A legendary player-turned-coach walking away. Players and assistant coaches kept in the dark. Recruits backing out of commitments.
It’s been chaos in Queens as St. John’s is starting over yet again.
Four years after bringing back its greatest player to run its basketball program, the Queens school is looking for another coach after a bizarre few days of rumors, statements and an ill-timed news leak minutes before Monday night’s national championship game.
St. John’s stayed oddly quiet, until Tuesday afternoon.
That’s when the university finally made the anticipated announcement Chris Mullin was stepping down, just a few weeks after leading the Red Storm to the NCAA Tournament, with two years and $4 million left on his contract. The risky hire blew up in the school’s face, the Johnnies going 59-73 overall and 20-52 in the Big East in Mullin’s four seasons on the bench.
Later Tuesday, two players — Justin Simon and Bryan Trimble Jr. — announced plans to leave the team, perhaps signs of an even bigger exodus to come. That followed news that at least one pledge, Nate Tabor of Queens, had opened up his recruitment — while several current Red Storm players were questioning their futures on Utopia Parkway.
A school source said that shortly before the news leaked Monday night, Mullin told Joe Oliva, the university’s vice president for administration, secretary and general counsel, his plans to step down. That exchange took place as athletic director Mike Cragg was flying back from the Final Four.
Mullin had been seeking a contract extension for long-term assurances, sources said. Nevertheless, the narrative that his decision to step down revolved around not receiving one was inaccurate, according to sources.
The news surprised players, coaches and administrators at St. John’s, sources said, especially after a statement supporting Mullin was released on Saturday intended to quiet rumors about his potential departure. In the statement, Cragg said, “Coach Mullin is our head coach and we are not looking for another head coach.” He went on to say he had met with Mullin several times since the end of the season, and described those meetings as “productive, engaging and positive.”
But two days later, Mullin, 55, was ready to take his life in another direction.
“This has been an extremely emotional decision, but after a recent personal loss, I took time to reflect upon my true values and believe this is the right time to make a change,” he said in a statement, referring to the March 9 death of his brother, Roddy, after a long battle with cancer.
Cragg, who has been on the job since September, will now have to make a massively important hire, and conduct his first coaching search.
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley is the front-runner, sources believe, but it is not certain how much interest he has in leaving the Sun Devils. Hurley, who has reached three NCAA Tournaments in six years as a head coach, earned $2.4 million last season, and he will not come cheap.
Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, out of college basketball since he was fired with cause by Louisville in September 2017, told The Post he would have interest in the job, but only if he were granted an apology by federal prosecutors in Manhattan after he claims his name was included in a complaint without evidence that tarnished his reputation.
Mullin’s coaching staff will remain on until a new coach is hired, according to sources. Mullin broke the news to the players via a video conference Tuesday afternoon. The players then huddled with his coaching staff and Cragg in a whirlwind few hours.
“He told us that he loves us, that he’s going through some things with his personal life, that he needs to step away, and I respect that,” sit-out transfer David Caraher said of Mullin. “It was definitely emotional. I know all of us have been watching Twitter, trying to figure out what’s going on with everything. He said if there was anything we needed, he’ll be there for us. I can’t say enough good things about coach Mullin and everything he’s done for us.”
Shortly after the announcement was made, two dominoes fell. Simon, the Big East defensive player of the year, opted to sign with an agent and enter the NBA draft, and sophomore guard Trimble received his release to transfer. Simon’s father, Ken, told The Post his son was planning to test the draft waters, but Mullin’s departure made the decision to forego his final year of eligibility an easy one.
“In his mind, he’s set to play professional basketball, whether it’s the NBA, whether it’s playing abroad overseas,” Ken Simon said. “He has no intentions of coming back to school right now.”
Junior college forward Valdir Manuel, a verbal commit, spoke to Mullin and is uncertain about his future, he said in a phone interview.
This comes on the heels of Tabor, a four-star junior recruit, opting to open his recruitment on Monday shortly after the Mullin news broke. Star guard Shamorie Ponds has already departed the program to enter the NBA draft and junior college point-guard recruit Cam Mack has received his release from his National Letter of Intent.
Sophomore LJ Figueroa and freshmen Greg Williams and Josh Roberts are all planning to wait and see who St. John’s hires before deciding on their futures. Sit-out transfers Caraher (Houston Baptist), Eli Wright (Mississippi State), and Ian Steere (N.C. State) are now put in a tough situation, choosing between a coach who didn’t recruit them and sitting out another year unless they are able to get a waiver.