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Mustapha Heron

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Mustapha Heron
No. 7 – Manawatu Jets
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNZNBL
Personal information
Born (1997-12-12) December 12, 1997 (age 26)
Derby, Connecticut, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021Leicester Riders
2021ZTE KK
2022Keflavík
2022–2023Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2023–presentManawatu Jets
2023Al-Rayyan
2024Goes
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-team All-SEC – AP (2018)
  • SEC All-Freshman team (2017)
  • 2× Connecticut Player of the Year (2015, 2016)
Medals
Representing the  United States
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Lima National team

Mustapha Jahhad Heron (born December 12, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Manawatu Jets of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers and the St. John's Red Storm.

Early life

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Mustapha Heron was born on December 12, 1997, in Derby, Connecticut, to parents Thalia Levey and Bryan Heron. He started playing basketball at the age of three. He has three sisters and one brother: Imani, Zari, Aja, and Raheem. Heron gained notoriety as an eighth grader after a video of him guarding NBA all-star Chris Paul one-on-one at the Five-Star Skills Clinic was posted to YouTube in 2011. The video has since been viewed over 2 million times.[1]

High school career

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Heron played his freshman year of high school at Wilbraham & Monson Academy before transferring to Sacred Heart High School, where he won three consecutive Connecticut state championships. He averaged 22.0 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game as a junior at Sacred Heart, and 30.2 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game during his senior season, including scoring 79 total points in the state semifinals and championship game.[2] Heron was selected as the New Haven Register Connecticut Boys Basketball Player of the Year in both 2015 and 2016, becoming the first player to win the award twice since Kris Dunn.[3] He was also recognized nationally, earning a spot on the USA Today All-USA Boys Basketball Third team in 2016.[4] Heron was selected to play in the 2016 Ballislife All-American Game, where he was named co-MVP alongside Lonzo Ball.[5]

Recruiting

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Despite being initially committed to Pittsburgh, Heron committed to play basketball at Auburn University on August 16, 2015,[6] and signed his National Letter of Intent to attend the university on November 12, 2015. In doing so, Heron became the first five-star men's basketball recruit to play at Auburn in program history.[7]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Mustapha Heron
SG 		Waterbury, CT Sacred Heart (CT) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Aug 16, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 25   Rivals: 19  247Sports: 28  ESPN: 25
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Auburn 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  • "2016 Auburn Tigers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2017.

College career

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In his first season at Auburn, Heron scored in double figures in every game but one, leading the team in scoring with 15.2 points per game and rebounding with 6.1 rebounds per game.[8] At the end of the season, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.[9] He was also named to the SEC All-Community Service team for his work in encouraging academics for athletes at his high school, Sacred Heart High School, and in promoting a weapons buy-back program in his hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut.[10]

Heron was selected as the SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for weeks 9 and 12 during his second season at Auburn.[11][12] At the end of the regular season, Heron was selected to the AP All-SEC Second team.[13] He averaged 16.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore. On April 4, 2018, Heron declared for the 2018 NBA draft but did not hire an agent in order to maintain his amateur status. He announced that he was withdrawing from the draft but will transfer to be closer to his ailing mother in Connecticut.[14] On May 31, Heron announced that he was transferring to St. John's and intended to seek a hardship waiver to play immediately.[15] He was granted the waiver on October 13.[16]

Heron averaged 14.6 points per game as a junior, shooting 40.3 percent from beyond the arc. He helped lead St. John's to its first NCAA Tournament since 2015. On February 11, 2020, Heron was ruled likely out for the season with an ankle injury.[17]

Professional career

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On February 26, 2021, Heron signed with the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League for the rest of the 2020–21 season.[18] In 20 games, he averaged 11.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.[19]

For the 2021–22 season, Heron moved to Hungary to play for ZTE KK. In five games between September 25 and October 16, he averaged 9.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.[19] In February 2022, he moved to Iceland to play for Keflavík. In 12 games, he averaged 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.[19]

In October 2022, Heron joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League.[20]

On March 1, 2023, Heron signed with the Manawatu Jets for the 2023 New Zealand NBL season.[21]

Heron started the 2023–24 season with Al-Rayyan of the Qatari Basketball League before joining Club Atlético Goes of the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol in January 2024.[19] He then re-joined the Manawatu Jets for the 2024 New Zealand NBL season.[22]

National team career

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In the summer of 2019, Heron was a part of the United States National team who competed at the Pan American Games in Peru. The team won bronze.[23]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 Auburn 32 32 28.2 .442 .423 .770 6.1 1.3 .8 .2 15.2
2017–18 Auburn 32 32 28.6 .439 .331 .803 5.3 .9 1.2 .1 16.4
2018–19 St. John's 31 30 31.7 .440 .403 .754 4.6 1.3 1.1 .2 14.6
2019–20 St. John's 21 19 24.8 .385 .385 .827 2.4 1.6 .5 .3 13.8
Career 116 113 28.6 .430 .383 .785 4.8 1.3 .9 .2 15.1

References

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  1. ^ fivestarbasketball (December 1, 2011), NBA Player Chris Paul goes one-on-one against a top 8th grader, retrieved April 24, 2017
  2. ^ "'It would mean everything' - Basketball's Mustapha Heron ready to make instant impact". Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  3. ^ "2015-16 Register State Boys Basketball Player of the Year: MUSTAPHA HERON, Sacred Heart - GameTime CT". GameTime CT. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  4. ^ "ALL-USA Boys Basketball: Third Team". USA Today High School Sports. March 29, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  5. ^ "Full Game: 2016 Ballislife All-American Game presented by Eastbay". Ballislife.com. May 2, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  6. ^ "Five-star Mustapha Heron commits to Auburn". Scout.com. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  7. ^ "Five-star Mustapha Heron signs with Auburn Basketball". Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  8. ^ "Mustapha Heron College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  9. ^ "2017 SEC Men's Basketball Awards announced". Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  10. ^ "2017 SEC Men's Basketball Community Service Team". Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  11. ^ "Week 9: Men's Basketball Players of the Week". Retrieved January 11, 2018.
  12. ^ "Week 12: Men's Basketball Players of the Week". Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  13. ^ "Jared Harper, Bryce Brown, Anfernee McLemore, Mustapha Heron earn All-SEC honors from coaches, AP". AL.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  14. ^ "Mustapha Heron withdraws from NBA draft, to leave Auburn". ESPN. May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  15. ^ Borzello, Jeff (May 31, 2018). "Guard Mustapha Heron transferring to St. John's". ESPN. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  16. ^ Phillips, Scott (October 13, 2018). "Auburn transfer Mustapha Heron ruled eligible to immediately play at St. John's". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  17. ^ Cobb, David (February 11, 2020). "St. John's guard Mustapha Heron's college career is likely over, per report". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Heron Joins Riders". bbl.org.uk. February 26, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  19. ^ a b c d "Mustapha Heron". usbasket.com. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Vipers Finalize 2022-23 Opening Night Roster". oursportscentral.com. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  21. ^ "PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT". facebook.com/jetsbasketballnz. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  22. ^ "2024 PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT". facebook.com/jetsbasketballnz. December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "U.S. Men Rally To Win Bronze Medal at Pan American Games". USA Basketball. August 4, 2019. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
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