It was the most obvious choice the St. John’s basketball program had to make and it’s coming next season to Madison Square Garden as Zuby Ejiofor will be honored among the greats that have ever played for the Johnnies.
Head coach Rick Pitino announced to the crowd assembled inside Carnesecca Arena on Sunday night for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show that Ejiofor will be inducted into the “ring of honor” next season at Madison Square Garden.
The current people associated with the program that have been honored are Lou Carnesecca, Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, Mark Jackson, Sonny Dove, Tony Jackson, Joe Lapchick, Dick McGuire, Malik Sealy, and Alan Seiden.
Now, Ejiofor will deservedly join those icons.
The decision was made by St. John’s athletic director Ed Kull and Pitino’s announcement came as a shock to Zuby Ejiofor.
“I was stunned,” he said. “[Coach Pitino] was talking about guys like Walter Berry and Chris Mullin, and the list goes on and on. I was never really expecting my name to be called, honestly. But it’s truly a special moment.”
Ejiofor became the first player in program history to be a two-time First Team All-Big East selection, the Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Scholar Athlete of the Year in his career.
This season, he was the first player in league history to be a unanimous First Team choice, Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Most Outstanding Player of the Big East Tournament.
Nobody has been added to the St. John’s legends since 2006, and Kull hopes to bring more light to it in the future as it will be featured both at Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden.
Currently, the St. John’s icons have plaques hanging on the wall in Carnesecca Arena, replacing the banners hanging from the wall several years ago. Kull said on Sunday that the school is going to get new, bigger, and more detailed plaques as they continue to work with The Garden on where it will be displayed in the building.
“It’s a new day for us,” Kull explained. “We’re changing the way we do things. [Honoring] Zuby out of the gate is a wonderful way to do this.”