St. John's declares potential starting forward academically ineligible
With only shot-blocking center Chris Obekpa returning from last season's frontcourt rotation, St. John's is counting on incoming players to help make up for the departure of forwards JaKarr Sampson and Orlando Sanchez.
That strategy took a hit Wednesday, however, when the Johnnies learned they won't have the services of one of those newcomers.
Highly touted forward Keith Thomas has been ruled academically ineligible to play for St. John’s this season because of issues stemming from a grade-forging scandal at his former junior college. The Westchester County Journal News reported last week that a Westchester Community College assistant coach was fired last week amid allegations of signature forgery and transcript fraud. The NJCAA is investigating and two Florida A&M signees from the school reportedly already had their scholarships yanked.
"Academic integrity is treated very seriously at St. John's University and we are committed to maintaining high academic standards for all of our student-athletes," St. John's athletic director Chris Monasch said. "Our athletic compliance office recently became aware of information that triggered an additional review of Thomas' academic credentials at Westchester Community College. Our assessment and decision are in accordance with University and NCAA policies."
The loss of Thomas robs St. John's of a formidable rebounder who earned junior college All-American honors last season by averaging more than 15 boards per game. That would have been a massive addition for the Johnnies since Sampson and Sanchez were their two best rebounders last season.
Now St. John's probably has two options for the starting spot alongside Obekpa in the frontcourt. It could either plug in 6-foot-7 redshirt sophomore Christian Jones or go ultra-small with three guards and 6-foot-5 Sir'Dominic Pointer at the big forward spot.
Neither option is ideal, which is why the loss of Thomas stings so much. In a year when St. John's has a wealth of perimeter talent and a shot-blocking center in the middle, the Johnnies will miss a tough interior threat like Thomas who could have cleaned up the glass and scored around the rim.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
