Midnight Madness 2012: St. John's, Rutgers and Seton Hall open seasons Friday

The St. John's Red Storm, Seton Hall Pirates and Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball seasons officially begin Friday when the programs host "Midnight Madness" events at its respective gymnasiums and arenas. The events, which serve as a preseason pep rally for fans and is used as a recruiting tool, usually showcase scrimmages, dunk and 3-point shooting contests and other activities.

One of the biggest aspects of Midnight Madness is recruiting, as potent targets attend the event and check out the campus, facilities and see what the atmosphere is like. Below is an unofficial list of prospects that will be attending each Midnight Madness.

St. John's -- from the SB Nation blog Rumble in the Garden

Isaiah Whitehead (6'4, 170-pound shooting guard): Class of 2014. Native of Brooklyn, NY.

Jon Severe (6'2, 180, guard): Class of 2013. Native of Brooklyn, NY.

Jermaine Lawrence (6'9, 200, power forward): Class of '13. Native of Queens, NY.

Adonis Delarosa (6'10, 260, center): Class of '14. Native of Bronx, NY.

Andrew Walker (5'10, 155, point guard): Class of '14. Native of Brooklyn, NY.

Evan Hubbard (6'6, 215, forward): Class of '14. Native of Deer Park, NY.

Chris Atkinson (5'11 guard): Class of '15. Native of Brookville, NY.

Jessie Govan (6'9, 255, center): Class of '15. Native of Queens, NY.

DaQuan Washington (5'9, 140, point guard): Class of '15. Native of Harlem, NY.

Dimenscio Vaughn (6'5, 180, forward): Class of '15. Native of Harlem, NY.

Mohamed Touray (6'3, 160, guard): Class of '15. Native of Bronx, NY.

Bryce Aiken (5'7, 135, point guard): Class of '16. Native of Randolph, NJ.

Devonte Green (6'1, 165, guard): Class of '16. Native of Centereach, NY.

Tremont Waters (5'9, 135, guard): Class of '17. Native of New Haven, CT.

St. John's Midnight Madness will begin at 7 p.m. at Carnesecca Arena. The event will be hosted by ESPN SportsCenter's John Anderson and will be streamed live in its entirety on ESPN3.

Seton Hall -- from South Orange Juice

Austin Colbert (2013 F, Gill St. Bernard's -- official visit)

Isaiah Lewis (2013 G, The Patrick School -- unofficial visit)

Jevon Thomas (2013 PG, St. John's Northwestern Military Academy -- official visit)

Jerron Wilbut (2013 G, St. John's Northwestern Military Academy -- official visit)

Dwayne Morgan (2014 F, St. Frances Academy -- unofficial visit)

Winston Morgan (2014 PG, East Catholic HS -- unofficial visit)

This will be the first time Seton Hall has held a Midnight Madness events since 2007. The event will be held at Richard and Shelia Regan Fieldhouse which will open its doors at 8:30 p.m. A full preview of Seton Hall's Midnight Madness can be found here.

Rutgers -- from Scout.com's Matt Aladik

Tyler Robinson (6'8, 210, small forward): No. 29-ranked recruit by Rivals. Class of '13. Native of Roselle, NJ.

Roddy Peters (6'4, 180, point guard): No. 39-ranked recruit by Rivals. Class of '13. Native of District Heights, MD.

The event will be held at the College Ave. Gymnasium and will begin at 9 p.m.