Chris Mullin landed his first new player a week after taking the coaching job at St. John’s, securing a commitment from Tennessee transfer Tariq Owens, a source confirmed to The Post.
The 6-foot-10 Owens received his release on Tuesday. Cincinnati and George Washington reportedly were also involved. Mullin factored heavily into the decision.
“What he did at St. John’s and in the NBA speaks for itself. Not many coaches have played the game at his level,” Owens’ father, Renard, who is from Queens, said in a phone interview. “He’s 100 percent invested to bringing St. John’s back to where it was when he was there.”
Owens averaged just 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds as a freshman in limited time and made the decision to leave the program when coach Donnie Tyndall was fired and replaced by Rick Barnes. Owens did start five games and played in 28 games altogether. He has three years of eligibility left, but has to sit out next year.
The Maryland native was a three-star recruit out of high school, with scholarship offers from the likes of Seton Hall, Georgetown, Florida State and Marquette.
“Coming out of high school, Owens was a long, lean forward that ran the floor well and had some nice tools on the offensive end,” Scout.com national recruiting analyst Evan Daniels said. “He’s always needed to get stronger, but he has some upside.”
Taking a few transfers who had to sit out is part of Mullin’s plan, as a way to build roster balance and depth moving forward. That tactic was a strength of new assistant coach/recruiting ace Matt Abdelmassih at Iowa State. He no doubt had a huge part in Owens deciding to come to Queens.