By JADEN DALY
NEW YORK — With the likely Big East Conference Preseason Player of the Year back for his junior season and a highly-touted transfer immediately eligible, expectations surrounding St. John’s this season are as high as any point since head coach Chris Mullin assumed the reins at his alma mater, and justifiably so.
But while Mullin refused to acknowledge the pressure of the rising demands for the Red Storm, he was more than willing to admit that the return of Shamorie Ponds and arrival of Mustapha Heron makes his program a much stronger outfit than it had been last season.
Ponds, who tested the NBA Draft waters before opting to return to campus, on Monday was named to the Bob Cousy Preseason Award Watch List. One day later, Heron, the Auburn transfer whose hardship waiver to play immediately was first reported by ZAGSBLOG, was named to the Jerry West Preseason Award Watch List.
“I like this team,” Mullin said, giving a nod to the potential impact of Ponds and Heron as one of the dominant backcourts in the Big East, citing the latter as “another player defenses are going to have to account for.”
“We could put guys on the court at every position that can really score the ball. We could put five guys out there that can get off the dribble and make a three, so when you have lineups like that, it’s going to open up the floor. The spacing will be better.”
St. John’s, which also returns Justin Simon and Marvin Clark and adds several impact transfers, should be picked among the top teams in the Big East, along with reigning national champion Villanova, when the league poll comes out later this month at media day.
The Jerry West Award list includes Barrett, Langford, Battle, Herro and Heron. No Myles Powell of @SetonHallMBB which seems like a bad call. pic.twitter.com/tuS17agf13
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) October 16, 2018
Ponds ranked 18th nationally in scoring at 21.6 points per game last season, shattering the Red Storm’s sophomore scoring record with 647 points. He became the 51st player in program history to score 1,000 points for his career and just the 10th player to do so in his second year with the team.
Heron scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons with the Tigers. Last year, Heron was selected to the All-SEC Second Team by the Associated Press after leading Auburn to an SEC Co-Regular Season Championship and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Waterbury, Conn., native averaged 16.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore.
He has actively embraced the notion of being a take-charge leader alongside Ponds, with whom he has played since their high school days, competing at IS8 and various other tournaments in the tri-state area.
“We’re scoring talents, but at the same time, guys who are willing to get our teammates involved,” Heron said of he and Ponds’ chemistry. “I think it’s just going to be — with us complementing each other and when you add all the other pieces in — it’s really going to be a great year.”
“We both play off each other and we’ve both developed to be great leaders,” Ponds echoed. “It’s definitely exciting because we go way back. He told me he was going to come to St. John’s during a (NBA) workout. We’ve both got a lot to prove, and we’re definitely going to show the world what they want to see.”
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