It’s no secret what the Sweet 16 game meant to Zuby Ejiofor.
And the result was an all-time crusher for the senior.
Following St. John’s heartbreaking 80-75 loss to Duke on Friday in Washington, D.C., Ejiofor was overcome with emotion during the postgame press conference.
When asked about his Red Storm legacy and what he would like the fans to remember him by, the forward started to answer before the waterworks took over.
“I’m just a competitive player, you know, on the court but my character is something I pride myself on the most. And to all the Johnnies nation,” he said, “I appreciate you guys. For the past three years, you know, just embracing the player…”
From there, Ejiofor broke off as the emotions washed over him.
Dillon Mitchell put his hand on Ejiofor’s shoulder in comfort before he left the podium early.
In a previous answer, he did express his disappointment in falling short of the Elite Eight — and more.
“I’m obviously pretty disappointed. We had opportunities down the stretch to come out with the win. We felt just short of an Elite Eight and chance to go to the Final Four,” Ejiofor said.
Rick Pitino went on to briefly complain about the postgame media schedule, explaining St. John’s had to wait for Duke to wrap up before going into the press room.
“You should let the losing team go first, and then let the winning team have as long as you want. Just a suggestion. You just left us hanging out there for over a half hour,” Pitino said.
After a freshman season at Kansas in 2022-23, Ejiofor transferred to St. John’s to carve out a bigger role for himself. By his junior year, he found it and became a beloved name among Johnnies fans.
This season will be Ejiofor’s final mark on the program.
He earned a revenge win over the Jayhawks in the second round. In Friday’s game, he scored 17 points while tallying eight rebounds, six assists and one block.
It was an all-time nail-biter as St. John’s and Duke traded buckets back and forth, especially in the final 10 minutes.
The Blue Devils will go on to play either Michigan State or UConn in the next round.
