Ejiofor steals show from Rutgers freshman phenoms as St. John’s battles back to take exhibition over Scarlet Knights

Zuby Ejiofor goes up for dunk as his 27 points and 13 rebounds powered St. John’s past Rutgers. (Photo by St. John’s Men’s Basketball)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Throughout the offseason, the entirety of St. John’s roster received its fair share of hype, and rightfully so, but dating back to the end of last season, the plaudits concentrated on one player in particular, forward Zuby Ejiofor.

The former Kansas backup carved out a niche during the Red Storm’s stretch run last year, ultimately outplaying Joel Soriano for a majority of the second half of the season to set the wheels in motion for a breakout year in which he would be the focal point of Rick Pitino’s front line.

His first act in that role Thursday did not disappoint.

Taking the floor for the first time since being named a co-captain on the Johnnies’ roster, Ejiofor stole headlines from Rutgers’ highly touted freshman duo of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, dominating the Scarlet Knights to the tune of 27 points and 13 rebounds as St. John’s erased a 13-point deficit for a 91-85 victory in its first of two exhibition tilts this month.

“My man here, they said when I first got him that he was just a 12-foot player and he was a little bit limited in what he could do,” Pitino said of Ejiofor. “Well, I think we see what he can do…27 points, 13 rebounds and only one turnover.”

“Man, I love Zuby,” RJ Luis gushed, speaking of his teammate and roommate. “It’s just great to be on the floor with him more this year. I feel like he stepped into a big role. He’s a captain, he’s a leader. I feel like he really played his butt off tonight.”

Ejiofor enjoyed a clear advantage against Bailey and Emmanuel Ogbole in the paint from the onset Thursday, collecting 10 of his 13 boards on the offensive glass in a performance that made a believer out of Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell, who lamented his own squad’s backboard issues.

“I’ll tell you what, the big kid played fantastic,” Pikiell said of Ejiofor. “I mean, 10 offensive rebounds. We got killed on the glass. We played a really good team on the backboards and we didn’t take care of business there.”

In a charity game played to benefit The V Foundation for Cancer Research, Rutgers was not without its share of opportunities, as the Scarlet Knights took advantage of Kadary Richmond’s first-half foul trouble to turn a 17-8 deficit into a 13-point lead with a 22-0 run through the middle stages of the opening stanza. St. John’s would not regain the lead until the final minutes of regulation, and while Pikiell expressed disappointment in not getting the job done, the veteran coach took Thursday’s proceedings with the proverbial grain of salt.

“I learned a lot about our team,” he reflected. “(St. John’s) played really well, I thought at times we played really well too. We’ve got a good group of guys, and I’m excited about where we can head with this. We know we’ve gotta get better, and even if we won the game, I’d be telling you the same thing. We’ve gotta do some things better. We haven’t been rebounding the ball in practices, and obviously, 91 points isn’t where I want to be with our basketball team, giving up that many points.”

“The good part is, we’re 0-0. This team needs to keep getting better, so don’t baptize a team before they’re ready. We’ve got nice pieces and we’re going to add a couple more as Tyson Acuff gets better. It’s going to be a work in progress, but we’ll keep getting better. We’ll keep plugging away.”

Its opponent also has a cadre of lethal weapons in its arsenal. Richmond recorded a game-high plus-20 despite only scoring nine points and tallying nine rebounds with six assists, but Luis, who battled through an injury-plagued sophomore campaign, was able to shine as well with 22 points and characteristics that only underscore his bright and enormous potential.

“RJ learned some valuable lessons himself,” Pitino remarked. “When he moves without the basketball, he’s lethal. He’s a lethal passer, he’s unguardable, he’s a great offensive rebounder and just as good a player as I’ve coached.”

“Not to geek him up, but I really mean this: Talent-wise, he’s a first-round draft choice, lock, stock and barrel. I hope he stays with me forever, but this guy’s a lock, stock first-round draft choice. He’ll be a terrific pro because he can defend, he can rebound, he can pass, he can cut, he can shoot now with great efficiency. My guys don’t get mentioned too much about the draft, but this guy’s a lock, stock first-rounder.”

Speaking of first-round draft choices, Bailey and Harper — both projected to be lottery picks in next June’s NBA Draft — took turns showing a congregation of 20 professional scouts what they could do, displaying a variety of outside shots, dunks and drives to the tune of 25 and 20 points, respectively. As Bailey built on Rutgers’ double-digit advantage in the second half, Harper attempted to take the game over late before St. John’s final push.

“Dylan is, for a freshman, so much under control,” Pitino commented in his appraisal of Harper. “He plays like a senior. He’s so much under control, he’s got a lot of Clyde Frazier in him the way he plays. He was amazing, and Ace Bailey just has great talent. Both of them are great, I think they’re terrific. Obviously, they deserve the ranking they’re getting.”

When the Associated Press released its preseason Top 25 poll Monday, a debate ensued after Rutgers landed the No. 25 slot while St. John’s earned the second-highest point total among teams not ranked. While the number next to a team’s name means very little at this time of year, each side walked away impressed with what it brought to the table, particularly the Red Storm.

“A win like this, it shows a lot about who we are as a team, our character,” said Ejiofor. “We dug deep tonight, we made some changes in the second half that ultimately got us the win. We never gave up, one possession at a time.”

“I wanted to see the character of our basketball team, and I saw it tonight,” Pitino echoed. “I’m real proud of that. It was a totally different basketball team once they got the feel of each other. I think this team’s got a very high ceiling. What we need to do now is we’ve gotta develop our backup fives. And once we develop that, I think we’ll be a much better basketball team.”

Pikiell, who has been largely unable to solve St. John’s over his career — as a player and coach, he has a 2-12 lifetime record against the Johnnies (including exhibition games) — was equally effusive in his praise of his opponent.

“They’re just relentless on the glass,” he stated. “Zuby, I was just really impressed with him. He’s a load and he could shoot the ball, so now you’ve gotta guard him around the basket, you’ve gotta guard him away from the basket. We know Richmond’s a good player, we’ve played against him a lot and he causes problems. He sees the floor, he’s got good size, (Simeon) Wilcher is going to be a good player. They’re a little bit different than I thought: Long, athletic, they really did a great job of rebounding the basketball, and they’ve got a hall of fame coach. So I’m very impressed.”