Another streak is over for the St. John’s basketball program as Zuby Ejiofor became the No. 23 overall pick in the NBA Draft of the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.
Ejiofor is the first Red Storm player to be drafted since Sir’Dominic Pointer in 2015 and the first player in program history since Maurice Harkless in 2012 to be selected in the first round.
This season, Ejiofor was the Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Scholar Athlete of the Year, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award winner, and a unanimous First Team All-Big East selection.
He averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game on 53.6-percent shooting from the floor.
The Hawks, after making the playoffs this season, started its draft by selecting Houston guard Kingston Flemings. Zuby Ejiofor becomes the 18th first round pick to be coached by Rick Pitino and the 63rd draft pick in St. John’s history.
He was also the first player from the Big East Conference to be selected in the draft.
“Zuby is a great offensive rebounder, [average] defensive rebounder,” his coach, Rick Pitino, said on social media earlier Tuesday afternoon.
“Going to be an excellent shooter in the NBA (excellent form), improved passer and shot blocker. All about winning. All about team. What a privilege to watch him grow. Had the best vertical we measured in our 3 years.”
The landing spot could give Ejiofor a place to play immediately in the NBA, but he will be battling for minutes with a young and talented frontcourt that is trying to take the next step in the team’s development.
St. John’s will hope that Zuby Ejiofor’s teammates, Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins, will hear their names called in the NBA Draft either in the remainder of the first round on Tuesday night or during the second round on Wednesday evening.
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