RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor Named to All-BIG EAST First Team; Kadary Richmond Garners Second Team Honors

QUEENS, N.Y. – After a historic regular season, three St. John's men's basketball players earned All-BIG EAST honors, the conference office announced on Sunday afternoon.

RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the first time two Johnnies landed on the league's first team since Walter Berry and Mark Jackson earned the honor in 1986. Floor general Kadary Richmond earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. The three all-conference selections mark the program's most in 25 years since Erick Barkley (First Team), Lavor Postell (Second Team) and Bootsy Thornton (Third Team) garnered All-BIG EAST honors in 1999-2000.

The Red Storm's trio averaged a combined 44.9 points and 21.5 rebounds to help guide the Johnnies to their first outright BIG EAST Regular Season title in 40 years. St. John's finished the regular season with a 27-4 record, matching a program best for total regular season wins, while also climbing as high as No. 6 in the national polls, the Johnnies' highest ranking since 1991.

Luis, a unanimous selection to the conference's first team, blossomed into one of the top players in the country in his second season in Queens. The junior wing has started 27 of 30 games this season and is averaging 18.1 points on 44.6 percent shooting from the field, 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. The Miami native joins fellow first team choice Ryan Kalkbrenner as the only player in the BIG EAST to rank top-six in scoring and rebounding.

Over his last three games, Luis averaged 24.3 points per game after three consecutive 20-plus outings. He has reached the 20-point mark 11 times this season and scored in double-figures in 29 out of 30 games. Luis has led the team in scoring 16 times as the Red Storm holds an undefeated 16-0 record in those contests. Luis became the first St. John's player to log a 30-point game since Julian Champagnie on Feb. 18, 2022, exploding for a season-high 30 points in a win over Villanova on Jan. 11. He nailed 16 free throws in the 80-68 triumph over the Wildcats, which ranks fourth-most in a single-game in St. John's men's basketball history.

A capable rebounder, Luis stands second on the team and sixth in the conference averaging 7.1 boards per game. The 6-foot-7 wing has grabbed seven or more boards in 16 of his 30 contests this season. He is tied with Ejiofor with a team-high nine double-doubles on the season. Additionally, he ranks third on the team and 14^th in the BIG EAST averaging 1.4 steals per game.

Luis has garnered a slew of honors throughout the season including - Naismith Trophy National Player of the Year Midseason Team, Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year finalist, NCAA March Madness Player of the Week, two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week, two-time Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association Player of the Week and a five-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recipient.

Ejiofor took an enormous leap in his second year under Head Coach Rick Pitino. After averaging 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in a reserve role last season, the big man skyrocketed his production to 14.1 points and 8.2 boards per game as a junior to garner first team honors.

The Garland, Texas native leads NCAA Division I in offensive rebounding, logging 4.3 boards per game on the offensive glass. Ejiofor ranks third in BIG EAST with 8.2 rebounds per contest and held the nation's longest active streak earlier this season grabbing seven rebounds or more for 18 straight games from Nov. 17, 2024 to Feb. 1, 2025. The big man has recorded 10 double-digit rebounding efforts and ranks second in the BIG EAST with nine double-doubles. Additionally, the team captain ranks seventh in the conference and leads the team with 1.5 blocks per game.

Offensively, Ejiofor ranks second on the team averaging 14.1 points per game and is shooting a team-high 57.3 percent from the field. The four-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection has scored in double-digits in 22 of his last 23 appearances and scored a career-high 28 points in a victory over Kansas State on Dec. 7.

Richmond, a proven floor general earns All-BIG EAST honors for the second straight year after being named a 2023-24 first team all-league selection while at Seton Hall. The 6-foot-6 point guard has started 30 of 31 games and averaged 12.7 points on 48.5 percent shooting, 6.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.1 steals and holds an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1 this season.

The Brooklyn native turned it on in league play averaging 14.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.6 steals as St. John's went 18-2 in conference competition, tying last year's UConn Huskies for the highest league win total in BIG EAST history.

The team captain has planted himself on the league's leader board, ranking third in steals (2.1), fourth in assists (5.3), fourth in field goal percentage (48.5%), tied for 10^th in rebounding (6.1), seventh in defensive rebounding (4.7), 11^th in blocks (0.9) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6).

Just yesterday, Richmond finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the 86-84 overtime win over No. 20/20 Marquette to become the first Johnnie to post a triple-double on the stat sheet since Metta Sandiford-Artest, formerly Ron Artest, against Seton Hall on Jan. 9, 1999. After logging 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a triple-overtime loss to then-No. 18/18 Creighton on Jan. 20, 2024 while at Seton Hall, the point guard became the first NCAA Division I player to record multiple triple-doubles against ranked opponents since 1996-97. The Brooklyn native becomes just the seventh high major player to log a triple double this season and the third at St. John's in the last 35 years.

Richmond earned his fourth BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod on Sunday and was named the conference's player of the week on Feb. 24. Additionally, he was tabbed to the Sporting News Midseason All-America Third Team in January.

The top-seeded Red Storm will face the winner of eighth-seeded Providence and ninth-seeded Butler in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal on Thursday at noon on Peacock.

2024-25 All-BIG EAST Teams:

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
*Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, Sr., 7-1, 270, Florissant, Mo.
Micah Peavy, Georgetown, G-F, Gr., 6-8, 220, Cibolo, Texas
*Kam Jones, Marquette, G, Sr., 6-5, 205, Memphis, Tenn.
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's, F, Jr., 6-9, 240, Garland, Texas
*RJ Luis, Jr., St. John's, G-F, Jr., 6-7, 215, Miami, Fla.
*Eric Dixon, Villanova, F, Gr., 6-8, 265, Willow Grove, Pa.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Solo Ball, Connecticut, G, So., 6-3, 190, Leesburg, Va.
Alex Karaban, Connecticut, F, R-Jr., 6-8, 225, Southborough, Mass.
Steven Ashworth, Creighton, G, Sr., 6-0, 175, Alpine, Utah
Kadary Richmond, St. John's, G, Gr., 6-6, 205, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Zach Freemantle, Xavier, F, Gr., 6-9, 227, Teaneck, N.J.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM*
Jahmyl Telfort, Butler, F, Gr., 6-7, 225, Montreal, Que.
Liam McNeeley, Connecticut, F, Fr., 6-7, 210, Richardson, Texas
Thomas Sorber, Georgetown, F-C, Fr., 6-10, 255, Trenton, N.J.
David Joplin, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-8, 225, Milwaukee, Wis.
Wooga Poplar, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-5, 197, Philadelphia, Pa.
Ryan Conwell, Xavier, G, Jr., 6-4, 215, Indianapolis, Ind.

*A tie in the voting created an extra position.

BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
*Liam McNeeley, Connecticut, F, Fr., 6-7, 210, Richardson, Texas
Jackson McAndrew, Creighton, F, Fr., 6-10, 220, Wayzata, Minn.
*Thomas Sorber, Georgetown, F-C, Fr., 6-10, 255, Trenton, N.J.
Royce Parham, Marquette, F, Fr., 6-8, 230, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Oswin Erhunmunse, Providence, F, Fr., 6-10, 220, Benin City, Nigeria
Ryan Mela, Providence, F, Fr., 6-6, 220, Natick, Mass.

*Denotes unanimous selection

St. John's University Athletics

RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor Named to All-BIG EAST First Team; Kadary Richmond Garners Second Team Honors

Players Mentioned

Zuby Ejiofor

Kadary Richmond

Related Videos