By Joseph Staszewski
Chris Mullin can make St. John’s New York’s team again and he’s off to a good start.
His presence in Jamaica Estates for just one day as the new Red Storm men’s basketball coach provided a glimpse of his impact.
Fans filled the lower half of Carnesecca Area yelling encouragement. More than a dozen former players returned, including Walter Berry, Boo Harvey and Felipe Lopez, just to see Mullin take his place atop the program. Imagine what things will be like when he coaches his first game.
“This is going to unite everyone,” Berry said. “This is a great thing that happened today and it is going to unite New York City for sure.”
Mullin talked about returning St. John’s to its glory days of the past on a day filled with plenty of nostalgia. That truly is not his task. The days of looking back ended when Mullin left the stage.
He must move the Red Storm forward in the modern area of college basketball. St. John’s is a winning program again, thanks to former coach Steve Lavin. Mullin must make it elite. That starts by connecting St. John’s past with its future.
Mullin is the bridge.
“What made me comfortable when I came to St. John’s was to see all these old legends before I got here,” St. John hoops alum Tyrone Grant said. “That’s what makes you want to be part of St. John’s. I haven’t seen that in I don’t even know how long.”
St. John’s finally has a coach who can really remind future recruits and current players what it was like when the program was at its height and can surround them with others who know so, too.
Former St. John’s coach Norm Roberts was a New Yorker, but played down the road at Queens College. Lavin grew up on the West Coast and could tell fond tales of UCLA and John Wooden. Mullin can speak about Lou Carnesecca, Mark Jackson and Bill Wennington.
He doesn’t have to tell people about himself. Mullin’s name resonates, too, thanks to his time playing in the NBA, being on the 1992 Dream Team and his front office experience. Grant, who is a boys’ basketball assistant coach at Wings, said his players were telling him about Mullin.
The new coach’s contacts and basketball knowledge are certainly attractive. Cardozo junior star Rashond Salnave, who was being recruited by the Red Storm under Lavin, can see Mullin easily connecting with local recruits and beyond who have NBA aspirations.
“He’s one of the coaches right now that can make my dream possibly become a reality through his connections,” he said.
Mullin is already in full pursuit of players to help do that for. He plans on dominating the New York City and local recruiting landscape. Familiar faces in Red Storm uniforms only deepen fans’ connections to a squad.
St. John’s has already made offers to Christ the King junior Rawle Alkins and Archbishop Stepinac’s sophomore Jordan Tucker among others. Mullin spoke with 2015 target, Cheick Diallo of Our Savior New American on Long Island, according to reports. The 6-foot-9 forward is the 11th ranked player in the country by ESPN and just won the MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game.
“We don’t want to have the kids leave the city,” new St. John assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih said. “We want the kids to leave New Jersey. We want them to come to St. John’s. We want the kids to come to the Big East powerhouse we know that we should be.”
Everyone in the St. John’s community appears united in that goal for the first time in more than a decade. Carnesecca symbolically passed the torch by giving Mullin a card with advice Joe Lapchick gave to him. If Mullin runs with it, everyone else will follow.
“I believe great things will happen from here on out,” Berry said. “Trust me.”
