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St. John's Red Storm forward Chris Obekpa is transferring.
That's the story according to Zach Braziller of the New York Post who uses the St. John's program as his source for this story.
Chris Obekpa will transfer, St. John's announces in a statement. Has one year left, has to sit a year. #sjubb
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) June 24, 2015
The junior big man from Makurdi, Nigeria averaged 5.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game in the 2014-15 season, helping St. John's make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2009-10 campaign.
With Obekpa's departure, St. John's will now have zero percent of its starting lineup from the previous year returning for the 2015-16 season as D'Angelo Harrison, Phil Greene IV, and Sir'Dominic Pointer graduated while Rysheed Jordan recently left the program. Jamal Branch also joined Harrison, Greene and Pointer in graduating this past semester.
All the best to Obekpa wherever his next stop is.
UPDATE (3:24 p.m. ET): St. John's confirmed Obekpa's departure via their athletics site.
QUEENS, N.Y. - Rising senior Chris Obekpa has decided to leave St. John's University. He has been granted permission to pursue transfer opportunities with other NCAA member institutions.
"We respect Chris' decision and wish him well in his future endeavors," said St. John's head coach Chris Mullin.
"It was a great three years of growing here at St. John's. I am forever grateful for the friends and family I have met during my time here," said Obekpa. "Much gratitude goes out to my coaches, teammates, professors and administrators for all of their love and support over the past three years."
Obekpa played in 95 games during his career with the Red Storm, averaging 4.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-9 center from Makurdi, Nigeria, led the BIG EAST in blocked shots three-straight years and holds the program's career (321), single season (133) and single game (11) blocks records. Obekpa made 30 appearances last season posting 5.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.2 rejections per game.