Roger Rubin: Trio of St. John's players selected in NBA Draft signals big positives for program
St. John's Zuby Ejiofor reacts after making a three-pointer against Villanova in the first half of a Big East men’s basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 28, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It’s anticipated that the 2026 NBA Draft will prove historic because of the number of potential franchise players among the lottery picks. For St. John’s, what unfolded the last two nights at Barclays Center already is.
Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins – the powerhouse front line that carried the Red Storm to their first NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 27 years – were all selected and among the first 49 of the 60 picks in the two-round event. It’s the first time St. John’s has had three players selected in the same draft since 1983, when there were 10 rounds, and the first time three players were chosen off a Rick Pitino-coached team since 1996 after his Kentucky squad won the national championship.
Ejiofor came off the board in the first round on Tuesday night at No. 23 to the Hawks and, in the second round on Wednesday night, Mitchell went at No. 40 to the Celtics and Hopkins at No. 49 to the Nuggets.
All three selections tell an inspirational story.
Ejiofor put in the work under Pitino over three seasons after transferring from Kansas to transform from a solid defender with little offensive game into the 2026 Big East Player of the Year and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award winner as the nation’s top center. And his selection in the first round – St. John’s first since Maurice Harkless went 15th in 2012 – is the latest in a long list of transformational changes Pitino has brought tot the program since
Mitchell’s permanent installation into the Red Storm’s starting lineup when they were 9-5 sent them to a 30-7 record. An exceptional athlete, first-rate defender and passionate rebounder, he averaged 8.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists, but it was strong performances at the NBA Draft Combine and in workouts for teams that sent his draft stock soaring.
Hopkins rediscovered his pro potential after losing much of the previous two seasons to knee injuries to average 13.6 points and 6.2 rebounds and then performed so well at the G-League combine that he was invited to NBA Combine.
A few Storm players have reached the NBA in recent years and this past season Julian Champagnie was instrumental as San Antonio reached the Finals, Daniss Jenkins was essential in Detroit earning the Eastern Conference top seed and Kadary Richmond played a bit for Washington.
But the Ejiofor selection may be significant for the program. Pitino’s reputation for helping players reach their potential and make it to the NBA was established long ago and Ejiofor is Pitino’s 18th first-round pick. St. John’s, however, stopped being a part of any conversation about where a great player might go to become a lottery pick or first-round selection long ago.
Asked in a phone interview Wednesday from Greece about the potential benefit to St. John’s of becoming a place that can help make a player into a first-round pick. Pitino told Newsday, “You need that — that’s a key that opens up a lot of doors.”
It certainly could for attracting elite players in this era of college basketball. There are NIL dollars aplenty and many top players opt to remove their names from the draft and return to college rather than risk falling into the second round where the contracts are not guaranteed. That St. John’s is a program with a coach who develops pro talent and can turn out first-round picks is a major draw.
And Ejiofor’s three-season arc of development – powered by his exceptional work ethic and desire to improve – is exemplary.
Atlanta’s director of basketball operation Osni Saleh praised Ejiofor Tuesday night for his strength, speed and ability to defend both guards and forwards, but was particularly impressed with the things that developed in his game during his three years playing for the Storm.
“With him, we like the high-level processing he has offensively,” Saleh said. “It’s just like he makes the right play every single time.
“This guy is somebody that you see in playoff basketball,” he added.
There was little doubt when St. John’s hired Pitino before the 2023-24 season that the basketball program was in for a major transformation. The Red Storm is now winning as it hasn’t in decades, has nearly doubled the number of season ticket holders this season will play nearly three times as many games at the Garden as it had before his arrival. And those crowds at the Garden? The building is never half-empty when St. John’s plays anymore and the notion that the visiting team might have more fans in the stands has basically become unthinkable.
And now St. John’s produces NBA first-round picks. Ejiofor will be joined in those ranks soon. Tounde Yessoufou was projected to be drafted at the end of the first round in this draft before he withdrew his name at the deadline and committed to St. John’s. Barring something unforeseen, Storm fans will be tuning in to watch the first round of the 2027 NBA Draft to hear his name and possibly others on this coming season’s Red Storm roster.
St. John’s profile keeps getting better and better under Pitino and, in this week where the Storm had three players drafted, it got even more attractive.
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.
