As if one of the most anticipated seasons in St. John’s history couldn’t get any bigger, the No. 5 Johnnies were picked to finish 1st in the Preseason Big East Coaches’ Poll and superstar Zuby Ejiofor was pegged as the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year.
It’s the highest preseason ranking for the Red Storm since 1991 when it was also picked to finish at the top of the league.
St. John’s, the defending regular season and conference tournament champions, edged out No. 4 UConn by three votes after the Huskies were voted ahead of the Storm by one position in the preseason Associated Press Poll.