UTEP Basketball: Meet Freshman Joey St. Pierre

Ever since Joey St. Pierre committed to UTEP in January, then signed in April, there’s been one guy he’s been frequently compared to, but has never met.

That’s former UTEP big man and fan favorite Cedrick Lang.

At 6’10, 280 pounds, St. Pierre looks like another Cedrick Lang-type, and he models his game by banging around on the blocks, a memory Lang forever etched into the heart of Miner fans.

“Joey is a big, physical guy. He reminds us of Cedrick Lang,” Tim Floyd said. “He can rebound and defend and he’s a good athlete. He plays hard. He could be a great screener. He’s a good passer out of the post. He’s going to continue to develop, just like our other bigs have over the years. He will get better and better.”

St. Pierre was ranked as the number 11^thoverall player in Illinois by ESPN, despite missing half of his senior year season at Richmond-Burton High School due to kidney surgery. He is a Spring Grove, Illinois native, which is a suburb northwest of Chicago.

He says he has fully recovered from the surgery in where some scar tissue from birth was blocking his kidneys. Now the big man will prepare to earn minutes as a freshman in what can be considered a deep center rotation at UTEP.

“Because of his size, athleticism and ability to rebound.” Floyd said. “We can see places where he can help us as a freshman.”

What his exact role will be as a true freshman is still up in the air according to his talks with Floyd, but there’s no doubt his size, strength, and willingness to be physical perfectly fits Floyd’s system.

Like most of the UTEP freshman, St. Pierre gets a chance in August to show the coaches his worth instead of October. Check out what he said about his short time in El Paso, and more…..