The 7-foot-1 sophomore center has two more years of eligibility
After going 35 days without a commitment, St. John’s is finally on the board in this transfer portal cycle.
USC transfer and 7-foot-1 sophomore center Vince Iwuchukwu has committed to St. John’s on Tuesday afternoon, according to Derek Murray.
NEWS: USC transfer Vince Iwuchukwu has committed to St. John’s University.
7’1 center appeared in 15 MPG last season for the Trojans, and was a Top-25 recruit in class of 2022. pic.twitter.com/WyloWFpzWp
— Derek Murray (@Derek__Murray) April 23, 2024
St. John’s hosted Iwuchukwu on a visit last Wednesday, April 17. Their only serious competitor for Iwuchukwu was SMU, who hosted the San Antonio, Texas native on a visit last Sunday. SMU hired Iwuchukwu’s former college head coach, Andy Enfield, away from USC in early April.
Iwuchukwu was a former five-star recruit in the class of 2022, sitting at 25th in 247Sports’s Composite rankings, and received interest from Baylor, Kansas, Texas, and UCLA out of high school before committing to USC. He has two more years of eligibility after the 2023-24 season.
Before his freshman season, Iwuchukwu suffered cardiac arrest during a summer workout and was hospitalized for a few days. After several months of waiting, 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 five 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.
Iwuchukwu was again stricken with health problems in his sophomore year when he underwent back surgery before the 2023-24 season. After missing the first two games, Iwuchukwu played in the next 31 games and made 11 starts, averaging 5.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks in 15.7 minutes per game while shooting 50.4% from the field.
The biggest question mark following Iwuchukwu is his health. If he has a full, uninterrupted offseason to improve, Rick Pitino and his staff could tap into his professional potential.
St. John’s men’s basketball now has four open scholarships remaining for the 2024-25 season. The addition of Iwuchukwu supplements a talented frontcourt rotation that features returning former top-50 recruit Zuby Ejiofor (4.3 ppg, 3.1 reb) and incoming four-star high school recruit Khaman Maker.