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Big fi sh heading for the big pro pond
St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds cuts short his college career to enter 2019 NBA Draft
BY STEPHEN LEPORE
One of the biggest questions
of the St. John’s basketball’s
offseason has an answer.
Junior guard Shamorie
Ponds has chosen to forego
his senior season and enter
the 2019 NBA Draft. He will do
so following a season that saw
him lead a St. John’s team to
its first NCAA Tournament
since 2015 and a career
that finishes with him as
the program’s fifth-leading
scorer all-time.
“Playing for St. John’s has
been nothing but amazing for
me,” said Ponds. “Coming to
St. John’s was one of the best
decisions of my life. After
speaking it over with my loved
ones, I want to announce that I
will be entering the 2019 NBA
Draft and hiring an agent.”
Head coach Chris Mullin
was previously supportive of
Ponds potentially entering
the draft and he remained so
following the announcement.
“We fully support
Shamorie’s decision to pursue
his professional goals,” said
Mullin. “Shamorie enjoyed
one of the greatest careers in
the history of our basketball
program. It has been a true
honor to coach him for the
past three years and to watch
him develop as a player and a
person.”
Ponds’ finishes his
Johnnies’ career with high
merits and a couple of records.
He’s a two-time First Team
Shamorie Ponds, one of the St. John’s Red Storm’s biggest stars
during their 2018-19 campaign, announced that he’s entering the
2019 NBA Draft. Photo courtesy of Red Storm Sports
All-Big East selection, owns
the Red Storm’s freshman and
sophomore scoring records,
is one of just four players
in program history to score
over 600 points in multiple
seasons, second on the alltime
steals list and six on the
career assists list. His coach,
Chris Mullin, is the only other
player in St. John’s history to
finish his career in the top 10
in scoring, assists and steals.
His departure will leave a
void in the Red Storm offense
as they rebuild for 2019-20. The
team has also lost assistant
coach Matt Abdelmassih, who
will join new head coach Fred
Hoiberg at Nebraska.
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