Heron Gives Pittsburgh Early Pledge
New England’s top ranked sophomore brought an early end to his recruitment on Thursday when Mustapha Heron made a verbal commitment to Pittsburgh.
Heron had been in the headlines in recent weeks, first for his mid-season transfer from Wilbraham & Monson Academy to Sacred Heart High School in Connecticut and then for his unofficial visit to Pittsburgh last weekend. Now, his commitment comes just days after that trip.
Heron’s father and Pittsburgh assistant coach Barry Rohrssen played professionally together some 25 years ago in Poland, and it’s being widely reported that that relationship was the basis for his early commitment.
There was clearly more to it than that though as Heron fits the Pittsburgh prototype as a power guard and should also have the opportunity to be a focal point and primary ball-handler within their offense from day one.
A strong and aggressive six-foot-four swingman who has made a concerted effort to transition into more of a point guard since arriving on the high school scene, Heron is a highly talented player with an extremely bright future.
He made as highly anticipated a high school debut as any local product in recent years after already playing high profile AAU basketball during the spring of his 8th grade year. He went on to make an immediate impact at Wilbraham and Monson last year before and was subsequently invited to attend a Team USA mini-camp in the spring, where he was reportedly on the verge of making the national team before being sidelined by a serious stomach illness.
His sophomore season got off to a terrific start as Heron dropped 35 points for Wilbraham & Monson at the National Prep Showcase while proving himself to be both quicker and more dangerous behind the three-point line than he was as a freshman. However, it was just weeks later he left the team in the midst of a road trip to New Jersey and announced his transfer to Sacred Heart only days after that.
His arrival has been met with great enthusiasm at Sacred Heart, where his presence automatically transforms them into contenders both in the NVL as well as the CIAC.
Below are some of his various highlights from the last twelve months care of 2eZ Mixtapes. The first video focuses on his freshman season at Wilbraham & Monson Academy while the second recaps some of his top moments during the July evaluation period.
Mustapha Heron