St. John's wouldn't be surprised if Chris Obekpa leaves program

With St. John's having been eliminated from the NCAA tournament Friday, the focus now turns to the future.

That's a future that, much like Friday, may not include forward Chris Obekpa. Obekpa was suspended by the program for two weeks on March 15, effectively ending his season unless the Red Storm made an unlikely Cinderella run. They did not, dropping a 76-69 decision to San Diego State without Obekpa.

The suspension came for a violation of team rules, and it has head coach Steve Lavin doubting whether or not Obekpa will return for his senior season.

"I wouldn't be surprised at all if he (Obekpa) doesn't return to St. John's," Lavin said after the loss.

Don't call that a sure thing just yet, as the Nigerian-born Obekpa was also granted a release from the program following last season only to ultimately return.

Should Obekpa leave, the NBA represents an option instead of a proper transfer to a new school. Ranked 106th by ESPN and 87th by DraftExpress, he'd have to really impress in the lead-up to the draft to secure a second-round selection, but that's not entirely unrealistic. At 6-foot-9, he has a 7-foot-4 wingspan, is a solid defender and a terrific shot-blocker.

The drawback with Obekpa at that level would be his offense. He averaged 5.8 points on 46.2 percent shooting this year, poor numbers for a junior, and he lacks any semblance of an offensive game. Still, he averaged 3.1 blocks and ranks 28th since the 1997-98 season with 321 blocks and 25th with 3.4 blocks per game.