NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Connecticut of last decade
By Joey Loose
4. Mustapha Heron – Auburn / St. John’s
A five-star recruit from Waterbury, Heron originally committed to Pittsburgh before landing at Auburn in 2016. The 6’5 guard spent a pair of seasons with the Tigers before transferring to St. John’s, wanting to be closer to family. He spent two more seasons with the Red Storm before an ankle injury ended his collegiate career in February 2020.
An elite prospect, he started every game he played at Auburn, averaging 15.2 points per game as a freshman and 16.4 in his sophomore year, including a pair of solid performances in the NCAA Tournament. He also had a career-high 31 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Winthrop. With St. John’s, he had less of an impact on the boards but was still a potent scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game across those two seasons for the Red Storm.
Heron scored more than 1700 points in his career and was named to the All-SEC Second Team as a sophomore with the Tigers. He helped lead multiple programs to the NCAA Tournament and was a dynamic scorer who had decent rebounding numbers as a guard at Auburn. He’s been playing overseas the last couple of seasons. It might seem disappointing that a five-star prospect’s career progressed this way, but Heron still made waves in the college game.