- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,244,602
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
One injury can completely reshape a freshman’s expectations. What was once expected to be a developmental season for Theo Edema could suddenly become one of the most important freshman seasons of Rick Pitino’s tenure at St. John’s. Edema reclassified to be eligible for the 2026 recruiting class, where he ranks as a top-15 center. The Nigerian big man chose St. John’s over Syracuse, Auburn and Maryland, citing one primary reason: he wanted to be developed by Rick Pitino and his staff after watching Zuby Ejiofor’s recent success.
Rick Pitino typically doesn’t give major minutes to freshmen, but Donnie Freeman’s season-ending injury may force his hand. Edema will be competing for backup center minutes with Serbian signing Lazar Stojkovic. Both newcomers are already competing with Rick Pitino’s approval: “Extremely impressed with our two big freshmen. Lazar and Theo are great learners. Hard-working with terrific potential. PHD (passionate, hungry, driven) is evident.”
Theo Edema
- Class: Freshman
- Position: Center
- Height and Weight: 6-foot-11, 250 pounds
- Hometown: Edo State, Nigeria
- Last School: Cushing Academy (Ashburnham, MA)
Measured at 6-foot-11 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and a 9-foot-2 standing reach, Edema has extremely rare measurements compared to NBA players like Jaren Jackson Jr., Myles Turner, and Walker Kessler. At just 18 years old, Edema could still grow some more and, with his already muscular frame, could turn into a real physical specimen that St. John’s hasn’t had in a long time.
Edema has only been playing basketball for a little over four years, making his basketball IQ even more impressive. Edema, just like Zuby Ejiofor when he arrived to Queens in the spring of 2023, is a very raw prospect coming into Pitino’s system. One of the biggest flaws in his game is his hands. On film, Edema occasionally struggles to make clean catches, which was one of the areas Ejiofor also had to improve, but other intangibles really stand out.
At Cushing Academy, Edema faced some of the best competition in the Northeast. That level of competition helps project how his skill set will translate to the college level. One of the skills that pop off the page is his in-game awareness and ability to maneuver around defenders. When a shot goes up, Theo can find the open space around the defender to go up and grab the rebound. On multiple occasions, you can see Edema doing swim moves to gain inside position and other maneuvers to position himself for success.
Edema does all the little things correctly, like being able to set hard, well-timed screens where he works as a great roller and as a lob threat. He gets used as an initiator of the offense at the top of the key, where he’s fully capable of doing hand-off pick-and-roll or fake hand-offs and taking it to the rim.
Edema also uses his length very well in passing lanes, and his hands are very active, which leads to easy steals and deflections that you don’t see from big men of his size.
If his development continues on its current trajectory, Edema has the tools to become one of the better two-way centers in college basketball over the next few seasons. With his high motor, soft touch around the rim, and his agility at that size, Edema projects as a rim runner who impacts games through screening, offensive rebounding, shot blocking, and efficient finishing rather than creating offense for himself.
“Theo has all the raw ability to become one of the elite college basketball players in the country,” Cushing Academy head coach James Cormier told Adam Zagoria back in May, “Despite playing basketball for only about four years, what stands out most is his feel for the game and his ability to process and make reads at a high level. His basketball IQ is well beyond most players with similar experience.”
Coach Cormier just recently helped mold Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie into an NBA player, with him being drafted in the first round by the Detroit Pistons. Cormier has a strong track record of developing frontcourt talent, making his evaluation of Edema particularly noteworthy. In high school, Edema averaged 12 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks while earning an All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention.
After receiving high praise from top high school coaches and recruiters, Edema will have a big spotlight shined on him in one of the brightest cities of them all. The competition between him and Lazar Stojkovic is expected to help shape the future of the Red Storm program. You could very likely see Theo Edema getting a workload similar to Ruben Prey last season. Maybe you get to see Edema play alongside Prey on the court to help bring a high-motor defense. The years of the Johnnies being undersized in the Big East are over, with three centers standing nearly seven feet tall.
Edema projects as a long-term piece for St. John’s, but he’ll still need to make substantial progress during training camp if he’s going to earn meaningful minutes behind Ruben Prey this season. His physical tools, basketball IQ, and ability to finish around the rim give him a foundation that few freshmen possess. What was once expected to be a developmental year may instead become the first chapter of Theo Edema’s emergence. If he develops the way Rick Pitino believes he can, the Johnnies may have found their next Zuby Ejiofor.
Continue reading...
