PROVIDENCE, R.I. — St. John’s has more talented players than Zuby Ejiofor.
It has more skilled players. It has players with higher upside.
But through 11 games, it may not have a better player.
Just ask Rick Pitino.
In a recent press conference, he was talking about the Johnnies’ issues defending teams that play without a true big man.
The Hall of Fame coach was asked if, in those situations, he considered matching that style and going without Ejiofor.
He was stunned by the suggestion.
“Zuby’s our best player — we need Zuby on the court at all times,” Pitino said.
It’s hard to argue with him.
The 6-foot-9 junior forward is second on the team in scoring (14.2) and minutes played (29.7). He leads the Johnnies in rebounds (7.6), blocked shots (2.5) and shooting percentage (59.3).
But his most valuable asset can’t be measured by a statistic.
It’s his effort. His motor.
He simply plays harder than almost everyone else.
It is what endeared him to Pitino last year when Ejiofor was Joel Soriano’s backup and it hasn’t changed now that he’s a tri-captain and a starter.
It was the case in summer and fall workouts, and has remained that way through the early part of the season.
“I showed the team film of his offensive rebounding, what he does. He follows the ball, he gets away from the man, he bumps him, he clears out, gets to the open area while following the ball,” Pitino said. “It was about 18 different moves to get a rebound [in a recent over Kansas State] and it was one of the most impressive edits I’ve seen. Working hard is a skill. Every player can’t work like Zuby. They don’t have that in them.
“Nobody on the team works like Zuby. I truly believe if some of our other players worked like him, they would be one of the top players in the Big East because he’s relentless at everything he does, and he doesn’t get many breaks.”
Obviously, Ejiofor has improved a great deal since he arrived at St. John’s (9-2, 1-0) after one season at Kansas.
He was rated as a four-star, top-50 prospect coming out of Garland High School in Texas, so there was talent to work with.
And he did get better as last year went on, becoming arguably St. John’s best big man from January on. Still, the leap has been meteoric to the point that Pitino can’t even imagine taking him off the floor for more than a few minutes.
When Ejiofor committed to St. John’s in May 2023, the Johnnies had also been involved with Kentucky transfer Lance Ware.
But after Pitino put Ejiofor through a workout, he was convinced the forward was the right player for him despite putting up modest numbers in very limited minutes at Kansas.
“Because he played for Bill Self, one of the premier coaches in our game, I knew he’d be fundamentally sound. I knew he would know how to work hard,” Pitino said. “That’s one of the keys to evaluating: who they played for. If you get a Bill Self guy, you have to play hard, you’re going to be good defensively, you have to listen. That was a big factor in why I recruited him.
“Bill played a large role in that — I’m sure he wishes he had him back.”
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