College Basketball

St. John’s lands big-man transfer coming off Final Four run

The strong spring for St. John’s continued Sunday evening.

The Red Storm landed their third prospect in the last six weeks, picking up South Carolina transfer Sedee Keita. The skilled 6-foot-10, 240-pound big man, who visited the Queens school Friday and Saturday, has three years of eligibility left, but will have to sit out this season, per NCAA transfer rules. UConn, Washington, Wichita State and Pittsburgh were also involved, but after the visit, Keita knew where he wanted to go.

“I was planning to take a few other visits,” he said. “But after the [St. John’s] visit, I knew that’s where I needed to be. It was me looking at the school, seeing they’re up and coming, making improvements each year.”

Though he averaged only 1.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.6 minutes per game as a freshman, Keita was a highly regarded recruit coming out of high school — a four-star, top-100 prospect. Keita said transferred to be closer to home in Philadelphia. He also liked the idea of playing in the Big East for a program he believes is trending upwards under coach Chris Mullin and his lead recruiter, assistant Matt Abdelmassih.

“He’s improved his team each year,” Keita said of Mullin. “I feel like St. John’s is going to be one of the better teams in the Big East coming up.

“I feel like when I’m eligible to play, I can be one of the guys that can contribute a lot, and help St. John’s get back to where they were.”

Keita joins Quinnipiac transfer Mikey Dixon, the MAAC Rookie of the Year, and four-star Bronx wing Sidney Wilson in the Johnnies’ 2017 recruiting class. Only Wilson will be eligible to play this season. Keita’s commitment leaves St. John’s with one open scholarship for the coming season. It is possible the Red Storm will still fill that spot, a source said.

Dixon’s presence played a factor in Keita’s decision. The two played together on the AAU circuit for three years for WE R1, and when Keita decided to transfer, Dixon reached out to him.

“He told me why he decided to go there, and he started recruiting me after that,” Keita said. “It’s going to be cool playing with Mikey again, being in New York, playing on a big stage. That will definitely be fun.”