committed to the St. John’s program after speaking with coach Steve Lavin.

“He recommitted,” Don Anderson, Sampson’s AAU coach said. “He wanted to get this over with.

“He always had this in mind about St. John’s. He knew he had it in his heart that he always loved the coaching staff in New York.”

The 6-foot-8 forward from Brewster (NH) Academy was a top-50 prospect in the class of 2011.

Felix Balamou, a 6-foot-3 senior wingman from Our Savior New American School on Long Island has committed to St. John’s.

St. John’s is also recruiting Balamou’s teammate, Chris Obekpa, a 6-foot-8 shot-blocker who ESPNU ranks as the No. 50 high school senior in the country.

Moe Harkless has not decided whether to enter this year’s draft, according to a source.

St. John’s coach Steve Lavin released the following statement:

“Moe and I have had a number of productive conversations over the past four days. Naturally the discussions covered the pros and cons of leaving St. John's to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA. Moe and his mother Rosa know, regardless of what his ultimate decision is, we enthusiastically support them. They understood that either outcome will clearly help the Johnnies' cause as we continue to build our basketball program.”

Harkless averaged 15.3 points and 8.6 rebounds this season for the Johnnies.

Louisville defeated Cincinnati by a final score of 50-44 to win the 2012 Big East Tournament.

Rick Pitino's Cardinals came into the tournament as the No. 7 seed and won four consecutive games to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Peyton Siva was named Tournament MVP.

On the All-Tournament Team is Louisville's Gorgui Dieng and Kyle Kuric, Cincinnati's Yancy Gates and Cashmere Wright and Syracuse's Dion Waiters.

Maurice Harkless is weighing whether to enter the NBA draft after his freshman season at St. John’s.

“I just have to sit down and think about it and I’ll talk with my coaches and everything,” Harkless said after he put up 25 points and 9 rebounds in St. John’s final game of the season, a 73-59 loss to Pittsburgh in the Big East Tournament. “And I don’t know yet.”

Steve Lavin plans to be involved in the big decision ahead for Harkless.

“I think the first is to find out, is pursuing the NBA after his freshman year a priority because it may not be,” Lavin said of Harkless. “We may be presuming that that’s on his mind and something he wants to do.

“And we won’t know until we really sit down because I haven’t pushed him on that one way or the other to try to get answer out of him. I just wanted him to focus on school and basketball and finishing the season as best as he can.”

St. John’s coach Steve Lavin brought in a yoga instructor so his team could stay limber and avoid injury.

“When you play in the Big East, especially the number of minutes we play, your legs can go,’’ point guard Phil Greene said. “I feel like I was much more flexible.’’

Johnnies players and coaches believe there’s a direct correlation between the lack of injuries and yoga with assistant coach Mike Dunlap telling reporters that not only had no player missed a game because of injury but no one missed a practice.

“When you do yoga your whole body functions to the best of your ability,’’ said team yoga instructor Johan Montijano. “You’re stronger, faster and more flexible. I teach yoga to first graders and in gyms around the city. Everyone can benefit from it.’’

Kris Joseph of regular season champion Syracuse headlines the 2012 All-Big East First Team. He is joined by Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom of Marquette, Jason Clark of Georgetown, Kevin Jones of West Virginia and Jeremy Lamb of Connecticut.

Crowder was named Big East Player of the Year.

On the All-Big East Second Team is Scoop Jardine of Syracuse, Jack Cooley of Notre Dame, Sean Kilpatrick of Cincinnati, Jordan Theodore of Seton Hall and Maalik Wayns of Villanova.

Dion Waiters of Syracuse headlines the All-Big East Third Team and is joined by Darryl Bryant of West Virginia, Vincent Council of Providence, Herb Pope of Seton Hall and Henry Sims of Georgetown.

Receiving Honorable Mention consideration is Ashton Gibbs of Pitt, Maurice Harkless of St. John's, Kyle Kuric of Louisville, Cleveland Melvin of DePaul and Hollis Thompson of Georgetown.

Fab Melo of Syracuse was named Defensive Player of the Year, while teammate Waiters was named Sixth Man of the Year. Cooley won the Most Improved Player award.

On the All-Rookie Team is Andre Drummond of Connecticut, Chane Behanan of Louisville, Anthony Collins of South Florida, Jerian Grant of Notre Dame, LaDontae Henton of Providence, and Maurice Harkless and D'Angelo Harrison of St. John's.

Harkless was named Rookie of the Year.

Olney Central College point guard Trivante Bloodman has caught the eye of the St. John’s coaching staff. Johnnies assistant coach Tony Chiles scouted Bloodman on Wednesday and head coach Steve Lavin is expected for the Region 24 tournament, which takes place March 8-11.

“It’s a good story for a kid who wasn’t getting looks out of high school,” Olney assistant Dan Matic said.

Bloodman is averaging 15.5 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals.

“I think he’s got a chance to be pretty special,” Matic said. “He’s got a wingspan of a 6-6 player. He’s a ball-hawk, defensively. He really disturbs things.

“Offensively, he’s unique because he can get to the lane. He knows how to draw contact. Because of the length of his arms he finishes well around the rim with contact. He has a really good knack for seeing open players. When he gets to the lane they do collapse on him.”