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St. John’s big man Sedee Keita out four-to-six weeks

NCAA Men's Final Four - Practice

GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 31: Sedee Keita #24 of the South Carolina Gamecocks practices ahead of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium on March 31, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

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St. John’s will have to go small as starting big man Sedee Keita is expected to miss four-to-six weeks to recover from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The school announced the successful procedure in a release on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-9 Keita suffered a knee injury during St. John’s win last Friday over Bowling Green as he only played four minutes after starting the contest. According to Zach Braziller of the New York Post, an early MRI on Saturday proved inconclusive, but the follow-up MRI revealed that surgery was necessary.

A former South Carolina transfer who doubles as the only big man on the Red Storm roster with significant Division I experience, the loss of Keita is a big blow to St. John’s. Now the Red Storm will likely go to a more small-ball look during non-conference play with Marvin Clark II playing a lot at the five. Freshman Josh Roberts could also see additional minutes, but the 6-foot-9 big man wasn’t expected to be a major contributor heading into the season.

Either way, St. John’s needs Keita to ideally be healthy in time for conference play as the Red Storm are trying to make an NCAA tournament run behind a talented backcourt that includes Shamorie Ponds and Mustapha Heron.