St. John's coach Steve Lavin has to hope his newest recruit is as impressive on the basketball court as his name.

God's Gift Achiuwa -- a 6-foot-9 power forward and first-team juco All-American from Erie (N.Y.) Community College -- is the ninth player to commit to the Red Storm for next season. St. John's has the No. 3-ranked recruiting class, according to ESPN Insider's top 25.

The Nigerian native, whose father is a minister, chose St. John's over Washington and Cincinnati.

"I am excited to come to St. John's and New York City. I really like the coaching staff and the way St. John's plays. They are a running team and that's what I like, fast paced basketball," Achiuwa said. "I also like the winning tradition of the new coaching staff. They came into the St. John's program and turned things around in less than a year. I think that's a good indication that the program is on its way back."

Achiuwa averaged 22.3 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for Erie last season and adds some much-needed size to the wing-heavy recruiting class. He will have two years of eligibility with the Red Storm.