St. John's Has No Excuses This Year Now With Mustapha Heron Eligible

Well, this was the news that St. John’s was waiting for. Mustapha Heron, the transfer from Auburn got cleared for his hardship waiver and will be eligible this year according to Evan Daniels. That means that St. John’s has absolutely no excuses now this year and it’s all going to be on Chris Mullin.

Heron averaged over 16 per game for Auburn last year before announcing he wanted to transfer to be closer to home and his ill mother. He grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut and decided to transfer to St. John’s over UConn during the summer.

Heron now makes up one of the best backcourts in the country as he joins Shamorie Ponds in the backcourt. Ponds is expected to be an All-American. He’s coming off a year where he averaged over 21 points per game while also finishing 83rd in the country in assist rate. The ball is simply going to be in his hands. He was 18th in the country in possession percentage – meaning possessions that he’s on the floor where he shoots or assists. Ponds needs to be a bit more efficient though. He shot just 25% from three last season on 179 attempts. That number needs to drastically rise.

Heron should alleviate some of that offensive dominance though. But, St. John’s now has the second most talented roster in the Big East behind Villanova. There’s no reason for this team to miss the NCAA Tournament and not compete. Now, I don’t think this is a Final Four team, but this is a team that could make the second weekend and I won’t be surprised. That’s how good Ponds and Heron are in the backcort.