.avif){kind=logo}
t h e . o f f . s e a s o n
From far above the depth of despair drowning the court at Amica Mutual Pavilion, the nagging, inescapable drone of the final buzzer rings out. There’s no tone or melody to this noise. It’s not music. It’s just loud. It sends out a clamor thousands of Hertz above what the human ear enjoys hearing.
High frequency.
Low vibration.
Rhode Island’s Amica Mutual Pavilion is nearly 200 miles from Queens’ Carnesecca Arena. Hours of distance separate the Red Storm from their home and five more wins separate them from their goal.
Rick Pitino’s squad just lost in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. They had already proven themselves as the Big East regular season champs and the Big East Tournament champs. But they had bigger dreams, bigger dreams. After their March 22, 2025 defeat at the hands of Arkansas, a whole lot will change. Program staples RJ Luis, Kadary Richmond, Deivon Smith, Simeon Wilcher and Aaron Scott will move on. Coach Pitino will go out and recruit transfers Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins, among others.
But one player won’t change after that shrill and piercing final buzzer. Coach P will still be able to call on somebody he knows will continue to charge.
The constant will be Zuby Ejiofor.
Ejiofor came all the way from Texas, where he grew up. He stopped over in Kansas for a season. Then he got to Queens back in 2023.
“There's been some dark days, and it takes a full team commitment to be able to just pick yourselves up and approach each and every day to the best of your abilities and practice like a championship-caliber team,” Ejiofor tells SLAMU.
“I think that's what we've been doing great for the most part, especially just my three years here, just having the experience of that first year. It was kind of, you know, just a learning year. It was kind of down. This last year, being able to bring two championships to Queens. And, you know, this year, off to a little rocky start, but picking ourselves up again, finding ways to win even when it's not looking great. You know, putting ourselves in the right path to be able to accomplish our goals.”
p u n c h i n ’ . t h e . c l o c k
Utopia Parkway’s soundtrack underscores the summer near St. John’s. Car horns blare late into the night. Everyone’s pissed off by the sweltering temperatures, near all-time records throughout June, July and August—tireless heat domes encircle the city. The rattle of the city isn’t as loud as that awful buzzer, but it’s far more unbroken. Low frequency. High vibration.
The summer triggers renewal for Coach P and Ejiofor.
Mitchell and Hopkins each take their trips to the borough. Other newcomers pull up to Queens, too. A list that includes New York’s own Ian Jackson, the spark plug Dylan Darling and the skillfully-flexible Joson Sanon and Oziyah Sellers.
A physically powerful group of mostly upperclassmen ready to go face-to-face with the legendary discipline of Coach P.
.jpg)
“For me, it was just being around the right culture that Coach P and the staff has put together,” Mitchell says. Originally from Florida, Mitch—as the team calls him—played at Texas and Cincinnati before getting to SJU. “It's a winning culture, it's a family, and it tells you about just going hard every day. Coach talks a lot about the Kobe mentality and just never taking plays off, never taking days off, being excited about coming into work every day. It's just the culture that's been built here is something that you can't really get out a lot of other places.”
“I say the same thing,” Hopkins jumps in. Hop, as the team calls him, is a native of Chicago. Before arriving at SJU, he suited up for Kentucky and Providence. “The mentality that he instills in us and the winning culture that he has in here, I feel like losing is very bad. You don't want to lose here. It's gonna be a grind in the next few days. He makes that culture, like, to where you never want to lose, and I feel like that’s what we pride ourselves on when we step out onto the court. It's just never taking a play off and, you know, playing it like it's our last.”
And so they work on the task put in front of them. Tasks, really. It’s not just that they have to win the Big East again. It’s not just that they have to make it back to the Dance and compete for the natty. It’s that they have to mesh with each other quickly. Real quick. A brand new core that Ejiofor has to help guide. The Johnnies enter stealth mode for the summer.
a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e
There goes that sound again. Disrespectful decibels. High frequency. There goes that disappointment again. Heartbreaking loss. Low vibration.
This time, January 3, 2026, the loss was delivered by Providence. A 6-point defeat. A record that now includes five losses.
Coach P and the Red Storm had spent the whole summer in pursuit of the ever-illusive chemistry all great teams have. Slip, slipping through their hands, though, there it goes. Just within their reach. It’s a cold world.
Coach P steps in. Five losses just won’t do.
Course correct the melody. Increase the harmony. It’s Dillon Mitchell’s time to join the starting lineup.
Rise and shine, Johnnies. Welcome back to the winning side. In fact, 10 wins in a row, as of this writing. They even conquered the mighty UConn. In that matchup against the Huskies, only three Johnnies scored in double figures. You already know who that trio was. Just look at these pictures. The Red Storm been blowing up.
Behind Ejiofor’s defense and leadership, Mitchell’s athleticism and versatility and Hopkins’ IQ and competitiveness, St. John’s found their tone.
High frequency. High vibration.
Ejiofor’s going for nearly 16 points a game, in addition to over 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal. With the exception of his rebounding average, everything else is up across the board. During the streak, Mitchell’s at 10 points a game, 9 boards and 3 assists on 55 percent shooting. And Hopkins’ scoring is just as reliable as advertised, with about 14 points a game.
St. John’s is looking for trouble these days. And they’re cherishing the moments where they overcome the danger.
“In terms of just going back again to our identity, I think, just coming down from 15 against Seton Hall and then 16 against Xavier, two big-time back-to-back games, we found ourselves in a situation where we're down, big, big and we picked ourselves up,” Ejiofor says.
“We leaned on each other and were able to find a way to just grind it out and come out [with a] win. And that says a lot to our character, you know, individually and obviously, collectively. We’re doing whatever it takes to win, and it might not always look pretty, but, as long as we stick with each other, we're able to find ways to be able to make an impact.”
The Johnnies are hungry. Their defense is an all-out attack that mobs opponents. They’re going to squeeze and crush and crumble because, for right now, that final buzzer sounds real, real good.
SHOP COLLECTION