St. John’s signs Josh Roberts in the early signing period

Josh Roberts, the 6’9” big man originally from Troy, Alabama, has signed with St. John’s today in college basketball’s early signing period, adding a bouncy forward to Chris Mullin’s team next season.

“We are thrilled to welcome Josh to our basketball program,” said Head Coach Chris Mullin. “Josh is a versatile big man who brings toughness and a tremendous work ethic to the court. We believe he has the potential to make an immediate impact for us next season.”

The 210-pound Roberts will be the team’s only signee in the early period; Greg Williams, who enjoyed an official visit in late October, has not committed to a school as yet.

Josh Roberts, currently playing a postgraduate season at Montverde Academy in Florida, blew up over the summer, attracting attention from SEC schools. But a New York connection brought the player with upside to commit to the Red Storm.

“My parents and most of my family are from New York and I know that they’re a great program,” he said to the Rumble. “I know they got the legend Chris Mullin as head coach so that’s big time and I like it.”

A former football player at Charles Henderson HS in Troy, AL, Roberts is a forward who handles rebounding and putbacks in the post.

Next year, St. John’s will have a number of interior options to help the attack; Roberts will be joined by strong South Carolina transfer Sedee Keita and the slim athletic wing Boubacar Diakite.

Both players are sitting out this season, with Keita redshirting because of NCAA Transfer rules and Diakite recovering from a knee injury suffered in the spring.

This season’s Red Storm may have some trouble with size in the paint; next year’s team looks to have a lot of big man depth.