The toolsy 7-foot-1 sophomore visited Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night
It has been one month since the transfer portal officially opened and St. John’s has yet to land a commitment out of the portal, but Rick Pitino and his staff have taken a deliberate approach to recruiting the portal this cycle by prioritizing good fits.
In former five-star recruit Vince Iwuchukwu, they could have another great man in the middle.
According to Zach Braziller, St. John’s hosted the 7-foot-1 transfer from USC on a visit Wednesday night, which also included a trip to the World’s Most Famous Arena. Iwuchukwu posted a picture of the Madison Square Garden jumbotron on his Instagram story.
USC transfer Vince Iwuchukwu posted on his Instagram that he’s visiting @StJohnsBBall and MSG
The 7-foot-1 big man averaged 5.5 ppg and 3.8 rpg https://t.co/fhsAUeGa8v pic.twitter.com/uGpl062Vuv
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 18, 2024
During a summer workout before his freshman season, Iwuchukwu suffered cardiac arrest and was hospitalized for a few days. His basketball career was in jeopardy, but he was eventually cleared to practice in late 2022, and he made his college debut on January 12, 2023, in a home game against Colorado.
Limited to 14 games and 5 starts in the 2022-23 season, Iwuchukwu averaged 5.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 13.9 minutes per game while shooting 50.9% from the field.
Health troubles continued to befall Iwuchukwu. He underwent back surgery in the offseason, which kept him out for the first two games of his sophomore season. In 31 games and 11 starts during the 2023-24 season, he averaged 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in 15.7 minutes per game while shooting 50.4% from the field.
A change of scenery and scheme could unlock Iwuchukwu’s advertised potential. Iwuchukwu was rated as the 25th-best recruit in the 2022 class according to 247Sports Composite.
His 7-foot-1, 220-pound frame easily translates his game into an athletic interior presence who can reject shots with ease, and his length can take away space for opposing teams in Rick Pitino’s matchup zone defense.
Iwuchukwu is already familiar with current St. John’s big man Zuby Ejiofor, who frequently faced each other in Texas’s AAU circuit.