The St. John’s leader in assists isn’t Dylan Darling, the only true point guard on the roster.
It isn’t Oziyah Sellers, who started the season as the Red Storm’s primary ball handler, nor is it Ian Jackson, who last month replaced Darling in the starting lineup.
No, the Johnnies’ leading assist man is 6-9 forward/center Zuby Ejiofor, whose proficient passing out of the post has helped unlock the St. John’s offense.
“When he touches the ball, I feel like I have no defender near me,” Sellers said ahead of Tuesday night’s game against Marquette at Madison Square Garden.
“The attention he draws is crazy.”
Ejiofor entered Tuesday averaging a team-high 3.1 assists per game — nearly a full assist more than anyone else.
He’s been even better in that area of late. In the five games before Tuesday’s, Ejiofor averaged 4.2 assists. Those included a Dec. 31 win at Georgetown in which Ejiofor dished out a career-high seven assists, as well as Saturday’s 90-73 win at Creighton in which the senior finished with six.
“I’ve watched a lot of film and spent a lot of time just reading the defense,” said Ejiofor, who is also the Red Storm’s leading scorer and rebounder.
“Coming off last year, I knew I was going to be expecting a lot more double teams, so it was important for me to work on my weaknesses and see areas where I could exploit the defense when the double teams come.”
The Red Storm’s issues at point guard are well-documented.
After last month’s loss to Kentucky, head coach Rick Pitino said it was “our fault as a staff for not having a big-time point guard that makes people better.”
Then earlier this month, Pitino acknowledged he looked at potential in-season additions before deciding against bringing one in and saying he would not revisit that option.
But the recent emphasis on Ejiofor’s play-making has helped pick up some of the slack. Saturday’s win marked the fourth time in five games that St. John’s scored at least 84 points.
“I said to the team, ‘The difference between last year’s team and this year’s team is those guys threw Zuby the ball in the low post,’ ” Pitino said. “Once they started throwing it to him, a light bulb went off.”
For Ejiofor, the strategy is simple.
When an opponent tries to defend him one-on-one, Ejiofor looks to score. But when the double-team comes, Ejiofor is prepared to find an open teammate.
“All the double teams and people going after him have made him a good passer,” Pitino said. “He reads defenses very well. Our best play from a percentage standpoint is throwing it into him, getting people to come after him and throwing it back out.”
Ejiofor assisted on five 3-pointers in the first half of Saturday’s win in Omaha, including three by Lefteris Liotopoulos, who scored a career-high 17 points that afternoon.
“Every time I pass the ball out of the post and see a guy knock down a shot, it feels good because everybody’s fully engaged,” Ejiofor said. “When everybody’s engaged offensively, the defense follows suit.”
