WASHINGTON — Zuby Ejiofor is one step nearer to varsity basketball’s prime defensive honor.
The St. John’s ahead/middle is one of four finalists for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, the nationwide award’s organizers introduced Friday.
The others are Kansas middle Flory Bidunga, Florida middle Rueben Chinyelu and Houston ahead Joseph Tugler.
Entering Friday night time’s Sweet 16 sport towards Duke, the 6-9, 240-pound Ejiofor was averaging 2.2 blocks, 7.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per sport because the bruising tone-setter for a hyper-physical Red Storm protection.
During the common season, the senior Ejiofor recorded 9 video games with at the least three blocks — together with back-to-back eight-block performances in December towards Ole Miss and Iona.
He additionally had seven blocks within the Red Storm’s 72-52 victory over UConn on this month’s Big East Tournament closing, then opened the NCAA Tournament with 4 rejections in a 79-53 rout of Northern Iowa within the first spherical.
“Zuby’s one of the top players in the country. Zuby’s going to be a great pro,” head coach Rick Pitino said recently.
“When you lead a team that won [the Big East in] the regular season, won the conference tournament, beating a tremendous team with Connecticut by 20 points, you lead the team in scoring, rebounds, blocked shots, assists for a center, you’re one of the top players in all of basketball.”
Of course, Ejiofor faces worthy competitors for Naismith Defense Player of the Year.
Chinyelu ranks fourth amongst Division I gamers with 11.2 rebounds per sport. Bidunga ranks fifth with 2.6 blocks per sport. And Tugler headlined a Houston protection that allowed simply 62.3 factors per sport — the second fewest amongst Division I groups.
A St. John’s participant has by no means received the award.
The Naismith consideration additional strengthens the argument that Ejiofor was snubbed for one of many 15 spots on the Associated Press’ All-America groups. In that nationwide vote, Ejiofor was acknowledged as solely an honorable point out.
Still, this has been a busy awards season for Ejiofor, who was beforehand named the Big East’s Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year, in addition to the Big East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
“Coming to a program like St. John’s [that had] experienced a few down years, the past two years turning out pretty successful,” Ejiofor stated forward of Friday’s sport in Washington, D.C. “Just seeing the whole city and Johnnies Nation having our back, the excitement that we brought to the program the last two years, it’s been pretty special.”
Ejiofor had additionally been named one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith Player of the Year, however he was not one of many 4 finalists unveiled Friday for that honor.
Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg are the finalists in that class.
