St. John's University Athletics
Mustapha Heron to Play for USA Basketball in Pan American Games
6/18/2019 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Rising St. John’s senior will represent the United States alongside other BIG EAST standouts in Peru
QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John's rising senior Mustapha Heron has been selected to represent the nation at this summer's Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, it was announced this afternoon by the BIG EAST and USA Basketball.
Heron, who finished second on the team in scoring during his first season with the Red Storm in 2018-19, will join a group of current and former BIG EAST standouts as the U.S. representatives at the international competition. The team will be led on the sideline by Providence Head Coach Ed Cooley. Seton Hall's Kevin Willard and Brown's Mike Martin will serve as his assistants.
This summer will mark the first time that players from a single conference will represent USA Basketball in international competition.
Heron will become the third St. John's player to make an appearance in the Pan Am Games and the first since reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Chris Mullin helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in 1983 in Caracas, Venezuela. Lloyd "Sonny" Dove anchored the United States to a gold medal in 1967 in Winnipeg.
The Pan American Games is a multi-sport event featuring teams from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. The games are organized by the Pan American Sports Organization and played every four years in the year preceding the Olympics.
The 2019 Pan American Games basketball competition will run from July 31-Aug. 4. The U.S. squad will play five games in five days in Lima. The team will open play in Pool A against Virgin Islands on July 31 followed by contests against Venezuela on Aug. 1 and Puerto Rico on Aug. 2 before medal round play on Aug. 3-4. The Pool B Participants are: Argentina, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Uruguay.
Heron, a former Second Team All-SEC selection at Auburn, averaged 14.6 points per game as a junior, helping the Johnnies record 21 wins and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015. The Waterbury, Conn., finished 14th in the BIG EAST in scoring average, reaching double figures 23 times in 31 outings with six showings of 20-plus points. Heron was the only Johnnie to shoot better than 40 percent from three-point range (40.3 percent) and finished seventh in the BIG EAST in that category. He was rewarded with a spot on the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association All-Met Second Team for his efforts.
Before arriving in Queens last summer, Heron eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in just two seasons at Auburn, leading the Tigers to an SEC Regular Season Championship and a second round NCAA Tournament appearance as a sophomore. In 2017-18, his 16.4 points per game ranked sixth in the SEC and he was twice named the conference's player of the week.
A consensus five-start recruit out of Sacred Heart High School in Waterbury, Conn., Heron won consecutive Connecticut Player of the Year awards, becoming only the second player in state history to accomplish the feat.
2019 United States Pan-Am Games Roster
Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton
Myles Cale, Seton Hall
Alpha Diallo, Providence
David Duke, Providence
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Geoffrey Groselle, Creighton*
Mustapha Heron, St. John's
Greg Malinowski, Georgetown*
Luwane Pipkins, Providence
Myles Powell, Seton Hall
A.J. Reeves, Providence
Jermaine Samuels, Villanova
Nate Watson, Providence
Tyler Wideman, Butler*
*Recent graduate
Heron, who finished second on the team in scoring during his first season with the Red Storm in 2018-19, will join a group of current and former BIG EAST standouts as the U.S. representatives at the international competition. The team will be led on the sideline by Providence Head Coach Ed Cooley. Seton Hall's Kevin Willard and Brown's Mike Martin will serve as his assistants.
This summer will mark the first time that players from a single conference will represent USA Basketball in international competition.
Heron will become the third St. John's player to make an appearance in the Pan Am Games and the first since reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Chris Mullin helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in 1983 in Caracas, Venezuela. Lloyd "Sonny" Dove anchored the United States to a gold medal in 1967 in Winnipeg.
The Pan American Games is a multi-sport event featuring teams from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. The games are organized by the Pan American Sports Organization and played every four years in the year preceding the Olympics.
The 2019 Pan American Games basketball competition will run from July 31-Aug. 4. The U.S. squad will play five games in five days in Lima. The team will open play in Pool A against Virgin Islands on July 31 followed by contests against Venezuela on Aug. 1 and Puerto Rico on Aug. 2 before medal round play on Aug. 3-4. The Pool B Participants are: Argentina, Dominican Republic, Mexico and Uruguay.
Heron, a former Second Team All-SEC selection at Auburn, averaged 14.6 points per game as a junior, helping the Johnnies record 21 wins and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015. The Waterbury, Conn., finished 14th in the BIG EAST in scoring average, reaching double figures 23 times in 31 outings with six showings of 20-plus points. Heron was the only Johnnie to shoot better than 40 percent from three-point range (40.3 percent) and finished seventh in the BIG EAST in that category. He was rewarded with a spot on the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association All-Met Second Team for his efforts.
Before arriving in Queens last summer, Heron eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in just two seasons at Auburn, leading the Tigers to an SEC Regular Season Championship and a second round NCAA Tournament appearance as a sophomore. In 2017-18, his 16.4 points per game ranked sixth in the SEC and he was twice named the conference's player of the week.
A consensus five-start recruit out of Sacred Heart High School in Waterbury, Conn., Heron won consecutive Connecticut Player of the Year awards, becoming only the second player in state history to accomplish the feat.
2019 United States Pan-Am Games Roster
Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton
Myles Cale, Seton Hall
Alpha Diallo, Providence
David Duke, Providence
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Geoffrey Groselle, Creighton*
Mustapha Heron, St. John's
Greg Malinowski, Georgetown*
Luwane Pipkins, Providence
Myles Powell, Seton Hall
A.J. Reeves, Providence
Jermaine Samuels, Villanova
Nate Watson, Providence
Tyler Wideman, Butler*
*Recent graduate
Players Mentioned
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