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Auburn transfer Mustapha Heron could be the player who puts St. John’s over the top
By Brandon Lilly Nov 8, 2018
NEW YORK — Throughout his return engagement to Queens as the coach at St. John’s, Chris Mullin was arguably working with a severe talent disadvantage. This year, thanks in large part to the addition of Auburn transfer Mustapha Heron, that is no longer the case.
“My college coach (St. John’s legend Lou Carnesecca) always told me: ‘Your job is to get good players,’” Mullin said on Tuesday after his team’s season-opening 76-55 win over Loyola (Md). “The better players you have, the better coach you are. It’s exciting to watch them.”
Most of the excitement centers around Heron, who scored 15 points and tallied seven boards in the opener. His versatility gives his teammates the ability to settle into more comfortable roles. He can create his own offense, which takes some of the pressure off of Shamorie Ponds, the preseason Big East Player of the Year. Heron, a junior, allows combo guard Justin Simon to concentrate on defense and getting out in transition instead of forcing shots in the halfcourt, where he struggled last year. And his penetration can lead to open perimeter shots for forward Marvin Clark, who has always been a more reliable outside shooter than post presence.
“It’s a huge difference,” Mullin said of the addition of Heron. “Shamorie and Mustapha both have good feels for the game. They’re two very skilled, very smart players. Now it’s about winning and doing it with other players around you.”
Every morning this summer and for most of the fall, Heron woke up thinking that today could be the day he would find out whether he’d even be playing basketball this year.
After a flirtation with the NBA Draft, Heron, a former five–star recruit, transferred from Auburn to St. John’s. His mother had been dealing with symptoms from a concussion she suffered in 2017, and the 6-foot-5 native of Waterbury, Conn., decided he was too far away from his family as his mother dealt with her ailments. Heron applied for a hardship waiver and then waited. And waited.
“I waited the whole summer for news, but I just went to practice with the mindset that I was playing,” Heron said. “If it didn’t come this year, then next year would be the year. I was focused on being a student-athlete, and if it didn’t happen I would get my degree and be ready for next year.”
When the good news finally came, it was not a surprise, necessarily. Auburn officials didn’t object to Heron’s departure and didn’t stand in the way of his waiver request. But he at long last had the chance to exhale.
“It was definitely a sigh of relief,” Heron said. “I’m just ready to get started and go to war with my guys. I want to be a guy who leads by example and plays hard every night.”
Heron scored in double figures in 30 of 33 games last season for an Auburn team that shared the SEC regular-season title. It’s the kind of consistent offense that was lacking in Queens last season. Ponds was the offense last year, averaging 21.6 points a game. But the team desperately needed another scorer. Heron provides that, plus he brings with him the knowledge of what it takes to win at the high-major level, something that has been sorely lacking on the St. John’s roster.
“The biggest thing that Mustapha brings is his experience,” said Mullin, who was 38-60 in his first three seasons.
“He’s an accomplished scorer. He’s played in big games. He played on a great team at Auburn. He brings a lot to the table.”
Heron has also made a big impact off the court. Ever since his high school days in Waterbury, he has devoted a significant amount of time to advocacy against gun violence. Three years ago, after a grassroots basketball teammate was shot in a drive-by shooting, Heron and his father, Bryan, persuaded his summer team as well as his high school squad to wear orange patches on their jerseys to raise awareness of the issue. Orange was selected in honor of Project Orange Tree, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to ending gun violence there. And through this seemingly small gesture, awareness was indeed raised. Many media outlets, including The New York Times, picked up the story. The Herons’ work in this area has continued, with a focus on kids younger than 14. For the past several years, Mustapha has worked with his father to launch a youth literacy program in Waterbury. Read a book and write a report — get a book bag. Three books and three reports earn students a pair of sneakers.
“You have a much better chance of making an impact with these kids if you get to them early, while they are still under parental supervision,” said Bryan Heron, a social worker in Waterbury. “We’ve always wanted to use basketball as a way to get kids thinking about things other than streets. Mustapha has been a huge part of getting that message out.”
Last month, Heron was back in Waterbury promoting a preseason high school basketball tournament. “Shoot Hoops, Not Guns” featured some of the best prep teams in the New York Tri-State area.
“It was just an idea that me and my father had since there’s a lot of inner-city violence,” Heron said. “Sports are a great way to bring people together, so we’re just trying to help the community come together.”
On the court, Heron has liked what he’s seen from the Johnnies. He noted that although they lack size, basketball has been trending toward a positionless game, and he believes the team will be able to play fast and cause matchup problems due to the quickness of its three perimeter players: Heron, Ponds and Simon, a former Arizona transfer. Heron sees a lot of similarities between the Red Storm and last year’s Auburn team, which was predicted to finish in the lower half of the SEC.
“I think we have a lot of talent here,” Heron said. “It does remind me of that team last year. We have the ability to space the floor with a bunch of shooters and a lot of athleticism. I think we fit that mold perfectly.”
Adding Heron to the mix has unquestionably raised expectations for the program. The Red Storm were picked to finish fourth in Big East, just one point behind Providence, in the preseason coaches poll, and many around the country picked St. John’s to finish as high as second (behind Villanova). The nonconference schedule should allow the Johnnies to get off to a fast start. The team will leave the area only once before conference play (a neutral-site game against Georgia Tech in Miami). The Yellow Jackets, Rutgers and Cal are the only major conference programs on the nonconference slate. There is a trip to Duke in February, but a potential matchup with Temple or VCU in Brooklyn at the Legends Classic looks to be the only potential stumbling block early on. A good start could get the city buzzing about college basketball for the first time in a long time.
“We want to make front-page headlines every time we play a game,” Heron said. “I think it’s important to everyone on this team to get that going. We just have to go out and play hard every night, have fun and play to win.”
