St. John’s smooth preseason, full of positive vibes and NCAA Tournament talk, came to an abrupt halt Friday night, less than an hour before the Red Storm Tip-Off event at Carnesecca Arena.
The school announced shot-blocking dynamo Chris Obekpa was suspended for the event and the team’s two exhibition games for violating “University policy.” Coach Steve Lavin said it was the first such issue involving Obekpa, and a source told The Post it was a “minor” infraction.
The soft-spoken sophomore, a Nigerian product who attended high school at Our Savior New American on Long Island, is expected to return for the season opener against No. 21 Wisconsin on Nov. 8 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Obekpa will continue to practice with the team through his suspension, the school said.
“As a coach, you try and teach your players that choices and judgments are an important part of life,” Lavin said. “And so, appropriately there are consequences that are tied to choices. I think it will be a valuable learning experience for Chris, and that’s where the focus is.”
The game-changing shot-blocker averaged an NCAA-best 4.03 blocks per game last year and set a school Big East record of 133 as a freshman. He was recently named as a Big East preseason honorable mention selection.