{"id":733931,"date":"2026-05-14T06:45:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/733931\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T06:45:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T06:45:26","slug":"zuby-ejiofor-improves-nba-draft-stock-with-solid-shooting-combine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/733931\/","title":{"rendered":"Zuby Ejiofor improves NBA draft stock with solid shooting combine"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHICAGO \u2014 St. John\u2019s Zuby Ejiofor is about to realize his dream of making the NBA.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s almost certain to become the Red Storm\u2019s first draft pick in a decade \u2014 maybe even a first-rounder after a solid performance in the NBA Draft Combine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a great experience,\u201d Ejiofor said. \u201cHaving this opportunity is something I dreamed of for a long time and it\u2019s literally right in front of my face.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. John\u2019s hasn\u2019t had a first-round pick since Maurice Harkless in 2012, or any draft pick since Sir\u2019Dominic Pointer three years later. But Ejiofor has a shot \u2014 because he\u2019s showing that he can shoot.<\/p>\n

The defensive-minded bruiser measured 6-foot-7 \u00bd barefoot and 245 pounds with a 7-foot-2 wingspan, long and bulky but short enough that he\u2019s going to have to develop a jumper. <\/p>\n

Apparently he\u2019s been in Las Vegas since St. John\u2019s season ended working on just that, and it\u2019s paying off at the combine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, a lot [of practice shots],\u201d Ejiofor said of his daily Las Vegas regimen. \u201cIt was like hundreds, thousands even: shots, 3-point shots, midrange, you name it, just trying to showcase a little bit more than I did in college.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result was clear.<\/p>\n

Ejiofor shot 17-for-30 off the dribble and 12-for-25 in the 3-point star drill. He was 16-for-28 in a side-middle-side drill and 13-for-25 in spot-up shooting. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s something I could\u2019ve shown a little bit more in college. And then I had the opportunity to just come out here and just prove, not only to myself, but to everybody around that I could do it,\u201d Ejiofor said. \u201cAnd I had decent numbers. And I was pretty proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ZubyZuby Ejiofor participates in a pro lane drill at the NBA Draft Combine on May 11, 2026 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The numbers will buoy his stock.<\/p>\n

Ejiofor said he met with six teams Wednesday, including the Cavaliers, Hornets, Mavericks, Nuggets and Thunder. <\/p>\n

He will meet with the hometown Knicks and Nets Thursday.<\/p>\n

\"ZubyZuby Ejiofor takes part in a shooting drill at the NBA Draft Combine on May 11. David Banks-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The St. John\u2019s senior isn\u2019t participating in the 5-on-5 scrimmages at the combine, with his agent feeling he\u2019s slated to go between Nos. 25 and 35 in next month\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

Ejiofor was mocked to go 43rd to the Nets by Yahoo Sports and 31st to the Knicks by Tankathon.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York, obviously it\u2019s a special place. I\u2019ve got to grow a whole lot in the city of New York. And obviously I have a lot of love over there. So, obviously it\u2019d be pretty special to be in a familiar area,\u201d Ejiofor said. \u201cIf the opportunity happens, I\u2019m more than excited to be there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019d be a great experience. I spent my last three years in New York. I have a lot of love there in New York City. I\u2019ve been away for a while, but I\u2019m going back to New York on the 17th to walk for graduation. But, yeah, it will be a great experience if it happens. I\u2019m going to be excited and my family is as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHICAGO \u2014 St. John\u2019s Zuby Ejiofor is about to realize his dream of making the NBA. He\u2019s almost…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":733932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,6,12,66,218,219],"class_list":["post-733931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba-draft","tag-basketball","tag-nba","tag-nba-draft","tag-sports","tag-st-johns-red-storm","tag-zuby-ejiofor"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116571585095209096","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=733931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/733932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=733931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=733931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=733931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}