Chris Mullin Officially Named St. John's New Head Coach
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — St. John's has decided its basketball future rests with the best of its past.
Chris Mullin, St. John's all-time leading scorer and still the face of its basketball program three decades after his career ended, has officially been named the new head coach the Red Storm. The school announced the hiring on Tuesday afternoon.
"Obviously, it's a surreal experience coming home and returning to St. John's University. This is a role I have been preparing for all of my life," Mullin said in a statement. "There are so many people who have had a great influence on me to reach this point, especially my parents, Coach (Lou) Carnesecca and my former teammates. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Gempesaw for providing me this tremendous opportunity to give back to the university where I spent some of the greatest years of my life."
Mullin will be introduced at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
"We are very pleased to welcome back Chris Mullin to St. John's," St. John's president Bobby Gempesaw said. "I know that Chris will be an inspiring coach for our basketball players and a great ambassador for St. John's University. His passion for the game and love for the university is a winning combination that will strengthen our basketball program, and support our efforts to ensure student success in academics and athletics."
Mullin, who led St. John's to the Final Four in 1985, has never coached at any level. He replaces Steve Lavin who agreed to leave last week, after five seasons during which the Red Storm reached the NCAA Tournament twice.
Lavin had an 81-55 record at St. John's and the Red Storm went to the NCAA Tournament in his first and last seasons. His teams compiled a 2-9 postseason record in the Big East Tournament, NCAA and NIT. Lavin had one year left on his original six-year contract.
Mullin, a New York native, was a five-time All-Star with Golden State, a member of the USA's gold-medal winning "Dream Team" in 1992 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. He was presented for induction by his coach at St. John's, Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca.
"This is a great day for St. John's, the whole university," Carnesecca said Monday. "He has always represented St. John's well and I'm sure he'll do a fine job as coach. People seem to be worried about his lack of coaching experience but how many people have had the basketball education he has?"
It was during Mullin's years at St. John's that the program enjoyed its greatest days. Mullin and Georgetown's Patrick Ewing were the key parts of the early domination of the Big East Conference. In 1985 the Big East had three Final Four teams, St. John's, Georgetown and national champion Villanova. The Redmen and Hoyas were both ranked No. 1 during the season.
Mullin and his sweet left-handed jumper became part of the lore of New York City basketball.
"I look forward to mentoring our current and future players, passing along knowledge and aiding in their development to help them reach their goals, similar to the impact Coach Carnesecca had on me thirty years ago," Mullin said.
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