CHRIST ESSANDOKO COMMITS TO PROVIDENCE FOR A SECOND TIME.
Christ Essandoko, a center, committed to Friartown late Wednesday afternoon, adding to Providence’s transfer success.
Christ Eassandoko and the Friars have come full circle with their commitment. Essandoko originally committed to Providence and the prior staff on October 2, 2021, as a member of the Class of 2022. He chose the Friars over Seton Hall, Georgetown, Maryland, Illinois, and North Carolina State. Essandoko arrived in Providence on June 23, 2021, and whispers circulated about a speedy commitment. His prep school teammate, Quante Berry, committed on July 6, but nothing happened with the big man. Finally, following a string of excellent fall AAU performances, Essandoko declared his commitment to the Friars.
At the time of his announcement, Essandoko was the #134 player in his class and the #3 player in North Carolina. Playing at Winston-Salem Academy in North Carolina, he averaged 17 ppg and 12 rpg a game as a junior in a Covid-shortened season, and 15 ppg, 11 rpg and 3 bpg as a senior. His NC Top 80 evaluation painted a clear picture of his strengths and weaknesses. “He’s a big, smart, strong, supremely skilled big man with size, soft hands, and incredible offensive polish. Essandoko is a lethal post-up threat with the ability to overwhelm opponents with his deep arsenal of moves, finishing ability, and pristine footwork around the basket. However, he also has the necessary tools to step out and effortlessly assert himself as a floor-spacing presence. Essandoko is an elite two-way rebounder, savvy passer, and quality overall defender with the ability to wall-up and block shots at a solid rate. Christ rebounds and looks for the long pass. He can put it on the floor to start the break and is capable of knocking down three-pointers. He must continue to improve from 15 feet. He has several post moves. Christ needs to become a great free-throw shooter. He’s an excellent passer when taking the ball on out-of-bounds sets.”
By January of his senior season, issues began to arise. A native of Paris, France, Essandoko had been a member of the 2019 U18 France national championship team, was selected freshman of the year in 2018 and named to the U18 EuroLeague Junior First Team. However, transcript issues arose and Essandoko sat out the second half of his senior season at Winston-Salem to work on his academics. When it became apparent that he would not be able to fulfill his requirements in time, Providence released him from his commitment.
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