St. John’s Chris Mullin: Brooklyn’s Finest Now Hoops Royalty in Hall of Fame

He was a highly-touted recruit out of Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, St. John’s University’s all-time leading scorer, two Olympic gold medals, a sixteen-year professional career in which he averaged over eighteen points per game for the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers. He had a sweet left-handed shot that was among the most lethal mid-range forms in the game and even had a stint in the Warriors’ front office, not to mention overcoming personal demons by emerging victorious from a battle with alcoholism that he had waged since his days on the corner of Union and Utopia.

You could look at those accomplishments and concur that the man possessing them could be, arguably, one of the greatest to ever take the court. Yet, with all the accolades and all the success, something had eluded Chris Mullin since his retirement ten years ago. That all changed this past Friday night, when Mullin finally took his rightful place among the all-time greats when he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Die-hard fans of the NBA will also recognize such names as Dennis Rodman and Arvydas Sabonis in this year’s class, but there is no question that Mullin is (and deservedly so) the headliner. After a stellar run spanning parts of three decades in which he established himself as the Dan Marino of the NBA, in that he was perennially among the best in his field, despite the unfortunate lack of a championship at the professional level.

Mullin is appreciated all over the country and world, but is still revered like few others in his backyard of the Big Apple. In an interview with the New York Post, Mullin’s college coach marvels at the fact that there are people still interested in what his best player is up to, twenty-six years after Mullin led the then-St. John’s Redmen to their second and most recent Final Four.

“I walk down Union Turnpike now and some elderly woman will say, ‘How’s Mullin doing?'” gushed Lou Carnesecca, who had the honor of presenting Mullin at the induction ceremony. “He’s a true purist, he exemplified the New York basketball player. If there was a game, he was there.”

Most notably, Mullin was more than just an above average basketball player. For some, he was a hero for being able to succeed in a world dominated by the likes of Jordan, Johnson and Bird. Carnesecca wasn’t the only one waxing poetic about the former Red Storm great, as the current head coach of New York’s team offered an equally positive testimonial.

“Chris Mullin clearly embodies the best of what St John’s basketball represents. He set the standard for excellence in performance on and off the court throughout his well chronicled career,” said Steve Lavin. “Our Johnnies basketball family and hoop fans in New York City take great pride in Chris Mullin being honored with his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.”

Mullin starred at St. John’s from 1981-85 and guided the Redmen to some of the greatest seasons in program history.

A three-time BIG EAST Player of the Year (1983-85), Mullin averaged 19.8 points as a senior while leading St. John’s to the 1985 Final Four and its first No. 1 ranking since 1951. In 1985, he received the John R. Wooden Award as the nation’s top player and was named the Player of the Year by both United Press International and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Mullin was a two-time All-American and garnered consensus first-team All-America honors as a senior.

The lefty from Brooklyn is St. John’s all-time leading scorer with 2,440 career points, and his scoring average of 19.5 points per game is the sixth-best mark in program history. In St. John’s record books, he ranks in the top 10 in 18 different statistical categories. He also holds St. John’s career free throw percentage record at 84.7 percent. (682-of-805)