St. John's will have a 'Ring of Honor'-style place for all-time greats, including Zuby Ejiofor
St. John's Red Storm forward Zuby Ejiofor reacts late in the second half of the Big East Tournament final against the UConn Huskies at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
St. John’s plans to resume the practice of honoring its all-time greats next season for the first time since 2006.
Red Storm coach Rick Pitino broke the news while addressing fans who came out for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show watch party at Carnesecca Arena on Sunday. He said St. John’s will have a Ring of Honor-style place to enshrine them at both Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden. It will have 11 members at the launch, the 10 honored in 2006 and current star Zuby Ejiofor.
The original 10 people who were bestowed with what was termed Legacy Honors in 2006 were Lou Carnesecca, Alan Seiden, Sonny Dove, Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, Walter Berry, Malik Sealy, Tony Jackson, Dick McGuire and Joe Lapchick.
Ejiofor, a two-time all-conference first-team selection and the 2026 Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, was not expecting it.
“I was pretty stunned,” he said. “He was talking about guys like Walter Berry and Chris Mullin and the list goes on and on. I was never really expecting my name to be called, honestly, but it’s a truly special moment. I’m really just entirely grateful for that recognition.”
St. John’s AD Ed Kull said the concept of honoring the all-time greats has been a topic for about six months. “It’s a powerful statement of a new day here at St. John’s,” he said. “Coach Pitino and what he’s brought in the last three years — I love that. It’s a new day for us, so we’re changing the way we do things. Zuby out of the gate is a wonderful way to do this.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
