St. John’s Basketball: Ponds and Heron are the keys for 2018-19

St. John’s basketball has a chance to be massively improved in 2018-19 thanks to Shamorie Ponds coming back and the addition of Mustapha Heron.

Earlier this offseason, forward Boubacar Diakite announced that he would be leaving the St. John’s basketball program, adding yet another name to a list of players who have left during head coach Chris Mullin’s reign in Queens. The move left many fans wondering whether or not the Red Storm could return to glory next season coming off of a subpar 2018-2019 campaign. Leading into the NBA Draft decisions, the Red Storm had major holes to fill in their backcourt. At the time, most expected Shamorie Ponds, who was lights out for the Red Storm in his first two years on campus, to enter the NBA Draft. That would’ve left Mullin with no choice but to start redshirt junior Mikey Dixon, who sat out last year after transferring from Quinnipiac.

However, Red Storm fans got what they hoped for as Ponds announced that he would return for his junior season in Queens, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. The news sent St. John’s fans into a Twitter frenzy as many expressed their excitement. In his past two years at St. John’s, Ponds put up big numbers and showed that he is not afraid of the spotlight. Last season, he put up 21.6 points per game in 30 appearances. Ponds also put up big time numbers in upsets over Duke and Villanova. He also broke a Carnesecca Arena record for most points scored with a 44-point performance against Marquette.

The news of Ponds’ return also gave many hope that Mustapha Heron, who was looking to transfer from Auburn, might land at St. John’s. Ironically enough, Heron was visiting St. John’s that same week. Soon after, the news that Heron would be coming to Queens broke per a Zach Braziller tweet, restoring the hopes of a possible Red Storm run in the NCAA Tournament this year. Heron, who averaged 16 points in his second year at Auburn, is seeking to apply for a hardship waiver due to his ailing mother, according to Adam Zagoria. This would enable him to play this season. The process of doing so is more difficult than it seems and may even require a lot of work on the end of St. John’s.

If everything goes as planned, the backcourt tandom of Heron and Ponds would be interesting to see. Both guards have proven they can score in bunches throughout their college careers. Also, with a 6-foot-5 guard like Heron, there are bound to be a lot of mismatches against teams with shorter guards, which would lead to easy buckets and electric plays.

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The 2018-2019 season is one of importance in the Chris Mullin era. The former St. John’s star turned head coach has not produced as expected so far in his three seasons in Queens, producing a dismal 38-60 record. This year will test Mullin’s coaching abilities with a team that is full of potential talent. Nonetheless, this season is sure to be exciting for Red Storm fans. The big question is however, will we see a Red Storm revival in 2018-2019? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.