Head coach Bobby Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils shakes hands with head coach Chris Mullin of the St. John's Red Storm after the Arizona State Sun Devils defeated the St. John's Red Storm 74-65 in the First Four of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 20, 2019 in Dayton, Ohio.
St. John's athletic director Mike Cragg praised Mullin for "all of his contributions" to the program.
Mullin, whose contract had two more years, cited a "recent personal loss" in a separate statement. He has guided the Sun Devils to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, the first time the Devils appeared in consecutive tournaments in almost 40 years. It'll end his four-year stretch as the head coach of the Red Storm. It's unclear whether Hurley would be interested in the St. John's position, but the university is located in New York City, just a few miles from where Hurley grew up in New Jersey. Hurley was a star point guard at Duke, where Cragg spent more than three decades before being hired by St. John's last September.
Ironically, CBS's Jon Rothstein is reporting that on top of St. John's wish list to replace Mullin is Arizona St. and former Wagner College assistant coach Bobby Hurley.
Mullin led the Red Storm to a (21-13) record this season. With the news of Mullin leaving, Ponds is nearly certain to not return for his senior season. "St. John's basketball progressed well during his tenure, culminating with a trip to the NCAA Tournament this past season".
In the weeks that followed, Ponds announced he would pass up his senior season to enter the National Basketball Association draft and hire an agent.
Hurley took over as ASU's head coach in 2015. One source said Hurley will listen to St. John's, but the offer would have to be significant for him to consider making a change. Along with Abdelmassih leaving came the announcement on Friday that Cam Mack, a highly regarded junior college transfer who commited to St. John's November 2018, asked for a release; further suggesting the influence Abdelmassih had on the program.