St. John’s resurgent and award-winning season has even transferred to former players.
Chris Mullin, St. John’s all-time leading scorer, recently earned an induction into The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2011.
Mullin grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from Xaverian in Bay Ridge. He entered St. John’s University in 1981, taking part in one of the golden ages of basketball there. In his final three seasons at St. John’s, Mullin was named the Big East Player of the Year each season while also garnering the Wooden Award as the nation’s top player in 1985.
These college accomplishments led to Mullin being the number seven pick in the 1985 draft joining the Golden State Warriors. In 1989, he began a run of five straight seasons of at least 25 points per game. During this run he was named to the legendary 1992 Olympic “Dream Team,” which steamrolled competition on their way to a gold medal.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame differs from its baseball and football counterparts in that it does not just consider performance on the professional level when choosing candidates. Mullin’s performance at St. John’s, as a two-time Olympic gold medal winner (1984 and ’92) and in the NBA were all taken into account during selection.
Mullin is the ninth player affiliated with the university to gain enshrinement into the Hall of Fame. Mullin had previously been named to the hall of fame as a member of the famed “Dream Team” last August.
