Zuby Ejiofor – 2026 NBA Draft Guide

Full name is Chukwuebuka Ejiofor. His mom, Sandra, gave him the nickname Zuby. His father, Collins, is a businessman who travels to and from Nigeria, and Sandra is a nurse. He has four brothers; two of them, Ugo and Chuks, played college basketball at a lower level. 

Ejiofor was born in Texas, moved to Nigeria when he was young and then moved back to Dallas when he was in sixth grade. He didn’t start playing basketball until his early teenage years and took some time to develop in high school. He played with the Thunder Elite AAU team in Dallas, where he met Andy and Sheena Philachack, who became like second parents to him. Ejiofor went to Garland High outside Dallas, where his older brother, Ugo, played. He joined the Houston Hoops AAU team on the Nike EYBL circuit but did not emerge on the radar until before his junior season at Garland, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ejiofor quickly went from being a three-star recruit to a top-60 player in his recruiting class, averaging 21 points and 13 rebounds. He won all-state honors as a senior and was considered a top-60 player in his class. He chose Kansas over Oklahoma, Houston, Arkansas, Texas and TCU but did not earn much playing time with the Jayhawks as a freshman and transferred after the team signed Hunter Dickinson out of the transfer portal. 

Ejiofor went to play for Rick Pitino at St. John’s, where he was a solid backup big man as a sophomore. As a junior, he started nearly every game for the Red Storm on his way to first-team All-Big East honors, the Big East’s Most Improved Player award and the Big East’s All-Tournament team. St. John’s won the Big East title that year but was upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Arkansas. 

Ejiofor came back for his senior year and won the Big East Player of the Year, Big East Defensive Player of the Year and Big East tournament MVP and was an honorable mention All-American. He also won the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award as the center of the year in college basketball. St. John’s won another Big East title and advanced to the Sweet 16, losing to Duke. 

Ejiofor is as decorated a player to depart St. John’s as the school has seen in years and is automatically eligible for the 2026 NBA Draft.