St. John’s basketball’s R.J. Luis, Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor named to Big East First Team, Kadary Richmond lands on Second Team

St. John’s tied UConn for most players to earn All-Big East recognition with three

The Big East conference announced three St. John’s men’s basketball players had been named to an All-Big East team by the league’s coaches on Sunday afternoon: R.J. Luis, Jr. (unanimously) and Zuby Ejiofor made the First Team, while Kadary Richmond was selected for the Second Team.

Until this year, St. John’s did not have more than one representative on the All-Big East First Team since Walter Berry and Mark Jackson were named to the team in the 1985-86 season.

Luis, Jr. built a strong case for Big East Player of the Year, averaging 18.1 points (fourth in the conference) and 7.1 rebounds per game (sixth in the conference) after finishing the season on a high note. Over his last three games, Luis has averaged 24.3 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 54.2% from the floor and 8-of-17 from three (47.1%).

Zuby Ejiofor broke out in his first season as a full-time starter, scoring 14.1 points per game and pacing the Red Storm in rebounds (8.2; third in the Big East) and blocks per game (1.5; seventh in the Big East).

Ejiofor is statistically the most irreplaceable player on the Red Storm, leading the team with a +20.4 net rating when he’s on the floor versus when he’s off the floor, according to CBB Analytics. Aaron Scott, the next closest player, has a net rating of +7.0, while R.J. Luis, Jr. and Kadary Richmond have respective ratings of +4.2 and +3.5.

Kadary Richmond was left off the First Team even though his production ticked up in the last third of the season, but it may have been a case of too little, too late to convince coaches to move him up an echelon.

The Brooklyn native averaged 12.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and a team-best 5.3 assists and 2.1 steals this season, but since the start of February, his averages jumped to 15.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.6 steals.

In his last game versus Marquette on Saturday, Richmond recorded the first triple-double by a St. John’s men’s basketball player since Ron Artest accomplished the feat on January 9, 1999.

The sixth-ranked St. John’s Red Storm have a few more days to rest for the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden, where they will face Providence or Butler in the quarterfinal on Thursday, March 13 (noon, Peacock).