Zuby Ejiofor didn’t get to this part of his career by accident. It took a lot of hard work, total buy-in, and an unrelenting attitude that has resulted in being named as the preseason Big East Player of the Year entering his final season of college basketball.
As the seldom used big man at Kansas was looking for a home following his freshman season, there was no better partnership than Rick Pitino and St. John’s.
When Ejiofor signed with the Red Storm it was in a backup role, but it allowed him the proper time to develop under Pitino and become a cornerstone for the program’s renaissance.
“Zuby has worked really, really hard,” Rick Pitino said at Big East media day on Tuesday. “Every player I’ve had that reaches this level has an incredible threshold for work.”
Yet, despite the individual success and awards, Ejiofor still doesn’t want to talk about himself or the praise he earns from outside the walls of the St. John’s program.
“My expectation for myself is to be the best teammate I can be. Be the best leader that I can be. Be vocal, lead by example, things of that nature,” he explained.
“Not really thinking too much into accolades, especially not personally. I’m more into team accolades.”
Regardless if Ejiofor wants to talk about it or not, he still will be the engine that makes the Johnnies go this season despite its heralded transfer haul after averaging 14.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in his first season receiving starters minutes.
“It’s just a testament to the all the work that I put in,” he said about being named as the league’s preseason Player of the Year. “There’s a lot of hours and a lot of injuries that I’ve been through, and I’ve been able to overcome all of that.”
The work never stops for Zuby Ejiofor and the biggest thing on his mind as he prepares for his senior season is more success in the NCAA Tournament after the Red Storm were upset in the Round of 32 last year.
“The player development is very important to us,” Pitino added. “Zuby deserves all the accolades he gets because he’s a humble young man.”