St. John’s basketball’s Rick Pitino credits Zuby Ejiofor for reviving ‘dead’ program after Senior Night win

The St. John’s basketball program continued its winning ways on Tuesday night with a narrow home win over Georgetown by a score of 72-69. While it wasn’t the most impressive performance of the year for the Red Storm, Rick Pitino’s squad ultimately did just enough to push their record to 24-6 on the 2025-26 college basketball season.

This was a big game for forward Zuby Ejiofor, who scored 23 points on an efficient 10-13 shooting from the field, to go along with seven rebounds and five assists in a well-rounded effort.

After the game, Pitino spoke on how Ejiofor’s talent and effort have both helped turn around the St. John’s basketball program over the last couple of seasons.

“This place was dead. Zuby played behind Joel for one year, and he, like (Jamal) Mashburn helped turn around Kentucky, Zuby helped the turnaround here at St. John’s, culture-wise, as well as on the court play,” said Pitino, per B/R Hoops on X, formerly Twitter.

Indeed, Ejiofor has brought an infectious energy to the Red Storm program during his time there, not complaining when he was delegated to a bench role earlier in his career, but more than seizing his opportunity in the spotlight over the last couple of years.

Tuesday night against Georgetown marked Ejiofor’s final home game at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City, and he certainly showed out for the fans in attendance.

Meanwhile, the St. John’s basketball program is hoping to bounce back after a disappointing NCAA Tournament exit last year, losing to the number 10 seed Arkansas Razorbacks despite being the number two seed in their part of the bracket. The tournament is slated to get underway later this month.

Meanwhile, St. John’s will next take the floor on Friday evening on the road against Seton Hall.

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