The Associated Press | April 4, 2014 Shot-blocker Obekpa to transfer from St. John's Share NEW YORK -- Chris Obekpa, who led the Big East in blocked shots the past two seasons, has been granted a release by St. John's to pursue transfer options. A 6-foot-9 sophomore, Obekpa led Division I in 2012-13 with 4.03 blocks per game and he led the conference this season with 2.9 blocks per game. Red Storm head coach Steve Lavin announced the release Thursday, adding that guard Max Hooper, who graduates from St. John's in May, has been granted permission to pursue postgraduate studies elsewhere. Obekpa's 133 blocks as a freshmen are St. John's season record. He finished his two years with a school-record 227 blocks. Obekpa averaged 3.9 points and 5.5 rebounds for his two seasons. Hooper, who transferred from Harvard after his freshman season in 2011-12, averaged 3.2 points this season. 10 potential March Madness bid-stealers heading into conference championships, ranked 10 programs that could be potential March Madness bid-stealers heading into conference championships, ranked by NCAA.com's Andy Katz. READ MORE Meet Ranford and Christina Champagnie, all-in parents of college basketball’s high-scoring twins With twins Julian and Justin leading the Big East and ACC in scoring, it's time to get to know college basketball's First Family of 2021, the Champagnies READ MORE East Carolina, St. John's stun top-5 teams on a wild Wednesday night of college basketball East Carolina men's basketball beat a top-5 team for the first time ever and St. John's won at home against a top-3 team for the first time since 1966. Here's how both got it done. READ MORE