Player Preview Series: Is Christ Essandoko ready to break out for Providence?
Player Preview Series: Is Christ Essandoko ready to break out for Providence?
“I really felt the same love that I had back when I was 18 and first committed. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to recommit to Providence.”
By the time last fall finally arrived, Christ Essandoko had waited nearly two years.
The massive center, by way of France, hadn’t taken to the court in a competitive basketball game in seemingly forever after missing the end of his senior year in high school at Winston-Salem Christian in North Carolina and finding out in October of his freshman year at St. Joe’s that he was ineligible to play.
When it finally was time to return to the floor, a familiar foe awaited: Providence.
Once upon a time, Essandoko was going to be the next great big man in Friartown. Ed Cooley and his staff locked down a commitment from Essandoko and Winston-Salem Christian teammate Quante Berry out of high school, and there was considerable excitement about the monstrous interior presence with the potential to become a true inside/out threat at the next level.
Essandoko ultimately never played for Cooley, instead changing course and heading to St. Joe’s, as he fell off the radar of many during his redshirt freshman year.
“I only learned in October 2022 that I was going to redshirt. That was a week before the season started. It was sad, frustrating, knowing that I couldn’t finish my senior year (of high school), and now I’ve got to sit out another year,” Essandoko shared with Friar Basketball.
“The very first month I was in my own space. I was sad and didn’t want to talk about anything, but then after that first month I realized I had four to five months and I was going to use it.”
He used that time to hone his jump shot and learn more about the strengths of his teammates, and he just enjoyed the process of improving as a basketball player.
“It was a blessing in disguise.”
Expectations were certainly high for year two in Philadelphia for Essandoko. St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange was effusive in his praise of his center as last season approached: “He’s highly intellectual. He’s got great instincts. His feel for team basketball is outstanding, and that’s really the European way.”
“He has an insatiable competitiveness. It’s off the charts. It’s sometimes hard to control as a head coach, and there’s going to be times when it looks reckless, but personally I don’t care. I mean, you want to have that. Then you throw on top of there a great personality, a connective personality, an amazing teammate, and the upside of him is really high. But I also have to be realistic, he has not played a game in two years.”
Last October was a new beginning for Essandoko, and his first test came in a closed door scrimmage against the Friars.
Any signs of rust were non-existent that afternoon.
“It was nothing personal playing Providence,” Essandoko said. “But it was special for me because it was my first time playing basketball in two years.”
The performance he put on was pretty special, however.
“He had a hell of a scrimmage against us,” Friar assistant Matt Palumbo recalled. “He had 21 points, made three 3s, played with great energy and was just really, really good.”
As if his patience hadn’t been tested enough, Essandoko faced another challenge last fall when he injured his toe late in the preseason. He missed the season opener, gutted his way through nine games, but was sidelined for a month in December with turf toe. Those first nine games included a 9-point, 9-rebound effort in an overtime loss at Kentucky.
Essandoko was healthy enough to make an impact upon his return, averaging 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds on the season, while shooting 36% from beyond the arc in 25 games. He was outstanding when spotting up (91st percentile nationally) and showed flashes in the post as well.
This is a skilled passer with shooting range that extends a few feet beyond the arc at seven feet tall and 280 pounds.
When Essandoko announced his decision to transfer, his recruitment figured to be a feeding frenzy, but Providence had a few things in their favor that ultimately landed them Essandoko for a second time.
“Kim (English) was the very first one to call me. Kim called me nearly five minutes after my name was first in the portal. He called me and was like, ‘We’re all in.’ Then I got a text from the entire Providence coaching staff,” Essandoko said.
The Friars also benefitted from Essandoko’s familiarity of how English used Josh Oduro. Essandoko took a liking to Oduro’s game when they were both in the Atlantic 10 — Essandoko at St. Joe’s, and Oduro was at George Mason before heading to Providence with English — and he saw himself succeeding in a similar role.
“When I got to St. Joe’s, people were talking about how Josh was a nightmare. The year before that he gave St. Joseph’s 30 both times. It’s college basketball, you don’t just give 30 both times.”
“It was part of the recruitment. I knew how Providence was playing. I knew how they were using him. I fell in love with their style of play, how free it is offensively,” Essandoko shared. “I already saw how he was using Josh. It was definitely something I considered when I hit the portal. I love Josh’s game and I loved the way Kim was using him, and the way Coach Felton developed him.”
Essandoko did additional homework on Oduro during last spring’s recruitment, according to Palumbo. “He watched Josh on his own. Josh had a hell of a year, and I think he took notice of that — and I think he already had a soft spot in his heart for Providence to begin with.”
The love for Providence never seemed to go away for Essandoko. He shared with Brendan McGair this spring how disappointed he was when he had to de-commit from PC, and as Palumbo explained it, his familiarity with and appreciation of the college were significant benefits as English’s staff tried to lock down a player previously committed to the former staff.
“I really felt the same love that I had back when I was 18 and first committed,” he said. “There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to recommit to Providence.”
Essandoko was open about how he felt he needed to be pushed in the offseason, and shared that he asked English to help him in that regard. He said he was out of shape when he came to Providence for summer school, but had dropped nearly 25 pounds as of early August.
If Providence is to take a significant leap this year, it’s hard to imagine Essandoko won’t be at the heart of it. In fact, he could be the one player who most determines the fortunes of a club with significant depth and two talented prospects behind him — but inexperienced prospects at that.
Make no mistake, the Providence coaching staff thinks Essandoko can be great one day.
“Christ is seven foot, 280 — he’s an absolute load,” Dennis Felton said of him on The Friar Podcast. “He just moves people naturally with his girth and his strength, but he’s also our kind of player because he’s very skilled. He has a great feel for the game, he’s a great passer. We run our offense through our bigs a lot. They are almost like point guards to a degree. Josh was perfect for that, Christ is too, he’s just bigger and he’s also a three point shooter.”
“I actually remember, we were at Mason playing St. Joe’s, and during warmups I was looking down the court at this seven-footer that’s just splashing threes. I knew who he was, but I was thinking, ‘He looks like he’s a problem,’” Palumbo recalled of watching Essandoko during his redshirt season.
“He’s had a great summer,” Palumbo said. “He can do everything. He can pass, he can shoot, and it’s not like he can just make a three, he’s a threat from there. You have to guard him from three, or he’s going to make five in a game. He’s super physical, he’s really strong, and around the rim he’s really skilled.”
There isn’t much Essandoko can’t do on the offensive end; now the key will be staying healthy enough to play a full season and potentially go more than the 21 minutes a game he played last season. He spent this summer learning how English wants to play — the terminology, how to defend ball screens, etc. — and focusing on getting into better shape, taking his time in the post, and finishing through contact more effectively (he was in the 46th percentile in post scoring efficiency last year).
Providence’s rigorous conditioning program this summer was unlike anything he’s experienced, and he likes what he sees out of this group.
“We got after it,” Essandoko said of summer practices. “The coaches knew how good we were, and they were just not allowing a bad day of practice.”
How good this team ultimately ends up may be determined by the center who has every skill at his disposal.
Christ Essandoko’s journey from France to Providence has required patience, self-awareness, and several detours along the way, but he’s found his way back home and is primed for a big season ahead.