On Saturday, June 24, Tulsa picked up a big basketball commitment, literally. 7-foot-1 and 220-pound Mohamed Keita, a transfer from St. John's, chose Tulsa over South Florida, Fordham and several other college programs.

Keita took official visits to Fordham, Tulsa and USF this month and then spent about a week to contemplate and make a final decision.

"I liked what I have seen from the (Tulsa) coaching staff," he told Inside Tulsa Sports. "I feel like I can trust them."

Keita entered the transfer portal on May 7, which was a bit of a surprise after new St. John's coach Rick Pitino kept Keita as one of only three returning players.

In his freshman season at St. John's, Keita made just seven appearances off the bench before fluid on his knee kept him out of action the remainder of the year. He scored two points and blocked a shot in his collegiate debut against Merrimack on Nov. 7 and tallied four points to go with his first collegiate assist and steal against LIU on Nov. 29.

"I feel like my presence defensively is what most people know me," Keita described. "I have been working on the offensive end of the game."

Due to the injury, Keita will have four years of eligibility remaining at Tulsa.

“We’re extremely excited that Mo is joining us here at The University of Tulsa," said TU head coach Eric Konkol. "He has tremendous size and length and can provide us rim protection with his shot-blocking and rebounding. He’s a product of the NBA Africa program and has grown tremendously over the last two years in the United States.

"We are very excited about the impact Mo can make in this program and the potential to continue to grow."

Keita spent his senior high school season at The Winchendon School in Winchendon, Mass., averaging 6.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game in the AA Division of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.

Keita played with S.L.A.C. at the NBA’s Basketball Africa League, averaging 5.0 points on 71.4 percent shooting to go along with 4.3 rebounds per contest during the spring of 2022. He also has experience playing for Guinea on the international stage, averaging 5.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in five games at the 2020 FIBA U18 African Championship.