St. John's adds Handje Tamba for frontcourt depth
St. John's coach Rick Pitino sits court side during a game between Michigan State and New Mexico in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 23, 2025, in Cleveland. Credit: AP/David Richard
St. John’s improved its frontcourt depth on Tuesday when it got a commitment from 6-11 Handje Tamba.
Tamba was initially enlisted by Tennessee as a freshman but was red-shirted. He spent two seasons with Weber State and averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8 minutes per game as a sophomore. Last season, he played for NAIA Milligan College and averaged 10.5 points and 8.9 rebounds.
Handje is viewed as a potential rim protector for Red Storm coach Rick Pitino and a new interior defensive presence after the transfer of Vince Iwuchukwu.
St. John’s is projected by most national outlets to open the season ranked in the Top 10 of the AP poll after a huge recruiting offseason. Tamba joins a transfer class ranked No. 1 in the nation by 247sports.com.
The Red Storm already have brought in North Carolina transfer Ian Jackson, Arizona State transfer Joson Sanon, Stanford transfer Oziyah Sellers, Providence transfer Bryce Hopkins and Idaho State transfer Dylan Darling.
St. John’s also has lost via transfer Simeon Wilcher, Brady Dunlap, Iwuchukwu, Jaiden Glover and Khaman Maker.
The Red Storm figure to start Ejiofor at center and Hopkins at power forward, though Pitino has spoken of playing Ejiofor, an all-Big East first-team selection, at power forward. The addition of Tamba could possibly allow for that.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
