Depth. Explosive talent. Experience.
After three losing seasons, littered with setbacks on the court and off and a few fleeting bright moments, Chris Mullin believes he has the team in place to start winning for real.
“This is really the first year we’ve kind of had our real group together,” the St. John’s coach said in a phone interview in advance of Wednesday’s first official practice. “You always have high expectations. Expectations-wise we’re going to take another step, and hopefully it will be a big one.”
Depending on the NCAA’s ruling on the eligibility of Auburn transfer Mustapha Heron’s hardship waiver, the Johnnies could have 11 scholarship players. That includes Big East leading scorer Shamorie Ponds, returning starters Justin Simon and Marvin Clark II, and a bevy of new additions, such as Heron, junior college All-American L.J. Figueroa and sit-out transfers Sedee Keita (South Carolina) and Mikey Dixon (Quinnipiac).
The Big East is expected to be down, the result of 11 of the 13 all-league players from last year moving on, and St. John’s should be up. Ponds’ return, after flirting with the NBA, heightened those hopes. Mullin said he has seen a more mature and physically stronger player, eating better and working on becoming more efficient.
“This year, with better players around him, he’ll be able to show off his versatility and playmaking ability,” Mullin said.
St. John’s has yet to hear back from the NCAA on Heron’s waiver, but if cleared, it would give the Johnnies two of the conference’s premier players in Heron and Ponds. Heron, a 6-foot-5 Connecticut native who returned to the area to be close to his ill mother, Thalia, averaged 16.4 points per game for SEC co-champion Auburn a year ago.
Mullin said he has been just as impressed by the 6-6 Figueroa, a heady player he believes will improve the Red Storm’s ball movement.
“He’s a little like Shamorie at the forward position, put him in [spots] and let him feel his way through the game,” the coach said. “With Justin, Shamorie and L.J., those guys are pretty good passers. They can make reads, make plays for teammates. That was something we were lacking, something I’m looking forward to developing.”
As has been the case virtually every season under Mullin, St. John’s will be undersized. The transfer of shot-blocking specialist Tariq Owens to Texas Tech made that a certainty. But Mullin is very high on Keita, a 6-9, 240-pound forward who possesses the back-to-the-basket post-up game Owens lacked. Mullin isn’t concerned about losing such a potent shot-blocker. The Hall of Fame player would prefer his team to be more sound defensively, and not rely on an eraser under the basket.
“I think he’s going to be a major presence,” Mullin said of Keita. “He can hold his position [in the post]. He’s one of our fastest guys, straight forward and laterally, which is unique for a guy his size.”
Mullin seemed most thrilled about returning his three best players: Ponds, Simon and Clark. A projected fourth starter, Keita, was with the program too, but was only allowed to practice after transferring in. That experience makes everything easier. It also leads to big expectations, after a cumulative 38-60 record so far at his alma mater. Even Mullin, who rarely will look ahead, admitted, “I do feel, yeah, it’s time to win.”
“I always have a need to win. Everyone wants to win, [but] are you willing to put in the time to win?” Mullin said. “I think we’ve done that and I think we’re going to put ourselves in position to [win].”
