St. John's tops Big East preseason poll for 1st time since 1991

"I really don't pay too much attention to prognosticating because especially in this day and age, I don't even know the names of the players (on the teams),"

"The team is led by Zuby Ejiofor, who was selected as the conference's preseason player of the year. The senior forward averaged 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting nearly 58% from the field last season."

"The Red Storm received seven of the first-place votes from the conference's coaches Tuesday. UConn garnered the other four. It's the first time since 1991-92 that St. John's held the top spot in the preseason poll."

"'That will be an added storyline,' Richard Pitino said. 'Regardless of my dad, St. John's is really, really good. In year one to be playing a St. John's or a UConn. Top-10, top-20 teams, we better be ready to go. It's going to be a real tough challenge.'"

Rick Pitino downplayed the significance of preseason prognostications and said he pays little attention to polls, noting unfamiliarity with other teams' players. St. John's received seven first-place Big East votes while UConn received four, marking St. John's highest preseason Big East placement since 1991-92. Zuby Ejiofor was named conference preseason player of the year after averaging 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds with nearly 58% shooting last season. UConn's Braylon Mullins was picked preseason freshman of the year. The AP Top 25 placed UConn fourth and St. John's fifth. The conference added coaches Kevin Willard and Richard Pitino, and the two Pitinos will face each other twice during the season.

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