Hawks take St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor with 23rd overall pick

The Hawks had another decision to make on Tuesday night. With the 23rd overall pick, they selected St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor.

The 6-7 forward/center averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 30 minutes in Rick Pitino’s system. Ejiofor brings a high motor that will allow him to operate on both ends of the floor.

“The guy’s a beast,” Hawks president of basketball operations Onsi Saleh said. “If you guys have seen him play at St. John’s, you’re talking about a guy that switches one through five, could guard point guards, guard bigs or big wings, it doesn’t really matter.

“I think with him it’s like the high-level processing he has. Offensively, he just makes the right play every single time. He’s a really good passer for his size, giant wingspan to do all that stuff.

“The thing is if he continues to develop the outside shot. I think he shot it pretty decently from the free-throw line. So there’s some indicators there that it makes sense for him to be a shooter at the next level too.”

He will give the Hawks a strong interior presence on the defensive end with his rim protection. At St. John’s, he averaged 2.1 blocks per game, with many of them coming from the help side. Plus, Ejiofor has active hands, which will fit well alongside the Hawks’ big wings of Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

The Garland, Texas native also has gained a reputation as a strong passer, which gives the Hawks another post player their offense can flow through.

Ejiofor earned several honors as a senior at St. John’s, including the Big East Player of the Year, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and the Big East tournament MVP.

Here’s a look at the draft through pick No. 23:

1. Wizards - AJ Dybantsa (Brigham Young)

2. Jazz - Darryn Peterson (Kansas)

3. Grizzlies - Cam Boozer (Duke)

4. Bulls - Caleb Wilson (North Carolina)

5. Clippers (from Pacers) - Keaton Wagler (Illinois)

6. Nets - Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville)

7. Kings - Darius Acuff (Arkansas)

8. Hawks - Kingston Flemings (Houston)

9. Mavericks - Morez Johnson Jr. (Michigan)

10. Bucks - Brayden Burries (Arizona)

11. Warriors - Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan)