Saturday, April 18, 2020

Chris Mullin

During my YouTube basketball fest while live sports are shut down, I have seen several games from the old Big East. Which means I have seen Chris Mullin and St. John's play Georgetown. Those were classic games!

For some reason, Mullin is one of those great players that I tend to forget. Perhaps it was because his team never won a championship, and he was not flashy. He was just one of those players with a great shot who had a wonderful feel for the game and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. And when you are playing Patrick Ewing and Georgetown, you had better be.

Mullin's game was understated. He just seemed to float around the court, without any sudden movements. He seemed to know where he would need to be next and was already headed there a couple of plays ahead of time.

He would have been a great 3-point shooter if they had had it in his day. Instead, he shot 55% overall, which most 6-6 small forwards do not. His free throws were nearly automatic - 85% for his career. He averaged 3.6 assists per game for his career, along with 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Nothing overwhelming in any one category - just pretty good in everything. Plus 19.5 points per game over his four years. Plus he averaged 37 minutes per game over four years of college play, so he was on the court a LOT. He threw the ball in from the end line, and then brought the ball down the court, even though he was not the point guard. Just a very good basketball player.

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