Senior Day is always a bittersweet occasion, but it will mean so much more when St. John’s bids farewell to one of the program’s greatest players of the 21st century.
Along with five other seniors, Zuby Ejiofor will play in his final regular-season home game this Tuesday night against Georgetown (7 p.m., Peacock). This won’t be the last time he plays under the Madison Square Garden lights, but there won’t be a better chance for fans to honor someone who is already a St. John’s icon.
Head coach Rick
Pitino is pulling out all of the stops to make sure Red Storm fans show out and pay respects to Ejiofor and his fellow seniors.
“We need to get everybody behind the Georgetown game, get the place packed, because Zuby [Ejiofor] deserves that,” Pitino said after Saturday’s 89-57 win over Villanova, “He has given so much to this program, every single day he has gotten better and we really need to show up for that game because our seniors deserve it, but most importantly Zuby deserves it.”
Ejiofor’s transformative story and indefatigable work ethic resonated with Red Storm fans, turning him into a fan favorite. Going from an end-of-the-bench player at Kansas to start his college career, a backup center in his sophomore year, breaking out as a dynamic defensive and rebounding force as a junior, and becoming a favorite to win Big East Player of the Year and one of the most irreplaceable players for any team in college basketball as a senior.
“He stayed here with us, he came in as a guy who played two minutes a game, not scoring, and now he’s preseason Player of the Year, probably going to win [end-of-season] Player of the Year,” Pitino said on Saturday. “We really need to pack Madison Square Garden to honor him and the rest of the guys.”
One season after averaging 14.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.9 assists to win the Big East Most Improved Player award, Ejiofor made even more strides as a senior. He’s averaging a team-best 15.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and a team-high 3.6 assists, and saw his three-point shooting percentage rise from 22.2% to 34.2%. In Saturday’s win over Villanova, Ejiofor had one of the finest games of his college career, recording the fourth known triple-double in St. John’s basketball history.
“I felt like I became a man in this program. Coach Pitino, for the last three years, has guided me through this whole process, not just in basketball, but in life in general,” Ejiofor said after Saturday’s game. “I’m really blessed to put on this jersey every night and be able to call Madison Square Garden my home court.“
Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell, Oziyah Sellers, Sadiku Ibine Ayo, and Handje Tamba will be honored during Tuesday night’s game against Georgetown (7:00 p.m., Peacock). Of the six-man senior class, only Ejiofor and Ibine Ayo played in all three seasons of Rick Pitino’s tenure with St. John’s so far, seeing the program’s rise from the doldrums of college hoops back to national prominence.
“Zuby never once considered going to another school,” Pitino said, “His father told us ‘somebody offered us double what you are paying him’, and I didn’t even get the chance to respond before he said ‘but we’re not going anywhere, we’re with you, Coach P.”
