Sedee Keita to transfer out of St. John’s

There’s a lot of changes going on with the St. John’s Red Storm, and Sedee Keita is the latest to make a move.

On Thursday, it was announced that Keita will be transferring out of St. John’s.

This past season—his only active year with the Johnnies, after having to sit out per NCAA transfer rules—Keita played in 22 of St. John’s 34 games, taking a starting role in three contests. After overcoming early-season knee troubles, his minutes fluctuated throughout the year, but he added a much-needed element of size off the bench for the small-ball Johnnies.

He averaged just under 10 minutes per game, scoring 2.1 points per game and grabbing 2.0 rebounds per game. His best showing came against the Seton Hall Pirates on Feb. 23, when he tallied six points, four rebounds, three steals, and four blocks through a season-high 25 minutes of action.

It didn’t seem like things were working out between Keita and the Johnnies, as his role wasn’t as big as he hoped. He came to St. John’s after playing in 29 games during South Carolina’s Final Four season in 2016-17. After sitting out a year, it turned out he would see his role diminish with the Johnnies.

Should he transfer to another school, he will have to burn a year of eligibility sitting out and will have one year remaining. At 6-foot-9, he was one of the Red Storm’s tallest players on the roster. His departure leaves St. John’s with just one eligible 6-foot-9 player come opening day in the 2019-20 season—Josh Roberts.

Ian Steere, another 6-foot-9 big man that comes in at 260 pounds, will not be eligible to play until the second semester, since he transferred into the program from N.C. State midway through the 2018-19 season.