St. John’s Basketball: 5 Coaching replacements for Chris Mullin

By Joey Loose | Apr 11, 2019

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 11: Head coach Chris Mullin of the St. John's Red Storm reacts against the Long Island Blackbirds in the second half of the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at Barclays Center on December 11, 2016 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 18: Head coach Ryan Odom of the UMBC Retrievers reacts against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 18, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

5. Ryan Odom (UMBC)

He was already a candidate for Virginia Tech, and Odom is a young head coach who will continue to get looks at bigger programs. He led UMBC to their impressive win over 1-seed Virginia last year and is 67-36 in three years with the Retrievers. His father coached at Wake Forest and South Carolina and coaching appears to be in his blood.

Odom has spent time as an assistant at Furman, UNC Asheville, American and under Seth Greenberg at both South Florida and Virginia Tech. He had five seasons at Charlotte, including a brief run as interim head coach in 2015. He spent one season leading D-2 Leonir-Rhyne before landing the UMBC job, a hire that the Retrievers truly nailed. Odom is a young coach with a bright future ahead.

There are no connections between Odom and St. John’s, but his youth and his energy might be attractive to Cragg to jump-start this program. He’s shown that he can win the America East, but it’s a big step up to the Big East. He was named the best mid-major coach in 2018 and he’s due for a promotion, plus his hiring would bring excitement to St. John’s.

This isn’t the best fit for Odom or St. John’s and we’ve yet to really see what Odom can do as a recruiter on the bigger stage. He built success at UMBC but can he do the same at St. John’s? That being said, this is a young coach who actually has successful experience as a head coach. Odom is definitely worth a look even if he isn’t from New York, but is he the man to reignite the fan base and turn this program around?