Mustapha Heron a Johnny?

[Novachap]

[quote="MullinMayhem"]Surprised that fans of other BE teams aren't excited for us...after being bottom-dwellers we still gave a little bit to the conference with the Duke win. Many have said we need SJ and G"Town to get back to prominence to take our conference to the next level...well, that's what an instantly-eligible Heron can do. We were ranked 15th in the country in 2015 with a less talented team. No reason we can't be in the top 25 with our weak OOC and a weak conference year. I'm not sold he will get the waiver...those never seem to go our way, but who knows? If we can get him the waiver and then also add Mike Rice for next season, you could easily look to the Johnnies as potential conference champs. Would be best roster in conference overall bar none.


That is great news! Congrats Johnnies, happy for you and good for the league.

Do need to suggest you cool your jets on "best roster in conference overall bar none"... still have to prove it out. Yes Ponds is awesome, but there is this little thing called chemistry and consistency. We shall see.

[MullinMayhem]

On paper of course...and yes chemistry will have to take place obviously. This time it's not a reach though...if we have Heron next year you suddenly can't double team Ponds. We'd have Simon a 6'6 guard, Heron a 6'5 guard, and Ponds only 6'1 but a NPOY candidate. That's freakishly good talent wise. Dixon will also get some burn and he won the MAAC ROY plus Trimble who isn't bad. Of course we will have to see how Keita does as our lone real big. If he is solid at worst and with Heron and some good health, I don't see a scenario where we are not competing for at least a top 3 spot.

[Bill Marsh]

I'm not for over hyping, but if Heron is eligible next year... I'd expect the team to be Top 25 at some point.

The more I read about this situation, the more I think that Heron will never play a minute for St John’s or anyone else. Consider the facts:

1. The NCAA did away with these kinds of waivers in 2015.
2. Heron’s mother is not suffering from a terminal illness, but from the aftereffects of a concussion she suffered a year ago.
3. Heron so badly wanted to return north to be close to his mother that he entered the NBA draft.

This seems to be a textbook example of the kind of abuse that the NCAA was trying to eliminate 3 years ago. Let’s look further.

4. Heron clearly has his sight set on the NBA.
5. Transfers normally occur due to a lack of playing time.
6. Heron was not lacking for playing time.

Why would a player so anxious to get to the NBA that he files for the NBA draft after his sophomore season, then decide to sit out a season, thereby derailing the progress of his career? What’s to be gained?

Obviously there’s no good reason to pursue such a plan and there’s nothing to be gained.

This situation has all over it the fingerprints of someone advising the player and the player following that advice. Someone advising him poorly, I might add. Such a “godfather” seems to be operating under the assumption that he can scam the NCAA and is looking for a college desperate enough to be his co-conspirator. I don’t expect that he will succeed with this scam.

So, what next?

Assuming that the appeal fails, will Heron really sit out a year at St John’s or anywhere else? I can’t imagine that he will. More likely is that we will find him playing in the D-League. The other possibility is that we’ll find out how sincere he is about being close to his mother, meaning that he might just turn up in Europe next year.

An interesting side plot in this soap opera is UConn, the natural landing spot for a Connecticut kid who wants to be close to home. But UConn’s complement of scholarships for next year is full. The chance to get even one year of a player of Heron’s caliber would make it worthwhile for a school to bully some poor kid out of his scholarship to create an opening for Heron. UConn’s done it before. It might be worth keeping an eye on UConn to see how serious they think Heron is and how good they think his chances are of gaining the waiver.

[Bill Marsh]

On paper of course...and yes chemistry will have to take place obviously. This time it's not a reach though...if we have Heron next year you suddenly can't double team Ponds. We'd have Simon a 6'6 guard, Heron a 6'5 guard, and Ponds only 6'1 but a NPOY candidate. That's freakishly good talent wise. Dixon will also get some burn and he won the MAAC ROY plus Trimble who isn't bad. Of course we will have to see how Keita does as our lone real big. If he is solid at worst and with Heron and some good health, I don't see a scenario where we are not competing for at least a top 3 spot.

Using the term “freakishly good” a little loosely, I see.

[MullinMayhem]

I really don't think you guys know who Heron is lol...he'd be the best guard on any other Big East team immediately and would start on almost every top 25 team.

[Bill Marsh]

I really don't think you guys know who Heron is lol...he'd be the best guard on any other Big East team immediately and would start on almost every top 25 team.

Can he play center?

[MullinMayhem]

Center by committee...it's a SJ thing lol

[adoraz]

Bill, you're going too far to the extent I'm agreeing more with MM. Also, his mom's injury seems more serious than you make it out to be. 30 hospital visits and 5 trips to the emergency room seems like a big deal. Obviously if he went to the NBA, then he could help her financially and could afford to fly out there.

Jon Rothstein
@JonRothstein
3h3 hours ago
No one knows if Mustapha Heron will get a waiver to be eligible next season, but if he does St. John’s is a lock Top 25 team. And would have the best roster in the Big East. #SJUBB

[MullinMayhem]

Hope our luck is starting to trend up. We are well overdue our time in the sun.

[adoraz]

There seems to be some optimism on Redmen that he'll be eligible, but obviously with the NCAA you never know.

If he is eligible, maybe we'll even be Top 25 pre-season. Appears we'll be getting some votes at a minimum. It'd be rough if Nova is the only team in the pre-season rankings. Time for SJU to contribute for once.