St. John’s basketball: Aaron Wheeler finds home for Summer League

St. John’s basketball forward Aaron Wheeler landed an invitation to Summer League. 

A pair of St. John’s basketball players will be taking the floor in Las Vegas this summer for a critical NBA Summer League.

After Julian Champagnie was not selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, the superstar forward for the Red Storm inked a two-way deal with the Philadelphia 76ers and he might not be the only Johnnie to take the floor in Sin City.

Aaron Wheeler has accepted an invitation to join the Miami Heat during the 2022 NBA Summer League, a source confirmed.

Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog reported the news first early Friday morning.

ALSO READ: Julian Champagnie not selected in 2022 NBA Draft

Wheeler only spent one season with the Red Storm after transferring into the program after playing three seasons in the Big Ten Conference with the Purdue Boilermakers.

Aaron Wheeler could have returned to St. John’s for another season as the graduate transfer still had one more year of eligibility remaining due to the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted to all its student-athletic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Wheeler, at 23-years old, opted to leave Queens and try and carve out a role on a professional basketball team.

St. John’s basketball forward found groove late in season

The Stamford, Connecticut native struggled to find his place in the St. John’s rotation during the non-conference portion of the schedule but blossomed into one of the best players on the roster throughout the rigors of Big East play.

Aaron Wheeler played in 31 games for the Red Storm, making 16 starts, and averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks per contest.

ALSO READ: St. John’s staying busy on recruiting trail during summer

The 6-foot-9 bouncy forward shot a career-high 48.1-percent from the floor and 38.5-percent from 3-point territory.

In conference play Wheeler dazzled for the up-and-down Johnnies as he posted 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on 49.2-percent shooting from the field and 42.0-percent from beyond the arc.

The Miami Heat will take part in the California Classic, a two-day event hosted by the Golden State Warriors, beginning on July 2 as well as the Las Vegas Summer League beginning on July 7.