After playing a major part in the St. John’s basketball exhibition victory over No. 7 Texas, it was shocking to see freshman Theo Edema not get off the bench in the Red Storm’s season opening win over Monmouth on Monday.
But Rick Pitino said that will not happen anymore.
“He’s going to be in the lineup forever now,” Pitino said on Wednesday afternoon before the Johnnies held its first practice of the season inside Madison Square Garden.
The Hall of Famer added that his plan was to sit Edema against the Hawks to try and get Ruben Prey, the starting center, rolling after a relatively quiet preseason. Prey struggled in the first game, missing all five of his shot attempts, but still has the trust and confidence of the coaching staff.
However, the 7-foot rookie off the bench will be a very important piece for St. John’s moving forward.
“Theo has a fabulous attitude, but we have to get Theo ready for Las Vegas because that type of size is going to be there,” Pitino added.
Edema pulled down a game-high seven rebounds against the Longhorns and four key offensive rebounds in the second half that directly contributed to six second chance points.
His work ethic in practice is drawing comparisons to program legend Zuby Ejiofor. Junior captain Ian Jackson referred to the freshman in an interview as “Baby Zuby” and Rick Pitino sees some of the parallels too.
“He has a wonderful personality,” the St. John’s coach explained. “I don’t want to put this heat on him by saying this, but he reminds me of Zuby in his first year [with St. John’s], in terms of his personality, his willingness to learn, his smile.”
“I hope he turns out to be that player.”
Theo Edema’s first collegiate game and bigger role on the team will start on Sunday afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET, Peacock) when No. 13 St. John’s (1-0) hosts Iona (2-0) inside The Garden.
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