Christ Essandoko is finally playing basketball again. What does that mean for St. Joe’s? A lot.

Christ Essandoko had no trouble recalling the date and the place and the event. It was Dec. 31, 2021, at the John Wall Holiday Invitational, a high school event in Raleigh, N.C., when he last played in what can be considered a meaningful, competitive basketball game before playing Friday night — when St. Joseph’s hosted Penn in a Big 5 game.

When you go as long as Essandoko had gone without playing in a real game, you remember the date and the place, because maybe it feels at times as though that’s all there ever will be.

The 7-foot, 285-pound center redshirted last season at St. Joe’s after being academically ineligible. Then Essandoko’s 2023-24 debut was delayed after he sprained his toe in an exhibition game against Manhattan.

The nerves had built up over the last nearly two seasons. Essandoko, who committed to St. Joe’s as one of the top recruits in program history after de-committing from Providence in 2022, sat at the end of the team’s bench as another disappointing season came to an end in the Atlantic 10 Tournament in March.

The big man, born in France to Congolese parents, would be relied on to help the Hawks take the next step. But playing meaningful basketball was still far away.

“He’s been nervous for months because he knows this is here now,” St. Joe’s coach Billy Lange said. “He’s not the most mysterious man in the world. He’s now going to play.”

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Those nerves all went away in the weeks leading up to last week’s opener, Essandoko said. In some ways it was doubly cathartic how the freeing happened, via a closed-scrimmage performance against the same Providence team he once pledged to play for.

Friday night against Penn, during a 69-61 St. Joe’s win, it was easy to see how Essandoko (his first name is pronounced Creest) could be a dominant force against a Big East team.

In a far-from-perfect collegiate debut, Essandoko scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds. But a glimpse at the first few minutes showed how he can be a game changer for a St. Joe’s team that has its eyes on competing for an A-10 title.

Essandoko impacted Penn’s first shot with his size and length, and down at the other end, Erik Reynolds II drilled a transition three-pointer. A few possessions later, Essandoko pulled in a defensive rebound and made an outlet pass before running down the court and setting a high screen. He slipped toward the basket and received a pass before going up for a shot, getting fouled. His first NCAA free throw attempts: swish, swish.

Later it was another defensive rebound, an outlet pass, and a sprint down the court, where he reeled in an offensive rebound and was fouled. On the ensuing inbounds pass, he set a screen and popped to the corner for an open three-pointer that nearly went in.

As expected, he also set his share of bully screens, the biggest coming in the second half. Hawks guard Lynn Greer III was dribbling up the court and Essandoko set a screen that leveled Penn freshman Tyler Perkins. Greer got loose and scored near the rim, and as the ball went in, Essandoko stood at midcourt flexing his right biceps.

“It’s a feeling that I missed. I’m blessed to be back on the court,” he said afterward.

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Essandoko’s 22-minute debut also featured of mistakes — he had three turnovers — and he was inconsistent and sometimes careless trying to finish around the rim. He finished with two makes on eight shots. When you haven’t played consistently in nearly two years, rust is expected.

“He’s a good basketball player and he’s unique because he’s 7 feet, 285, has a 7-5 wingspan, and he’s more of a perimeter player than a post player,” Lange said. “Like, we’re trying to force-feed that part of his game and he’s willing to do it.”

Essandoko missed twice from three-point range Friday, but he made a few triples in that scrimmage against Providence.

“Is he a 40% shooter right now? I don’t know,” Lange said. “But he can shoot. It’s all about selection and timing, it’s decision-making.”

Those things will come with more reps. And Essandoko has been working hard at his inside game with development coaches Dwayne Jones and Phil Ricks.

“I’m going to keep working on it,” Essandoko said. “It’s not something that I’m going to stop. I’m going to put emphasis on it in practice and workouts … make sure I’m being patient and finish.”

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What’s clear now, though, is that St. Joe’s has the type of player to complement its talented backcourt combo of juniors Reynolds and Greer. And the Hawks are deep; against Penn, they played 10 in the first half and nine scored.

A picture frame with rotating digital images sits inside the St. Joe’s basketball office. One of the photos is of Essandoko banging on the drum before a game last season. The person in the photo is barely recognizable to Lange — Essandoko once weighed well over 300 pounds. The work in the gym and in the classroom has left the coach feeling proud, he said.

“Anything that happens on the court to me is just extra,” Lange said. “Who he is as a person is what we’re trying to do here.

“He wants to please. He wants to be good. He wants the fans at St. Joe’s to think that it’s been worth the wait, and it is.”

The waiting is over. Christ Essandoko is no longer just attached to a date in the past.