College Basketball

St. John’s bolsters frontcourt with JUCO stud Keith Thomas

St. John’s frontline isn’t thin anymore.

Steve Lavin added a major piece Monday afternoon, landing a verbal commitment from prized junior college forward Keith Thomas of Westchester Community College.

The No. 1 rebounder on the junior college Division I level, Thomas picked the Johnnies over South Florida, Fordham and Loyola of Chicago. Miami and Wichita State were also involved, on the outside looking in for the rugged 6-foot-7, 23-year-old from Westchester who attended Yorktown High School.

Thomas said Loyola, the first Division I school to actively recruit him, finished a close second. Ultimately, the relationship he built with Lavin and the opportunity to stay close to home won out. He noticed how close St. John’s came to reaching the NCAA Tournament this past year, and hopes to be the player to put the Johnnies over the top.

“Why not be a part of that?” said Thomas, who will have two years of eligibility and possibly three. “Why go from New York to a little New York? This is where I got to eat. I was born in New York.”

Thomas fills a major need for the Johnnies, which lost JaKarr Sampson, who declared early for the NBA, while fellow forwards Orlando Sanchez and God’sgift Achiuwa are out of eligibility. He averaged 15.3 points and 15.7 rebounds per game last year, leading Westchester to a 28-5 record, the Region XV title and the junior college national tournament. He grabbed 33 rebounds in one game and 31 in another.

One college coach familiar with Thomas described him as an “elite” rebounder who never takes a play off and an adept finisher around the hoop. Though, the coach said, he’s not someone you run plays for, comparing him with DeJuan Blair.

Thomas joins rising junior big man Chris Obekpa, who opted to return to the program after initially receiving his release to transfer, redshirt sophomore forward Christian Jones, and fellow commit Adonis Delarosa, a 6-foot-11 big man from Christ the King in Queens.

“Hopefully I’ll be an impact player,” Thomas said. “That’s what I’ve been brought in to do.

“I play with a lot of aggression, a lot of passion. I play strong. I’m never giving up. I’m just hungry. I play every game like I’m starving.”


St. John’s and Duke will meet this coming season, resuming their rivalry at the Garden after a two-year hiatus.

There is no set date for the game as of yet, but it is expected to be played during the Big East season in January or February, athletic director Chris Monasch said.


The Big East and Big Ten officially announced a collaborative inter-conference challenge that will begin at the start of the 2015-16 season. It will be named the Gavitt Tip-Off Games, in honor of the late Big East Commissioner and Providence College basketball coach Dave Gavitt.