God's Gift signs with St. John's
Call it a match made in hoops heaven. St. John's coach Steve Lavin already has the No. 2-rated recruiting class in the country, but he still needed size and got it Thursday when 6-9 post player God's Gift Achiuwa announced moments ago that he has signed a national letter of intent with the Red Storm.
Achiuwa made the announcement together with Alex Nwora, his coach at Erie Community College in Buffalo. The Nigerian native earned first team All-American honors in Division II of the National Junior College Athletic Association while leading Erie to a 28-4 record last season.
He should provide the dominant post presence Lavin's first recruiting class, which is deep in wing players and guards, was missing. Achiuwa averaged 22.3 points on 56 percent shooting last season, and he added 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game.
"Gift is a talented frontline player who possesses tremendous size, strength, speed and skill," Lavin said in a statement. "He is an ideal fit for our baseline-to-baseline attacking style of play. The maturity Gift gained from two years of junior college basketball with a combined 55-6 record will make him a nice complement to what will be the youngest team in the country next season. He is fundamentally sound, and comes from a program with a tradition of winning, where a strong work ethic, playing hard and discipline is demanded on a daily basis."
Achiuwa was named Region III player of the year and tournament MVP as a sophomore. In his freshman season he led Erie to a 27-2 record while averaging 13.1 points, 13.5 boards and 2.1 blocks and earning third-team All-American honors.
"I am excited to come to St. John's and New York City," Achiuwa said in a statement from St. John's. "I really like the coaching staff and the way St. John's plays. They are a running team and that's what I like, fast-paced basketball.
"I also like the winning tradition of the new coaching staff. They came into the St. John's program and turned things around in less than a year. I think that's a good indication that the program is on its way back. I like the city and have been to New York a number of times, it is a great place to play and live. Madison Square Garden is the biggest stage in the world and it is a great opportunity to have The Garden as my home court."
Achiuwa, 20, is the third of six children born to Eunice and Donatus Achiuwa of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. His father is a minister. God's Gift has one older brother, Promise, and two younger brothers, God's Will and Precious. His older sister is Grace, and his younger sister is Peace.
Nwora said St. John's has been recruiting Achiuwa since Lavin's arrival after learning about him through the "Basketball Without Borders" program. "When I first saw Gift, I could tell he had the potential but he was raw," Nwora said in the statement. "His work ethic, both in the weight room and during practice, and playing a lot the past two years, have allowed him to develop to become one of the nation's best players at any level. St. John's has a very good coaching staff, including three staff members who have coached in the NBA and that's where he wants to end up."
Achiuwa is the second spring signee announced by the Red Storm along with Chicago guard Phil Greene, who played at the IMG Academy in Florida. The fall signees include Amir Garrett (Los Angeles, Calif./Findlay Prep (Nev.), Maurice Harkless (Queens, N.Y./South Kent (Conn.), D'Angelo Harrison (Missouri City, Texas/Dulles), Norvel Pelle (Compton, Calif./Price), Sir'Dominic Pointer (Fraser, Mich./Quality Education Academy (N.C.) and Jakarr Sampson (Akron, Ohio/Brewster Academy (N.H.) and junior college point guard, Nurideen Lindsey (Philadelphia, Pa./Overbrook/Redlands C.C. (Okla.), who will have three years of eligibility when he joins St. John's.
The only holdovers from last season's 21-12 team are sophomore wing man Dwayne Polee and backup point guard Malik Stith. The spring signing period concludes on May 18, and Lavin has two scholarships still available.
