Zuby Ejiofor says there’s ‘no bad blood’ with Bill Self after leaving KU Jayhawks
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Zuby Ejiofor left Kansas for playing time and became St. John's star (16.3 PPG).
- Kansas coach Bill Self praised Ejiofor's development and noted limited minutes early on.
- Ejiofor faces Kansas in the Round of 32 aiming to reach the Sweet 16.
While on a leisurely stroll on Broadway and 7th Avenue in the heart of New York City, Zuby Ejiofor’s closest family members happened upon a huge portrait of the St. John’s senior/former Kansas Jayhawks forward on a screen high above Times Square.
After recovering from the shock, they were quick to share the image with the Big East Player of the Year, who will lead the No. 5 seed Red Storm (29-6) against No. 4 KU (24-10) in an NCAA Tournament Round of 32 game set for a 4:15 p.m. Central tipoff Sunday at Viejas Center.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a dream come true. I never dreamt of my picture ever being in Times Square,” Ejiofor told The Star on Saturday in a cramped Red Storm locker room. “But man, it’s just crazy. From where I came from and everything that I had to go through, all the past struggles to get to this moment … it’s bittersweet. Just coming into New York, the bright lights and the fans, the whole city embracing me and my name and my family just meant a lot.”
Ejiofor, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound, 21-year old native of Garland, Texas, has averaged 16.3 points and 7.1 rebounds a game his dream senior season. He has been referred to by New York media as one of the best players in St. John’s history.
He’s come so far from his one season at KU, where he averaged 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds (in 5.2 minutes per contest) that a huge storyline in the tournament has become an obvious question: Why did he leave Kansas and why has he been starring in the Big East rather than the Big 12?
Ejiofor explained the situation Saturday in an interview session at Viejas.
“I had high expectations of how my season was going to go. My freshman year, obviously things didn’t turn out exactly as planned, but that’s how life goes. I didn’t hang my head, just stayed committed to the level of work that I put in on a daily basis,” Ejiofor said. “I had a fun time at Kansas. I wouldn’t lie. I didn’t really want to leave, but I knew that in order for my future to keep progressing the way I wanted to go, that I had to probably look elsewhere for a bigger opportunity. And I was able to find myself.”
In an exit meeting with coach Bill Self after the 2022-23 season, Ejiofor was told by Self he’d love for him to stay at KU. He was frank about possible minutes with Hunter Dickinson coming aboard in the portal and Ernest Udeh not yet deciding to transfer, which he did shortly after Ejiofor entered the portal.
“The exit meeting was, I mean, it was good,” Ejiofor’s mentor Andy Philachack told The Star on Saturday in a phone interview.
“Coach Self was really trying to get us to stay. (He said), ‘So you should stay. This is Kansas. Life is good here and everything is good here. School is good here. You have friends and everything here.’
“He was telling my son that, but you know, I had to step in. It was like, ‘Hey Coach, we’re here for basketball. His time is ticking. We’re not here for life. We’re not here for anything. We’re here for basketball. That’s why we have to leave.’”
He continued.
“Coach really didn’t want us to leave at all, because I know he saw the potential in Zuby, but not right away. He said, ‘Maybe a couple years down the road, he’s going to be a good player,’ which his prediction was right. But we couldn’t wait. We couldn’t wait two years, three years, to get to start his career,” Philachack added.
Ejiofor said in no way did his decision come down to money.
“For me, it’s never been a money conversation. I wanted to get on the court,” Ejiofor said. “That was my biggest thing. I’m a competitor, and I feel like if I just put work in every single day — I might make subtle mistakes here and there — but my effort level will always be there. And I just wanted to get on the court as soon as possible and work for everything I’ve worked for.
“I saw my minutes would probably be limited due to the fact that Hunter (Dickinson, portal acquisition) is an All-American type player. So again, the majority of minutes at that center spot would go to Hunter. So I saw my opportunities would probably be limited to I don’t know how many minutes, but not as much as I anticipated.”
KU coach Self has said many times, including on Selection Sunday, he did not want Ejiofor to leave after one college campaign.
“He was a freshman when we had ‘Zube.’ He was a good high school player but, you know, he wasn’t a McDonald’s guy or anything like that. He played well for us as a freshman, but we were coming off winning a national championship and we had pretty good roster coming back. And then we also had another freshman that was the exact same position that he was in Ernest Udeh,” Self said.
“And so those two split time when, if we only had one of them, they probably would have played 15 to 18 minutes. But since we had two, we split that so neither one really had a chance to flourish. And then we had added Hunter at the end of the year. So that kind of put everything in the situation.
“But the thing that I’ve been most impressed with about Zube is when we had him he was an undersized post. Now he is a complete 4-man, so he can play the 5, but he can also pass. And with what he’s done from a skill set and everything, I would say that’s the thing that has been as impressive to me as anything. But I would have loved to see Zuby stay. We all wanted him to stay, but with what his goals were, he made a good, solid decision,” Self added.
Ejiofor backed up those comments saying: “Coach wanted me to stay. He had visions for me long term, but I wanted to go as fast as possible. I wanted to play and I didn’t have too many opportunities there, so I looked elsewhere.”
Now Ejiofor has to keep his emotions somewhat in check as he plays against his old team. The only Jayhawk remaining from his freshman season is Wilder Evers.
“He’s a very good player with a great motor,” Evers told The Star. “We’ve remained good friends. We were able to reconnect in Vegas (at Players Era tournament). The guy has a great family, so all love for him.
“He definitely was just a really hard-working kid. Always showed up, always worked hard in the weight room and on in the court. So it’s good to see all his hard work show up,” Evers added.
Philachack stated that Ejiofor enters the second-round tournament game “fired up play anybody. But I think, being that it’s Kansas, it’s just human nature, he wants to play Kansas. I don’t think he has anything to prove anymore. He’s done so much at St. John’s so he just has to play his game. I don’t want him to overthink it, right? Just another game. So hopefully he thinks like that.
“He’s telling me not to overthink it, so maybe he’s telling himself that too,” Philachack added laughing.
Ejiofor says he does see it as another game, an opportunity to advance to next week’s Sweet 16.
“Just understanding it’s just a game you have to get through to get to the bigger goal, honestly,” Ejiofor said. “Kansas is a tough opponent. It’s never going to be easy, but I have my teammates to back me up and just go out there and have fun and compete.”
Facing KU, he’ll go against big men Flory Bidunga and Bryson Tiller — and perhaps Paul Mbiya, who played 16 minutes in KU’s first round win over Cal Baptist.
“I want to go against the best. And obviously those two (Tiller, Bidunga) are tremendous players, so it’ll be a great matchup,” Ejiofor said. “It’s going to be an exciting game. Of course, it’s not about me, but it’s more so about the team. “
He hopes to shake hands with his former coach before or after the game. He said “absolutely not,” when asked if there were any hard feelings between he and Self.
“It was a true blessing playing for Bill Self my freshman year. Coming in as a freshman, going to such a historic program, and the fans, everything, my teammates, the coaching staff, everybody embraced me my first year, so there’s no bad blood there,” he declared.
Noted Philachack: “We love coach Self. We wouldn’t be where we’re at without coach Self. Because, you know, once Kansas offers a scholarship, all the schools offer a scholarship, right? Even coach (Rick) Pitino said the only reason he recruited Zuby (at St. John’s) as he was looking for tape on him was because he came from Kansas and played for coach Self. “