By Brandon Lilly Nov 8, 2018
NEW YORK — Throughout his return engagement to Queens as the coach at St. John’s, Chris Mullin was arguably working with a severe talent disadvantage. This year, thanks in large part to the addition of Auburn transfer Mustapha Heron, that is no longer the case.
“My college coach (St. John’s legend Lou Carnesecca) always told me: ‘Your job is to get good players,’” Mullin said on Tuesday after his team’s season-opening 76-55 win over Loyola (Md). “The better players you have, the better coach you are. It’s exciting to watch them.”
Most of the excitement centers around Heron, who scored 15 points and tallied seven boards in the opener. His versatility gives his teammates the ability to settle into more comfortable roles. He can create his own offense, which takes some of the pressure off of Shamorie Ponds, the preseason Big East Player of the Year. Heron, a junior, allows combo guard Justin Simon to concentrate on defense and getting out in transition instead of forcing shots in the halfcourt, where he struggled last year. And his penetration can lead to open perimeter shots for forward Marvin Clark, who has always been a more reliable outside shooter than post presence.
“It’s a huge difference,” Mullin said of the addition of Heron. “Shamorie and Mustapha both have good feels for the game. They’re two very skilled, very smart players. Now it’s about winning and doing it with other players around you.”
Every morning this summer and for most of the fall, Heron woke up thinking that today could be the day he would find out whether he’d even be playing basketball this year.
After a flirtation with the NBA Draft, Heron, a former five–star recruit, transferred from Auburn to St. John’s. His mother had been dealing with symptoms from a concussion she suffered in 2017, and the 6-foot-5 native of Waterbury, Conn., decided he was too far away from his family as his mother dealt with her ailments. Heron applied for a hardship waiver and then waited. And waited.
“I waited the whole summer for news, but I just went to practice with the mindset that I was playing,” Heron said. “If it didn’t come this year, then next year would be the year. I was focused on being a student-athlete, and if it didn’t happen I would get my degree and be ready for next year.”
When the good news finally came, it was not a surprise, necessarily. Auburn officials didn’t object to Heron’s departure and didn’t stand in the way of his waiver request. But he at long last had the chance to exhale.
“It was definitely a sigh of relief,” Heron said. “I’m just ready to get started and go to war with my guys. I want to be a guy who leads by example and plays hard every night.”
Heron scored in double figures in 30 of 33 games last season for an Auburn team that shared the SEC regular-season title. It’s the kind of consistent offense that was lacking in Queens last season. Ponds was the offense last year, averaging 21.6 points a game. But the team desperately needed another scorer. Heron provides that, plus he brings with him the knowledge of what it takes to win at the high-major level, something that has been sorely lacking on the St. John’s roster.
“The biggest thing that Mustapha brings is his experience,” said Mullin, who was 38-60 in his first three seasons.
“He’s an accomplished scorer. He’s played in big games. He played on a great team at Auburn. He brings a lot to the table.”
Heron has also made a big impact off the court. Ever since his high school days in Waterbury, he has devoted a significant amount of time to advocacy against gun violence. Three years ago, after a grassroots basketball teammate was shot in a drive-by shooting, Heron and his father, Bryan, persuaded his summer team as well as his high school squad to wear orange patches on their jerseys to raise awareness of the issue. Orange was selected in honor of Project Orange Tree, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to ending gun violence there. And through this seemingly small gesture, awareness was indeed raised. Many media outlets, including The New York Times, picked up the story. The Herons’ work in this area has continued, with a focus on kids younger than 14. For the past several years, Mustapha has worked with his father to launch a youth literacy program in Waterbury. Read a book and write a report — get a book bag. Three books and three reports earn students a pair of sneakers.
“You have a much better chance of making an impact with these kids if you get to them early, while they are still under parental supervision,” said Bryan Heron, a social worker in Waterbury. “We’ve always wanted to use basketball as a way to get kids thinking about things other than streets. Mustapha has been a huge part of getting that message out.”
Last month, Heron was back in Waterbury promoting a preseason high school basketball tournament. “Shoot Hoops, Not Guns” featured some of the best prep teams in the New York Tri-State area.
“It was just an idea that me and my father had since there’s a lot of inner-city violence,” Heron said. “Sports are a great way to bring people together, so we’re just trying to help the community come together.”
On the court, Heron has liked what he’s seen from the Johnnies. He noted that although they lack size, basketball has been trending toward a positionless game, and he believes the team will be able to play fast and cause matchup problems due to the quickness of its three perimeter players: Heron, Ponds and Simon, a former Arizona transfer. Heron sees a lot of similarities between the Red Storm and last year’s Auburn team, which was predicted to finish in the lower half of the SEC.
“I think we have a lot of talent here,” Heron said. “It does remind me of that team last year. We have the ability to space the floor with a bunch of shooters and a lot of athleticism. I think we fit that mold perfectly.”
Adding Heron to the mix has unquestionably raised expectations for the program. The Red Storm were picked to finish fourth in Big East, just one point behind Providence, in the preseason coaches poll, and many around the country picked St. John’s to finish as high as second (behind Villanova). The nonconference schedule should allow the Johnnies to get off to a fast start. The team will leave the area only once before conference play (a neutral-site game against Georgia Tech in Miami). The Yellow Jackets, Rutgers and Cal are the only major conference programs on the nonconference slate. There is a trip to Duke in February, but a potential matchup with Temple or VCU in Brooklyn at the Legends Classic looks to be the only potential stumbling block early on. A good start could get the city buzzing about college basketball for the first time in a long time.
“We want to make front-page headlines every time we play a game,” Heron said. “I think it’s important to everyone on this team to get that going. We just have to go out and play hard every night, have fun and play to win.”