Report: Ex-Auburn Star Mustapha Heron Cleared to Play for St. John's

Mustapha Heron will be able to play basketball at St. John's when the 2018-19 season begins next month. 

Per Adam Zagoria of the New York Times, Heron was cleared to play after receiving a transfer waiver from the NCAA. 

Heron played two seasons at Auburn before announcing in May he was transferring to a school closer to his Connecticut home due his mother being sick. 

"What people don't know is Mustapha's mom has been sick for a year," Heron's father, Bryan, told Zagoria. "Being home, he wants to get closer to his mom. He knew he had to go back to school. The last month he's been here and he wants to be close to his mom, where she can see him play."

Bryan added his son was going to apply for a hardship waiver that would make him eligible to play immediately, rather than having to sit out for one year. 

Heron brings a terrific pedigree to the Red Storm. The 20-year-old averaged 15.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game during his two years at Auburn. 

St. John's head coach Chris Mullin has been steadily building the program back up after an 8-24 record during the 2015-16 season. The team went 16-17 last season with wins over Duke and Villanova.  

The Red Storm are also bringing back leading scorer Shamorie Ponds, giving them a potentially dynamic scoring duo to make a run at their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014-15.