St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Lands Yankuba Sima
8/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
QUEENS, N.Y. -- The St. John's men's basketball program announced the signing of highly-touted big man Yankuba Sima (Girona, Spain), who confirmed his commitment to enroll at the University this fall. The 6-foot-11 center is rated No. 14 in the nation at his position for the Class of 2015 according to 247Sports.com.
Sima represented Spain this past summer at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championships. He averaged 9.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks over seven games as the team advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Sima opened World Championship competition nearly posting a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds in a win over China. He registered consecutive double-digit rebound performances against Turkey and Argentina with 10 and 11 boards, respectively. Then he exploded for 22 points, eight rebounds and four blocks against Greece.
"Yankuba excelled against quality international competition this summer," said St. John's Head Coach Chris Mullin. "He will give us a different look in the front court with his length and versatility. We are very excited to welcome Yankuba to the St. John's basketball family."
At the 2014 U18 European Championships, Sima led Spain to a fifth place finish, wrapping up the tournament with the highest rebounding average (12.1), and ranking second in both blocks (2.1) and doubles-doubles (6) to go with 10.9 points in nine games. He delivered a dominant performance against Russia, scoring 17 points, grabbing 19 boards and blocking a tournament-best six shots. Sima also turned in a tournament-high 21 rebounds against Greece.
Sima earned Florida Association Basketball Coaches/Source Hoops Independent Schools Third Team All-State honors as a senior playing for Elev8 Sports Academy. He previously attended Arlington Country Day High School after playing at the Canarias Basketball Academy in the Canary Islands.
