Overview
- The senior was announced Monday as Defensive Player of the Year after being the only unanimous pick on both the All-Big East first team and the inaugural All-Defensive team.
- St. John’s secured a second straight outright regular-season title and the No. 1 seed, opening the Big East Tournament on Thursday at noon against the Butler–Providence winner at Madison Square Garden.
- Player of the Year will be revealed Wednesday before the tournament, with Ejiofor viewed as the frontrunner who could become the first St. John’s player to win both honors in the same season.
- Ejiofor leads the Red Storm with about 16.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per game, the only high-major player to top his team and rank top 10 in his league in all four categories.
- He is one of two high-major players with at least 60 blocks and 30 steals this season and posted back-to-back eight-block games in December, as coaches also honored Villanova’s Tyler Perkins (Most Improved), Devin Askew (Sixth Man) and Creighton’s Josh Dix (Sportsmanship).