Mullin adds Tariq Owens to St. John's roster

Freshman forward Tariq Owens commits to St. John's shortly after announcing his transfer from Tennessee. (Photo courtesy of ESPN)

The rebuilding efforts at St. John's have now reached into the transfer market.

Two days after it was announced that forward Chris Obekpa would return to the Red Storm for his senior season, new head coach Chris Mullin beefed up the frontcourt with the addition of Tariq Owens, who transferred from the University of Tennessee after the Volunteers fired former coach Donnie Tyndall and replaced him with Rick Barnes.

Owens, a 6-10 forward from Odenton, Maryland, will sit out during the 2015-16 season as he completes his NCAA-mandated year in residence. When he regains his eligibility, though, he will have three years remaining as the Red Storm seek to balance their roster in the wake of a five-member senior class graduating next month.

"What he did at St. John's and in the NBA speaks for itself," said Owens' father, Renard, to the New York Post about Mullin and the effort involved in recruiting his son, who chose the Red Storm over Cincinnati and George Washington. "He (Mullin) is 100 percent invested to bringing St. John's back to where it was when he was there."

In 28 games for Tennessee this past season, Owens averaged 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game, but only played an average of 7.6 minutes per contest.