Zuby Ejiofor is just rolling with the punches. His omission from the Associated Press All-American Teams is not bothering him – at least publicly – as the St. John’s basketball team prepares for its Round of 64 matchup in the NCAA Tournament against Northern Iowa on Friday night (7:00 p.m. ET, CBS).
“I think it's our job not to worry about what people about this team,” he said in San Diego on Thursday afternoon. “Our job is to go out there and battle, compete, each and every opportunity that we get. And it's a blessing, obviously, to still be playing in March.”
Ejiofor was named last week as the Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year prior to leading the Johnnies to a dominant Big East Tournament Championship where he was named as the Most Outstanding Player.
“All we can control is how hard we go in between the lines and stuff like that,” he added.
His teammate, Dillon Mitchell, wasn’t as shy about not stepping on anybody’s toes regarding Ejiofor’s snub.
“I'm not going to say what I really think,” Mitchell explained. “But it's whatever.”
“Obviously we know what Zuby is, the type of player he is, and he's one of the best players I've played with, personally, and what he's done in basketball and stuff,” Mitchell continued.
He added that it’s not something the team has talked about leading up to the NCAA Tournament, but it’s known throughout the locker room.
“Zuby's one of the top players in the country. Zuby's going to be a great pro. When you lead a team that won the regular season, won the conference tournament, beating a tremendous team with Connecticut by 20 points, you lead the team in scoring, rebounds, blocked shots, assists for a center, you're one of the top players in all of basketball,” Rick Pitino said.
“The AP writers don't always get it right. But he's one of the top players. You all know it. I don't have to tell you that. But, like I said, he's gotten so much love…I don't think I've enjoyed coaching a player as much since 1987 when I coached Billy Donovan. And I'm going to miss him terribly. And I'm just going to appreciate him while I have him.”
Last season, St. John’s saw RJ Luis named as a Second Team All-American, the first in program history since Ron Artest in 1999. The last time the school had AP All-Americans in back-to-back seasons was Chris Mullin and Walter Berry in 1985 and 1986.
Now, despite the snub, Zuby Ejiofor will be looking to finish his college career with an extended stay in the NCAA Tournament and put St. John’s in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.