City of Basketball Love

By Justin Procope (@1Procope)
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HAWK HILL —  An hour before tip-off, Christ Essandoko sat on the scorer’s table when one of St. Joe’s assistant coaches approached him.

He wanted to know if Essandoko was nervous. 

After all, the Hawks’ redshirt-freshman forward hadn’t played in front of a crowd in 688 days — not since December of his senior season at Winston-Salem Christian (N.C.).

“It’s a feeling that I missed and I’m blessed to be back on the court,” Essandoko said. “Going into tonight’s game, I was excited.” 

On Friday, Essandoko heard his name called in the starting lineup for the first time in two years, and an electric Hagan Arena got its first look at the 7-foot, 285-pound big man from France ast the Hawks hosted Penn. 

Essandoko made his presence felt right from tip-off, exciting the Hawks crowd with a block in the early moments of the game and finishing with nine points and 10 rebounds in his official St. Joe’s debut, a 69-61 Big 5 win.

“It’s just great to compete against people who don’t know you. They just want to win and you want to win” Essandoko said. “Especially with this group that I’ve been with for a year now and we’ve built something, we went through things. … It’s even better.”

Essandoko redshirted last season and transformed his body, dropping down to 285 pounds from 320 at one time. He drew rave reviews from those inside and outside of the program this preseason and was a standout in the team’s scrimmage against Providence in October, which he said helped eliminate the nerves. 

After playing in the team’s exhibition against Manhattan, he sprained his toe and missed Monday’s 81-60 season opening win over Lafayette.

In his official debut Friday, he finished just 2-for-8 from the floor in 22 minutes of action but showed his range knocking down one of three 3-point attempts and gave fans a glimpse of what they have to look forward to this season.

“He affected the game in so many ways.” St. Joe’s junior guard Lynn Greer III said.. “Just being out there talking to us, talking to us, telling us when to get back… he made it way easier for us. 

Operating initially in the middle of the floor against Penn’s 2-3 zone, Essandoko demonstrated a strong feel for the game as he made several passes that created easy looks for his teammates, even if they couldn’t convert. 

While he was held to just two points in the first half, the Paris-born Essandoko showcased more of his offensive repertoire in the second period. He got to his spots and to the rim with footwork and strong work down in the post. Shots may have not have fallen at the rate he would have liked, but they were shots you imagine will fall as he gets used to the speed of the college game. 

“I’m 7-foot, 275, so it’s not something I’m going to stop just because I’m not making my layups,” Essandoko said. “That’s part of my game. It’s not going to stop, I just have to make sure I’m being patient and finishing.”

It was clear Essandoko was not playing at full strength, as he came out of a few plays walking gingerly still bothered by that injured toe. One moment in particular had everyone holding their breath, as Essandoko came up limping after a big dunk with eight minutes to go in the game. But he was able to tough it out and finish the game, with head coach Billy Lange trusting him to close out the final seconds of a close game.

That trust was rewarded as Essandoko made arguably the play of the game, when he chased down an offensive rebound that led to an Erik Reynolds layup, sealing a win for St. Joe’s. 

“I’m happy that he played. We have a lot to work on,” St. Joe’s head coach Billy Lange said. “The guy when we had a closed scrimmage was arguably one of the best players on the floor against a team that’s picked to be in the NCAA Tournament. To be able to come back and play is good, and he’ll just keep getting better and better. I give him credit to try. A lot of guys would not have tried to play tonight based on his turf toe.”

The last spectators to watch Essandoko before Friday night were those who saw him in Raleigh, N.C. at the John Wall Invitational 688 days ago. 

He and Hawks fans won’t have to wait another 688 for him to take the floor again as St. Joe’s is set to host Stonehill on Tuesday with their intriguing big man.

“He’s been nervous for months because he knows this is here now,” Lange said. “He’s not the most mysterious man in the world. He’s now going to play. He wants to please, he wants to be good, he wants the fans at St. Joe’s to think that it’s been worth the wait. .... and it is.”