The migration to St. John’s continued as Rick Pitino’s team added Kansas transfer Zuby Ejiofor after he visited the campus over the weekend, according to the New York Post.
It had been reported earlier in the day by Adam Zagoria that Ejiofor had a “really good visit” with St. John’s and that a decision was expected to be made soon. The power forward had also visited Villanova, but St. John’s was the favorite to land him with 247Sports’ “Transfer Portal Crystal Ball” predicting that he would choose the Red Storm.
If Ejiofor’s words were any indication, his visit to New York was more than just really good.
“We came to St. John’s and we got a chance to meet Rick Pitino and the coaching staff, and we fell in love with them,” Ejiofor told the New York Post. “Everything just felt right. … The whole coaching staff saw potential in me. I liked everything I heard, and I thought St. John’s would be a perfect fit having the opportunity to play on a big stage. (Sunday) night me and my family had a talk. We just felt Coach Pitino can get me to that next level.”
And certainly, the Johnnies are moving to the next level with their latest addition in what had already been a busy seven weeks since Pitino took over the men’s basketball program at St. John’s. The school has been extremely active in the transfer portal, which didn’t come as a surprise since the legendary basketball coach had said during his introductory press conference that he’d look to add “six or eight” new players before next season.
“Zuby is a quality athlete, basketball player, and person,” said Pitino. “He is an outstanding defensive player who is really going to bolster our front court.”
Ejiofor played limited minutes for a stacked Kansas team and averaged 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per game. He had been a big-time recruit out of high school as well putting up 21.7 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.9 blocked shots and 1.9 steals for Garland High School in Texas.
St. John’s has been benefiting from Pitino’s arrival, which played into the decision by Ejiofor to come to Queens. It also helped that recent Iona transfer Cruz Davis was friends with Ejiofor and pitched him on playing for Pitino.
“It was a big factor, in terms of St. John’s being one of the schools I visited,” Ejiofor said about the prospects of playing for Pitino. “I’ve seen the amount of high-level guys he’s trained over the years, the guys he’s taken to the pros.”
The arrival of Ejiofor comes days after the Ivy League Player of the Year committed to St. John’s
Jordan Dingle, a Long Island native, transferred in from Penn where he was a three-year starter and has averaged more than 20 points a game for the past three seasons. He was the nation’s No. 2 scorer at 23.4 points per game and he is expected to boost the Red Storm’s roster.
Dingle had been a highly coveted player in the transfer portal hearing from a number of schools and being ranked as a 4-star talent by 247Sports. He set career bests in field-goal percentage (46.4), three-point percentage (35.6) and free-throw percentage (85.6) during his time at Penn.
