Inside Zuby Ejiofor’s historical night at MSG: ‘Every coach wants a player like him’

John Fanta

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

NEW YORK — Zuby Ejiofor needed a change in destination after one year of college. A four-star prospect out of high school who went to Kansas to play under Hall of Famer Bill Self, his first season in college basketball resulted in 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 5.2 minutes per game.

Ejiofor knew he could do more in 2023, but he needed someone to get it out of him.

On Friday night, the 6-foot-9 junior walked off the floor at Madison Square Garden to a standing ovation chanting his name. He had made St. John’s University history. He had made Big East history.

Ejiofor scored a career-high 33 points and added nine rebounds while leading St. John’s to a 79-63 win over Marquette and a spot in the Big East Tournament Championship Game for the first time since 2000.

Move over Chris Mullin, Walter Berry and Malik Sealy. Ejiofor’s masterclass resulted in the highest-scoring performance by a St. John’s player in Big East Tournament history and the highest-scoring output by any player in a Big East Tournament semifinal game since Kemba Walker back in 2011.

St John’s Zuby Ejiofor finishes and-1 to extend lead against Marquette

St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino has described his team as a group that “goes against a lot of numbers,” and in a way, that fits Ejiofor, who was found by chance in the AAU ranks by a man who became his mentor and who he calls his second father, Dr. Andy Philachack.

Philachack was a coach on the AAU circuit who approached Ejiofor after a game and told him that if he played with his son on their team, he would help him transform his game.

So when Ejiofor was looking for a second college destination, it was Philachack who told him to look long and hard at Pitino. Philachack knew the Hall of Famer’s pedigree of developing the likes of Billy Donovan, Tony Delk, Peyton Siva, Donovan Mitchell and so many more. He wanted that for his other son.

“When Zuby came in, I put him through a hard player development session,” Pitino said. “First thing I noticed is he never complained about the drills. He went through it.

“Every coach wants to have a player like [Zuby]: selfless, and he just cares about the team. You get blessed in coaching him. I’ve been coaching 50 years, and there are very few Zubys that come along that just think about the team.”

When Ejiofor made the decision to commit to Pitino and the Red Storm, Self told him that he was getting a hard worker and a great kid, but that the offense needed work. A few weeks later, Pitino began sending Self video messages of Ejiofor working with him and making shots. It was a way to joke with Self, but also show the evolution of his transfer portal addition.

The development in Ejiofor’s game was on full display Friday night when he put St. John’s up 10 with 12:42 left on a layup off a turnover. He sent Madison Square Garden into a frenzy minutes later, throwing down an exclamation-point dunk with 5:26 left to put the Johnnies up 14. For Ejiofor, it was not only a masterclass, but a response following a game in which he only scored four points on 2-of-4 shooting.

“I just leave the past in the past,” Ejiofor said. “Obviously, I didn’t play to the level of my play and to the standard that Coach [Pitino] and everybody expected of me. So, I just came out more aggressive today and my teammates were able to find me in situations where I could be successful.

“When we’re playing off each other and when everybody is really locked in defensively, we’re a really scary team.”

Yes, Pitino’s Johnnies are indeed scary for the rest of the Big East, and every other team throughout college basketball. They are an elite defensive group, holding Marquette to just 2-of-24 from 3-point range after the Golden Eagles started the game 4-of-5 from downtown.

“We just hate to lose, and that’s really because one man who hates it more than anything in the world,” Ejiofor said in reference to Pitino.

That hatred for defeat and hunger to rise to the top is what has led New York City to fall in love with this St. John’s team. It’s also what has the Red Storm 40 minutes away from winning another trophy.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

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