Rick Pitino has not leaned on freshmen for much playing time during his short career with the St. John’s basketball program but that could change ahead of this upcoming season.
After expressing concerns about his frontcourt entering Sunday’s preseason finale against No. 7 Texas, the Hall of Famer watched his Johnnies handle the Longhorns size with relative ease behind an outstanding performance from Theo Edema.
Edema, a 4-star recruit who reclassified to join the Red Storm this season, logged 12 minutes and landed four points, a game-high seven rebounds, and a block.
He outrebounded Texas star center Matas Vokietatis by three and kept numerous possessions alive with four offensive rebounds – all in the second half – which led directly to six second chance points as St. John’s registered 14 second chance points in the game.
“I think he played amazing,” Tounde Yessoufou said of Theo Edema’s performance against Texas. “His energy, no matter how many points he scores, you can tell he affects the game in many, many different types of ways.”
“He was a dawg on defense. I feel like he gave a hard time to Matas [Vokietatis] and that’s something we really, really need because we are going to be in games that we need him.”
Edema also made a positive impact in St. John’s first exhibition game against Drexel, registering six points, a rebound, steal, and block prior to not being a factor in the quadruple overtime win against Rutgers.
“I think he still has a lot of potential that a lot of people haven’t seen,” Yessoufou added.
What was considered a potential weakness for St. John’s during this preseason could now be an area of growth and improvement entering the season.
“You got to get him in and out constantly because he gets tired real quick, but he has the body to play, even though he’s young,” Rick Pitino explained.
“We’re going to use him because Ruben [Prey] is always getting in foul trouble…He’s got a great worth ethic.”
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