Mustapha Heron should be viewed as a St. John’s basketball great
Mustapha Heron should be viewed as one of the greats to come though the St. John’s basketball program.
The list of legends to come through the gates at 8000 Utopia Parkway is long and historic but there should be another name added to that list and his name is Mustapha Heron.
Heron’s two years at St. John’s were anything but smooth but the guard from Waterbury, Connecticut put his head down and fought through the adversity in order to try and restore some respect and national relevance to the Red Storm program.
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Mustapha Heron came to Queens after two seasons at Auburn where he was a budding star on a fast rising team in the SEC. The NCAA granted the transfer a hardship waiver after the main reason for leaving the Tigers was to be closer to his mother, who suffered a major concussion.
The All-SEC player originally entered the 2018 NBA Draft but made the decision to withdraw from the draft and transfer as former St. John’s coach Chris Mullin was able to land the former five-star prospect.
In hindsight, Heron’s draft stock would never get higher than it was after his sophomore season at Auburn but the all-class player knew there were more important things in life than basketball.
Heron battled injury in his first season at St. John’s but he still provided a much needed option in addition to Shamorie Ponds, Justin Simon, and Marvin Clark .
The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 14.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game on 44.0 percent shooting from the field and 40.3 percent from 3-point range as St. John’s reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 and for the first time under Mullin.
After the Red Storm’s season ended in the First Four, another tumultuous offseason plagued Heron in which he saw his former Auburn Tigers reach the Final Four paired with St. John’s and Chris Mullin parting ways.
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Instead of bolting for the NBA or looking to play his senior campaign elsewhere, Heron became the face of the St. John’s program, standing front and center at new head coach Mike Anderson’s introductory press conference, taking on the leadership role of a young and unproven Red Storm team.
Mustapha Heron was primed for a major senior season, and it appeared that’s how things were heading, until an ankle injury suffered in the final minutes in a December 10 win over Brown proved to be yet another setback.
The injury kept Heron out until January 5 but even then, the senior guard never looked the same.
Knowing that his team needed him, Heron fought through the injury until he reaggravated it in a loss against Creighton on February 8 which required season ending surgery.
Even with the injury, Heron was still a key presence on the St. John’s bench, continuing to fulfill his role as a captain, while serving as a makeshift player-coach as well.
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In his two seasons at St. John’s, Heron averaged 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per contest on 41.8 percent shooting and 39.5 percent shooting from 3-point range.
The size, frame, and skill Heron possesses is tailor made for the NBA and as long as the guard can get some more consistency in his game, he has the ability to make a substantial impact on an NBA roster.
Mustapha Heron’s career at St. John’s doesn’t compare to the other greats such as Chris Mullin (the player), Mark Jackson, Malik Sealy, or Walter Berry, among others but he does hold his place much lower down the list in the category of greats that the program has seen.