Jason Fortin

Zuby Ejiofor being left off the Wooden Award watch list is hard to justify. The list seems heavily tilted toward raw scoring totals. Meanwhile, Zuby is 3 steals away from being the only player in Division I this season to lead his team in total points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. He already leads St. John’s in points, rebounds, assists and blocks. His value to the team goes WAY BEYOND statistics in terms of leadership, unselfishness, the ability to switch 1 through 5 (which reduces his rebound and block numbers) and his incredibly high motor and positive energy sets the tone for the team in every game and practice.

Seeing outrage in some nyc media quarters over St. John's getting a 5 seed. I thought they could sneak onto the 4 line but keep in mind their best noncon win was over Baylor on a neutral court. They went 2-1 vs UConn but Big East was meh and their predictive metrics were in the 16/17 range. So it aligns pretty well with a 5 seed. I expected a 4 but would have been shocked at a 3. A quibble, perhaps, but hardly cause for outrage. Though I love the action!

Congrats to Zuby Ejiofor for winning every Big East on-the-court personal and team award he was eligible for in the 2025–26 season: • Preseason Player of the Year • Player of the Year • Defensive Player of the Year • Scholar-Athlete of the Year • The only unanimous All-Big East First Team selection • One of two unanimous All-Big East All-Defensive Team selections • Captain of the outright Big East regular season champions I guess technically he was eligible for Most Improved Player… but he already won that last season. Just an incredible player, person, and leader.

In three games against top 30 KenPom competition, St. John's is 0-3 while allowing 90.3 point per game. They're giving up 1.23 PPP in those three games. For context, last season, Mississippi Valley State was the only team that in the country that allowed more than 1.23 PPP.