Let's take a journey back to the mid-1980's. The Big East was putting out some of its best basketball in history, as Georgetown, Villanova, and Syracuse were putting out all-star squads dominating the landscape. Right in the middle of the thick of things was the team formerly known as the St. John's Redmen, now the Red Storm, led by none other than Louie Carnesecca as head coach. The best player in STJ history was playing at this time, Chris Mullin, winning the Wooden Award and leading the squad to the Final Four in '85.
Flash forward to today. It has been since 2000 since the Johnnies won an NCAA tournament game, and the fanbase in New York has been quite ansy. Steve Lavin came into the fray in 2010, and although he had great recruiting classes, the team has struggled to make headway in the 'new' Big East Conference. Lavin and the team parted ways late last week.
Chris Monasch, athletic director for the Red Storm, was looking for someone to could bring the pride back to St. John's basketball, someone that could light a fire in the program that could actually grow to new heights. Who else than the now 51-year-old school favorite, Chris Mullin?
Today, Mullin agreed to become the new head coach in NYC, leaving his position as an advisor to the Sacramento Kings. Mullin was a staple for the Golden State Warriors for 12 years after graduating from St. John's, and after his NBA retirement, has held a few jobs inside of NBA front offices.
Lou Carnesecca piped in about how his former player will adjust to his new job, speaking to ESPN's Ian O'Connor:
"I'm just delighted [by Mullin's hiring], and I think a lot of people feel the same way," Carnesecca said. "I think this is the most popular choice ever at St. John's."
"We talked, and you have to understand this is a big thing for Chris, a major, major step," Carnesecca said. "He had a good thing going [in Sacramento], where he could come and go as he wants. Now it's a vocation. This is no longer a job, it's a vocation."
"People worry about the lack of experience, but Chris has been around so many great players and coaches," Carnesecca said. "I told him, 'If you ever stopped and wrote down everything you know about basketball, you would fill volumes.' "
This will be his first ever coaching job, and he'll have a lot of work to do, as the Johnnies are losing a healthy amount of talent to graduation and potentially the NBA draft. Also, top recruit Brandon Sampson will have to be convinced to keep his commitment to STJ after re-opening his availability following the departure of Lavin from the school.
A critical opening responsibility for Mullin will be capturing some quality assitants. According to the New York Daily News, Kentucky assistant Barry Rohrsson, Iowa State assistant Matt Abdelmassih, and former Villanova star Ed Pinckney are all considered top candidates for assistant head coaches.
A news conference announcing the move will be held before Thursday.