Italian guard Federico Mussini committed to St. John’s on Monday.
Mussini visited St. John’s in April following the Nike Hoop Summit, where he had 9 points and 3 assists when the World team beat the U.S. team., 103-101, in Portland, Ore., thanks to 30 points from Jamal Murray.
“Federico is a crafty guard who will be an important piece to our roster,” St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin said in a statement. “Federico handles the ball well, he can score in a variety of ways and has playmaking skills that will continue to develop as he works with our coaching staff. His team-first mentality and unselfish approach to the game are exactly what we strive for as a program.”
“I am very excited to be a Johnny,” Mussini said in the statement. “I selected St. John’s most of all because of Coach Mullin and the entire coaching staff. I think Coach Mullin will help me to develop my game thanks to his experience from a Hall of Fame career. I believe that this staff can take me to another level.”
Asked what he thought of new coach Chris Mullin, Mussini said, “He is a really good person.”
With the loss of Rysheed Jordan, St. John’s will benefit from another guard joining the program.
Mussini is ranked No. 13 in the 1996 European age group by Eurohopes and No. 7 by DraftExpress.com. He averaged 14.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in the 2012 U16 European Championship Men’s Division.
In the 2014 Mannheim Tournament, he averaged 20.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists as Italy beat the USA to win the event. In the European Championship Men’s Division, he averaged 22.6 points, 4.0 rebound and 2.1 assists.
“[I’m a] fast player, I like to shoot 3 points,” Mussini told Jonathan Givony at the Hoop Summit. “I like to reward my teammates too, to share the ball with everyone because I want to win. This is the only thing that counts, so everyone has to be involved. Everyone has to touch the ball, and when I’m open I have to shoot.”
Mussini joins a slew of newcomers at St. John’s, including Marcus LoVett, Malik Ellison, Yankuba Sima, Darien Williams, Durand Johnson and Ron Mvouika.
St. John’s has two scholarships left for 2015 and remains involved for Greek 7-footer Georgios Papagiannis and 6-7 Florida wing Maverick Rowan, who is reclassing from 2016.
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