Ejike Obinna is centered at St. Joseph’s

It’s still early in the season for St. Joe’s men’s basketball team, but center Ejike Obinna is already making a strong statement about his willingness to shoulder responsibility for results.

After a season-opening tight 69-67 win against Maryland Eastern Shore was deemed by some to be lucky, the Hawks followed up with a far more dominant performance against Mount Saint Mary’s. While many Hawk fans would expect star forwards Taylor Funk or Jordan Hall to be the story in a high scoring 80-60 game, it was Obinna who was the difference maker. “Edge,” Obinna’s nickname on the team, recorded 16 points and 15 rebounds, both career highs. Against Drexel in a close loss, 78-75, Obinna contributed a solid 28 minutes, scoring 8 points in the Hawk’s third game of the season.

» READ MORE: James Butler, Camren Wynter lead Drexel past St. Joseph’s in men’s basketball

“For our guys to defend the way they did tonight, for the bench to come in and just give us great minutes, for [Obinna] to set an amazing tone to start the game, for [Cameron Brown] to play some point guard, it means a lot,” said head coach Billy Lange after the team’s second game.

Obinna was the story of the first half against Mount Saint Mary’s as well as an anchor on the defensive end with his strong presence in the paint. Mount Saint Mary’s continuously had to kick the ball out to the three point line to avoid having Obinna send their attempts into the student section. Offensively, the Hawks are learning to use much more of Obinna on the block compared to their opener. The man coverage defense by Mount Saint Mary’s only created more opportunities for Obinna. A highlight of Obinna’s performance versus the Drexel Dragons was late in the game when Hall found Obinna for an alley-oop to make it a 75-74 contest.

”We tried to use Obinna in the post [against Maryland Eastern Shore] and they just played zone. But he just gives us a relaxing presence down there, and he’s getting better,” said Lange.

Obinna showed off an array of post moves, notably against Mount Saint Mary’s, where he also dominated the rebounding game with eight offensive boards. “Whenever the ball goes up, I’m attacking. It just keeps the defense on their feet,” said Obinna.

The Hawks are also able to run in transition more effectively when Obinna comes up with plenty of defensive rebounds. These allow guard Erik Reynolds II to run the show in transition.

» READ MORE: St. Joseph’s men’s basketball season opener reveals potential and problem areas

Obinna spent his first three years of college basketball at Vanderbilt University, but only averaged eight minutes per game last season with the Commodores. It looks like he will have a larger role on Hawk Hill. And according to Coach Lange, Obinna is only going to get better.

”He’s probably had more touches in the last two games than he might have had in the last 24 months. So, there’s an individual development piece that’s coming from it,” said Lange.

Even with only three games on Hawk Hill under his belt, Obinna seems to have his approach all figured out.

”We try and take advantage of however the defense is playing us,” said Obinna. “Sometimes they double and we want to kick it out, and if they don’t, then we go to work.”

Lange was cognizant of the basketball season transitioning to a different pandemic reality, one that is still new to many of the younger players. He noted having a solid player like the calm center gives the Hawks a literal edge over opponents.

“Honestly, we just adjusted to having fans and a crowd. [The energy from the fans] was something I did not anticipate,” said Lange “And your ability to one, appreciate it, but then the other part is you’ve got to block it out. And then we had Obinna.”