Steve Lavin, still recovering from surgery for prostate cancer, is focused on trying to lure top talent to St. John’s.

“It’s the most involved I’ve been recruiting, probably in my career,” Lavin said. “It’s the last thing I’m doing before I go to bed and the first thing I’m thinking about in the morning. . . . It’s not like I’m in an iron lung somewhere.”

Lavin, 47, and assistant coach Tony Chiles have been traveling the country to see recruits as far as Louisiana, California and Nevada. He took an extended leave from the bench in mid-November.

“I am back next year,” Lavin said.

Nerlens Noel has confirmed that he has not yet officially reclassified as a member of the class of 2012.

Noel is widely considered to be the top member of that class.

One school source did indicate that it was likely Noel would be allowed to officially reclassify into the Class of 2012, perhaps as soon as this week.

Nerlens Noel is expected to make an official visit to Kentucky this weekend.

Noel, a 6-foot-10 shot-blocking center, has also expressed interest in Syracuse, Florida, Georgetown, North Carolina, Providence and Connecticut.

He is ranked No. 1 overall in the 2012 class.

Shabazz Muhammad, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Las Vegas, will visit the University of Kansas the weekend of Feb. 25 on an official recruiting trip.

Muhammad is rated the top uncommitted wing player in the Class of 2012.

He is considering Duke, Kansas, UCLA, UNLV, Arizona and Kentucky and has said he expects to announce in April.

Julius Randle's Prestonwood High defeated Bishop Dunne by a final score of 75-63 on Tuesday.

John Calipari was in attendance to watch Randle, one of the top juniors in the country.

Andrew Wiggins, a 6-foot-7, 200 pound small forward rated as the No. 1 prep prospect in the 2014 class, is considering Kentucky and Florida State.

Andrew is the son of Mitchel Wiggins, a former NBA player who played six seasons in the late 80s and early 90s, and Marita Payne, a former Olympic track athlete. Wiggins is currently attending Huntington Prep in Huntington, W.Va., playing for coach Rob Fulford.

“He would like to go to Florida State to follow his parents, but at the same time he knows it would be a lot of pressure to follow in his dad’s footsteps, so I think it just depends on what day of the week it is,” coach Fulford said.

As for Kentucky, Fulford said: “I think Kentucky’s obviously in it. They’re close to where we’re at. He went up to the North Carolina game. He went up to the Florida football game. He’s been there a couple times, and obviously Coach Cal was at a game a couple weeks ago.

“So I think right now Kentucky’s right now, as far as recruiting purposes, they’re probably a little bit more involved than anybody else.”

Of Kentucky, Wiggins said, “It’s an honor. That school’s a great school, great environment, great fans, players and coach.”

Nerlens Noel is considering a number of schools, including Syracuse, Kentucky, Florida, Georgetown and North Carolina. Noel, who recently reclassified to 2012, is expected to be at the Syracuse-Connecticut game at the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

Syracuse is hoping freshman Michael Carter-Williams may help sway Noel to commit to them.

"He’s one of my best friends," Carter-Williams said. "We’ve been playing AAU ball together since my sophomore year of high school. I just knew him from around. Then, after, we played on the same AAU team. We just hung out with each other all summer and he comes to my house all of the time.” 

Carter-Williams has spoken to Noel many times about his recruiting process, including playing for the Orange.

"He knows I want him to come here, definitely," Carter-Williams said. "But I’m not treating him any differently, to try to convince him to come here. At the end of the day, he’s going to go where he wants."