Zuby Ejiofor’s breakout season was one of the driving forces as St. John’s surged to its first outright Big East championship in 40 years.
And the conference took notice.
On Monday, the Big East named Ejiofor its Most Improved Player for 2024-25, recognizing a season in which the 6-9 junior forward thrived in his first opportunity as a full-time starter.
Ejiofor ranked second on St. John’s by averaging 14.1 points per game on 57.3% shooting in the regular season. His 8.2 rebounds per game led the Red Storm and ranked third in the conference. His 4.3 offensive rebounds per game led Division I.
His buzzer beater in the Red Storm’s 86-84 win in overtime at Marquette on Saturday capped a 27-4 regular season for St. John’s, during which it went 18-2 in Big East Play.
Ejiofor started 30 of 31 games and averaged 31.6 minutes per contest.
That’s after a 2022-23 freshman season at Kansas in which Ejiofor did not start any of his 25 appearances; and a 2023-24 sophomore campaign with St. John’s in which he started only one of 33 games.
Last season, Ejiofor averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game. He was blocked for playing time by center Joel Soriano, who has since graduated.
“This is a monster of a league, so to see the progress that not only I, myself, have had individually, but the whole team from year one to year two under Coach [Rick] Pitino is something that’s indescribable,” Ejiofor said on March 1 after St. John’s clinched the outright Big East crown with a win over Seton Hall.
Ejiofor was previously named to the All-Big East first team, along with Red Storm guard RJ Luis Jr. Both are finalists for Big East Player of the Year, which will be announced Wednesday.
“They’ve been stars all year, the two of them,” Pitino said on March 1 of Ejiofor and Luis. “They don’t have up-and-down games, because Zuby may not shoot the ball well but he’ll have 10 or 11 rebounds. I’m proud of those two guys.”
St. John’s guard Kadary Richmond was named to the All-Big East second team.
On Monday, the Big East announced Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner as its Defensive Player of the Year for a fourth time; and UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. as its Sixth Man.
The conference also recognized Xavier forward Jerome Hunter with its Sportsmanship Award.
The Big East Tournament kicks off Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, though top-seeded St. John’s has a first-round bye. The Red Storm are set to play Thursday afternoon against the winner of Providence vs. Butler.
