WASHINGTON — Zuby Ejiofor left a couple of million bucks in NIL cash on the table to stay out of the portal, to remain at St. John’s, because his relationships with his teammates and coaches were transformational, not transactional.
He’s a throwback who didn’t just want to play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. He wanted to play in the Sweet 16 specifically with his St. John’s brothers, and specifically for Rick Pitino, the coach who promised him he would become a star in New York.
That’s why he was in tears at a news conference podium Friday night after Duke 80, St. John’s 75 in Capital One Arena. He was asked how he wanted to be remembered by Red Storm fans, and he mentioned his competitive fire on the court. “But my character is something I pride myself on the most,” Ejiofor said.
He thanked the fans for embracing him and then broke down, unable to continue. Ejiofor left the room before his fellow senior Dillon Mitchell did the same. Mitchell choked up while explaining how fast the special moments come and go for a team that wishes it could stay together forever.
Zuby Ejiofor gets emotional recapping his time at St. John’s:
“My character is the thing I pride myself on the most. To all of Johnnies nation, I appreciate you guys. For the past 3 years, just embracing me as a player…” 🥹 pic.twitter.com/5VJ7jxamD0
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 28, 2026
“This team is one of the most unique teams I’ve had in 52 years,” Pitino said. “Never one argument among players, impossible, the summer and regular season. Not one potential fight, or somebody getting upset at somebody. I’ve never seen that in my 52 years.
“They’re just the greatest kids in the world. They wanted to win so badly. They were willing to do anything to try to win, and I’ll never have a team like this again with that type of attitude. … Just incredible people, and my heart breaks for them now.”
Pitino talked about this group the way he talked about his 1992 Kentucky team known as “the Unforgettables,” the unwanted leftovers from another coach’s scandal who bonded in the NCAA Tournament and nearly shocked Duke, and the world, in their Elite Eight clash for the ages in Philly.
What a tribute to these St. John’s players, and to the heart and soul they showed by taking a 10-point lead over the Blue Devils in the second half, turning the place into a St. John’s building. Ejiofor slammed home a couple of breakaway dunks. Ruben Prey, of all people, was among the Johnnies draining 3s from all over the place. It sure felt like St. John’s was 15 minutes away from a spot in Sunday’s East Region final.
But then Duke’s Caleb Foster took the game by the throat. It was a strange development, too, since Foster’s coach, Jon Scheyer, said his guard “had no business playing tonight,” not when he was still dragging around his recently broken foot.
Scheyer got emotional about Foster and the thin line between surviving and going home, just like the St. John’s seniors got emotional about their final game. Wouldn’t you know it, but the soul of college basketball wasn’t crushed by the money and free agency after all.
Foster hadn’t even played one second of five-on-five ball in Duke practice before he teed it up against St. John’s. He didn’t leave the postgame interview room in tears, but he did leave it on a scooter, his bum foot wrapped up. St. John’s wins this game if Foster doesn’t play, no question about that.
“It was a big lift for them to have him,” Pitino said. “I would rather they played without him, but I didn’t get that choice.”
Beyond Foster’s impact, Mitchell said fifth-seeded St. John’s made too many mistakes on both sides of the ball to beat top-seeded Duke, including “not listening to Coach. You can’t have mistakes like that this time of year, and it cost us the game, cost us our season.”
Isaiah Evans and Cameron Boozer combined for 47 points against an elite St. John’s defense that allowed the Blue Devils to make 10 of their final 12 shots. Pitino said the difference between winning and losing could be reduced to his team’s failure to stop what he repeatedly called Duke’s “bully drives” to the goal. St. John’s outscored Duke 39-15 from the 3-point line after Pitino called 3-point shooting his team’s only shot to win … and still lost.
Dylan Darling, the darling of the Kansas victory, took an ill-advised corkscrew 3 in the closing seconds in a futile attempt to tie the game. Boozer sank a couple of free throws, and St. John’s was left to marinate in its misery while Duke celebrated and then conducted its media interviews in the NCAA’s winners-go-first format.
Pitino was upset that tournament officials “left us hanging out there for over a half hour,” and strongly suggested the NCAA let future losing teams meet first with the press.
All in all, Pitino was a good sport in defeat, just like he was a good sport about getting assigned the fifth seed in the first place. He likely should’ve played Prey more than 13 minutes, as the big man from Portugal scored 12 points by going 4 for 4 on his 3-point attempts, but the coach has been lights-out since the day he walked through that door in Queens three years ago. And this game wasn’t lost on strategy.
It was lost on willpower. The Blue Devils imposed their will on the Red Storm when it mattered most.
“We are all very disappointed that we didn’t have a chance to win a national championship,” Pitino said, “but that’s a credit to Duke.”
The coach told his players that they trained like Olympians and ended up with bronze medals around their necks. “It’s not as good as the gold, it’s not as good as the silver,” Pitino told them. “But you got a bronze, and you should feel very proud of that.”
The St. John’s players should feel proudest about how they carried themselves, especially Ejiofor. He was a credit to the school, the city and the sport.
Zuby wept Friday night because he was losing something he cared deeply about — his day-to-day bond with his college friends and coaches, something you can’t buy from a booster. It was good to see.
The 2025-’26 Red Storm will never be national champs, but they will never be forgotten, either.