Zuby Ejiofor has become the heart of the St. John's men's basketball program

These are the best kind of success stories.

Coach Rick Pitino may be the face of the St. John’s program, but the player all Red Storm fans have come to love is Zuby Ejiofor.

His effort is so exceptional, it’s noticeable in a game. He was the driving force last season behind a deeply flawed offensive team that still won 31 games. His buzzer-beaters in wins at Providence and Marquette were sensational highlights.

And now, after being named the Big East’s Preseason Player of the Year in a vote by conference coaches, he has achieved the ultimate athlete status in New York: Say “Zuby” to any basketball fan and the listener will know exactly whom you’re talking about.

To have reached these heights would be sensational for any athlete, but for a guy who was seen as a bit player two years ago? A guy whom University of Kansas coach Bill Self couldn’t find minutes for? Whoa.

Forget the rags-to-riches storyline. Ejiofor has become synonymous with St. John’s basketball because he is everything New Yorkers value: a selfless, dedicated, driven worker who hates to lose in any competition. He’s a kid from Texas who has become New York through-and-through.

St. John’s athletic director Ed Kull told Newsday that the adidas-brand replica game jersey adorned with Ejiofor’s name and number 24 is the top seller among personalized Red Storm gear.

“I love the way the fans [acknowledge] all I put into every game,” Ejiofor said at St. John’s on-campus media day. “I want to give them everything I’ve got. All of us want to win for them, for New York and . . . for us.”

Ejiofor was considered a high-level recruit when he signed with Kansas out of high school, but Self, with a talent-laden roster, saw him as only a bit player. Pitino said that when Ejiofor transferred to St. John’s, Self told him he was getting a quality individual who would be nothing more than a backup.

But Pitino saw something different and wanted to tap into it. As the story goes, Pitino was so impressed by the effort Ejiofor showed him on his campus visit before transferring, he didn’t want to let him leave campus without a commitment.

Now we understand.

“Every player I’ve had that reaches this level has an incredible threshold for work,” Pitino said Tuesday at the Garden during Big East media day. “I thought he would be a great player, I really did. With Zuby, I knew he was going to be passionate about every phase of the game. It’s a skill a lot of players lack.”

Rebounding — particularly offensive rebounding — is considered an “effort stat” in college basketball. Ejiofor led the nation with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game last season en route to averaging 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds.

More significant is that he was the leader of a team that won its first outright Big East regular-season championship in 39 years, won the conference tournament championship for the first time in 25 years, earned a No. 2 seeding in the NCAA Tournament and won its first tourney game since 2000.

To better understand who Ejiofor is, he didn’t even consider opportunities associated with going pro after the second-round upset by No. 10 Arkansas that ended the Red Storm’s season. He had more he wanted to accomplish at St. John’s.

With Pitino bringing in what 247sports.com called the No. 1-ranked transfer class with Ian Jackson (North Carolina), Bryce Hopkins (Providence), Joson Sanon (Arizona State), Oziyah Sellers (Stanford), Dillon Mitchell (Cincinnati) and Dylan Darling (Idaho State), Ejiofor wanted to be a part of this St. John’s season.

“Just having an opportunity to play at St John’s for one last year, it’s something that I really couldn’t pass on,” he said. “[I’m] really just grateful to have this opportunity — especially with the new guys — and just having one last go-round.”

Ejiofor averaged 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in five minutes per game as a freshman at Kansas. When he played behind Joel Soriano as a St. John’s sophomore, those numbers were 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11 minutes. But as the curtain came down on last season’s historic campaign, he was voted to the All-Big East first team and named its Most Improved Player.

Now Ejiofor is in the final stages of carving out a legacy. If St. John’s makes a Final Four, he will always be remembered as being instrumental in that effort.

“I just hope to be remembered as someone who left it all on the floor, left everything he has, was the best teammate he could be,” Ejiofor said. “I came here to win. I want St John’s to have winning known as the standard here. I want St. John’s fans to remember me as a winner.”

By Roger Rubin

roger.rubin@newsday.com@rogrubin

Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.