How Zuby Ejiofor blossomed from St. Johns backup into Big Easts Most Improved Player

Zuby Ejiofor needed a lot of work.He was hesitant, unsure of himself, and not quite ready for the job.No, this had nothing to do with basketball.It was his pregame speeches.“They may have been some of the worst pregame speeches that I’ve heard in my entire lifetime,” teammate Brady Dunlap recalled with a laugh on Monday during a Name, Image & Likeness event at Applebees.

“Me and [Simeon Wilcher] voiced our frustrations.… He was like ‘Team on three.’ We weren’t doing ‘Team on three.’ ”Like his game, Ejiofor improved a ton in that regard, too.

He found his voice as St.John’s vocal leader, a role handed down to him by Daniss Jenkins.“He was terrible, but he’s gotten better,” Kadary Richmond joked.

“I guess that comes with a little confidence, a little pep in your step.He’s the vocal guy, so we let him do his thing.”He certainly has found his game this year, keying the sixth-ranked Johnnies’ best regular season in 25 years.

The league’s coaches saw it, naming him to the conference’s first team on Sunday and picking him as the Big East’s Most Improved Player a day later.The honor was a given, after the 6-foot-9 junior went from Joel Soriano’s backup to one of the best big men in the country.The nation’s leading offensive rebounder at 4.3 boards per game, he is averaging 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

The fan favorite has also hit the two biggest shots of this magical season, buzzer-beaters to beat Providence and Marquette on the road.He’s also the backbone to the Johnnies’ third-ranked defense in terms of efficiency.A four-star recruit out of Texas, Ejiofor started his career at Kansas.After one season of limited playing time, he entered the transfer portal and picked St.

John’s over Villanova, TCU and San Diego State.He has blossomed in Queens under Rick Pitino.Ejiofor only played limited minutes a season ago.In the offseason, St.

John’s recruited other big men, and brought in Vince Iwukchukw...