Rick Pitino has had this coaching gig for more than a few years. He has seen and done just about everything, building programs from scratch and constructing national championship teams. Back in 1987, when Pitino took the basketball world by storm, he developed a young guard named Billy Donovan. Together they led Providence College through a historic ride in the NCAA Tournament and all the way to the Final Four.
It was a special journey. And, in some ways, it became a reference point for everything Pitino has accomplished.
“I’ve never in my life had anyone work as hard to improve as (Donovan),” Pitino said.
Forty years later, through all of Pitino’s stops in his career, the Hall of Fame coach has found another player worthy of similar praise. St. John’s big man Zuby Ejiofor has rekindled his memory of Donovan and become the driving force as the Red Storm advanced to the second round of this tournament.
“I don’t think I’ve enjoyed coaching a player as much since 1987 when I coached Billy Donovan,” Pitino said of Ejiofor before St. John’s defeated Northern Iowa 79-53 in the first round Friday night in San Diego. “And I’m going to miss him terribly. I’m just going to appreciate him while I have him.”
Blocking the path to further success for St. John’s is Kansas, the No. 4 seed in the East, and one of the biggest challenges Ejiofor has faced in his career. Standing in the way is Kansas sophomore center Flory Bidunga, perhaps the most improved big man in the nation and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
Don’t confuse this matchup for the 1982 made-for-television classic between Virginia’s Ralph Sampson and Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing, but Ejiofor vs. Bidunga should deliver as the top one-on-one showdown in the paint this March.
But adding to the intrigue is the backstory. Ejiofor, a top 50 high school recruit from Garland, Texas, started his college career at Kansas under coach Bill Self. After one season with limited playing time, Ejiofor hit the transfer portal and left Lawrence to become an integral part of Pitino’s restoration project at St. John’s.
“I have a lot of love and respect for Kansas,” Ejiofor said on CBS after St. John’s advanced and waited for the Jayhawks to play California Baptist. “We’ll see what happens.”
Ejiofor couldn’t be blamed for leaving the Jayhawks. Self and his staff wanted Ejiofor to stay, but when they landed Michigan standout Hunter Dickinson as the top prize in the 2023 transfer portal it was clear he would not have an opportunity to thrive at Kansas. Zjiofor and fellow backup Ernest Udeh both departed.
The NCAA almost engineered a reunion with Kansas in last season’s tournament. Both Kansas and St. John’s began play in Providence and could’ve met in the second round, but the Jayhawks lost to Arkansas in the first round before St. John’s suffered through a dismal shooting performance and fell to the Razorbacks in the next round.
“I love Zuby,” Self told reporters Thursday after arriving at Viejas Arena. “But not surprised at all that he’s a pro. Not surprised at all that he’s done extremely well. Rick was obviously a great fit for him.
“I’ve enjoyed watching him grow, be a complete player, because when you talk about complete, you’re talking about a skill set of posting (up), drawing fouls, using both hands, passing, stretching (the floor), blocking and altering (shots).”
Ejiofor has been at the center of Pitino’s plan during the reconstruction of St. John’s. That was based on the first impression he made during a workout in the transfer process, a meeting that was arranged by Andy Philachack. Ejiofor has two sets of parents, his Nigerian-born father and mother, and his American AAU coach. Philachack and his wife are essentially adopted parents. Ejiofor refers to Philachack as “Pops” and “Dad” and it was the mentor from Texas who took the situation under control when Dickinson changed the environment at Kansas.
Ejiofor’s work ethic and leadership skills convinced Pitino he was a perfect fit. Since his high school days, Ejiofor has played with a motor that translates to the game at every level.
The carryover from his junior season led to Ejiofor being named Big East Preseason Player of the Year and he hasn’t disappointed in 2025-26, earning Big East Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Academic Player of the Year. He leads St. John’s in points (16.3 per game), rebounds (7.3), assists (3.5) and blocks (2.2).
“Zuby has taken it from a guy that came in without a lot of confidence to now one of the great leaders in the game that I’ve ever coached,” Pitino said.
Against Northern Iowa, Ejiofor finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
“That’s not enough,” Ejiofor said.
Pitino heard that and joked, “About time you said that.”
Ejiofor and Bidunga are both finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Ejiofor and Bidunga (13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds) could turn Sunday’s game into a block party. On the way to being named the Big 12’s top defender, Bidunga ranked fifth in the nation with 2.6 blocks per game. Ejiofor was 17th at 2.2 per game. Both dominate on the offensive glass, with Ejiofor and Bidunga both ranked in the top 50.
After playing behind Dickinson as a freshman, Bidunga entered the transfer portal and considered a move to Auburn, but wanted a chance to play with freshman phenom Darryn Peterson and ultimately returned. By improving his footwork, rim protection and quickness, Bidunga seems likely to enter the NBA Draft after the season.
Bidunga struggled in the NCAA Tournament opener, finishing with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block. Self likes to use Bidunga (2 of 6 field goals) and freshman Bryson Tiller (2 of 7) in the high-low game, but both struggled around the rim. Kansas could also utilize Paul Mbiya for more help inside after he came off the bench for 8 points, 3 rebounds and a block Friday night.
“He’s had a really good last month,” Self said of Mbiya. “That excites me because we’re going to be playing some teams that are bigger than us and it would be nice to have another big body out there.”
All eyes will be on Ejiofor as he works through the emotion of this triangle with Kansas and St. John’s — and Self and Pitino. Ejiofor has had nothing bad to say publicly about Self and doesn’t talk trash about Kansas. He is too polite for that.
But his life and career path clearly took an upward turn when he moved to St. John’s, where he has led the Red Storm to two consecutive Big East championships. Ejiofor went from a situation that offered little chance and turned into his greatest opportunity.
“Every time I go out there I just try to compete at a high level and do whatever it takes to come out successful, on the defensive end, on the offensive end, and do whatever it takes, like I said, to come out with the win,” he said. Philachack told The Athletic it is much more than that.
“I’m his dad and I know how he thinks,” Philachack was quoted saying. “One-hundred percent he wants to show Coach Self that he can play and prove to him that he made a mistake.”
Meet your guide
