For those of us who grew up on stories of Chris Mullin balling out for St. John’s as a part of the old Big East, this is a pretty big deal.
The Hall of Famer is reportedly expected to become the school’s next head basketball coach. According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, it’s all but a done deal.
St. John’s has offered Chris Mullin the opportunity to be its next head basketball coach and he is expected to accept, multiple sources say.” The basketball scribe wrote. “The two sides were hammering out final details on a contract on Sunday that would make Mullin the successor to Steve Lavin, who was fired on Friday after five years at the school.”
Since Mullin’s success with St. John’s, the program has fallen on hard times. It has only been to the tournament two times in the past 13 seasons, losing in the second round to San Diego State this year. That led to Lavin being fired after five years. St. John’s last venture into even the Sweet 16 came under Mike Jarvis back in 1998-1999.
As it relates to Mullin, he suited up for St. John’s from 1981-1985, leading the team to the Final Four under the great Lou Carnesecca in 1984-1985.
Known mostly for his Hall of Fame career with the Golden State Warriors, Mullin has no head coaching experience. However, he has experience as the Warriors general manager.
This lack of coaching experience obviously didn’t scare St. John’s away from bringing in one of its most popular alums to help turn around a fledgling program.
Photo: USA Today Sports