DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Mar 30, 2010 14:55:51 GMT -5
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blueandgray
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Post by blueandgray on Mar 30, 2010 14:59:01 GMT -5
On a pernoanl note, I had a long conversation with Lavin about bball and life while he was coach at UCLA and I left rather unimpressed. He doen't come off as overly intelligent. Instead I remember thinking he is the master of the sound bite. All form no substance.
My guess is that New Yorkers will see right through this guy and after another sub-par season will rip him apart.
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CAHoya07
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Post by CAHoya07 on Mar 30, 2010 15:23:45 GMT -5
Interesting hire. I liked him at ESPN and thought he was a good, sometimes funny commentator. But he was a mixed bag after several tumultuous seasons at UCLA, and he has been out of coaching for a while.
We'll see how he does at St. John's. It could be very good, or it could be a disaster. That said, doesn't St. John's have a ridiculous graduating class next year of 9 or 10 seniors? He inherits those players which have good experience and some talent. I thought St. John's was going to make more of a run this year - next year is their final chance with this group.
Lavin's also pretty young at 45. He is a name that many if not most college basketball fans recognize, so maybe he will bring some more attention to St. John's.
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Post by williambraskyiii on Mar 30, 2010 15:36:13 GMT -5
Holy crap - according to their roster SJU has only 3 players that are frosh or sophs. THey also only have one signed 2010 commit acc'g to ESPN.
Lavin better get started...now.
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paranoia2
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Post by paranoia2 on Mar 30, 2010 17:35:09 GMT -5
Great hire for SJU. With the right assistants & his name recognition SJU will get some major recruits. Now if SJU & the Knicks get good the Garden can once again be a ROCKING!!
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SirSaxa
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Post by SirSaxa on Mar 30, 2010 18:50:14 GMT -5
People can talk about Cameron, Pauley, etc. There is NO PLACE in American that is as impressive to play in as Madison Square Garden. MSG is a GREAT recruiting tool.
With all the seniors coming back... next year could be very exciting for SJU.
If Lavin pulls in the assistants they are talking about and gets the support and budget he needs from the Admin? he just might be able to turn SJU around.
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lichoya68
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OK YOUNGINS ARE HERE AND ARE VERY VERY GOOD cant wait GO HOYAS
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Post by lichoya68 on Mar 30, 2010 19:09:25 GMT -5
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hoyarooter
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Post by hoyarooter on Mar 30, 2010 21:08:44 GMT -5
On a pernoanl note, I had a long conversation with Lavin about bball and life while he was coach at UCLA and I left rather unimpressed. He doen't come off as overly intelligent. Instead I remember thinking he is the master of the sound bite. All form no substance. My guess is that New Yorkers will see right through this guy and after another sub-par season will rip him apart. This is an interesting observation. I always had the impression that Lavin was extremely glib, but there was no substance behind the chatter. I don't know if Lavin was clean, but I certainly don't know that he wasn't, so I won't make any accusations as to that. As to his ruining the program, I wasn't referring to the five Sweet 16s. I was referring to the fact (indisputable) that he left the program in an absolute shambles, the worst it had been by far during my lifetime (of course, John Wooden covered a lot of that territory). UCLA was awful in Lavin's final year, and it was the culmination of a downward spiral, with no prospect for improvement. I call that ruining the program.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Mar 30, 2010 21:56:14 GMT -5
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Post by rustyshackleford on Mar 30, 2010 23:10:15 GMT -5
On a pernoanl note, I had a long conversation with Lavin about bball and life while he was coach at UCLA and I left rather unimpressed. He doen't come off as overly intelligent. Instead I remember thinking he is the master of the sound bite. All form no substance. My guess is that New Yorkers will see right through this guy and after another sub-par season will rip him apart. This is an interesting observation. I always had the impression that Lavin was extremely glib, but there was no substance behind the chatter. I don't know if Lavin was clean, but I certainly don't know that he wasn't, so I won't make any accusations as to that. As to his ruining the program, I wasn't referring to the five Sweet 16s. I was referring to the fact (indisputable) that he left the program in an absolute shambles, the worst it had been by far during my lifetime (of course, John Wooden covered a lot of that territory). UCLA was awful in Lavin's final year, and it was the culmination of a downward spiral, with no prospect for improvement. I call that ruining the program. how does that compare to the year we just saw Howland have? Admittedly there are differences considering that Howland was dealing with loaded final four teams (versus Sweet Sixteen teams) that resulted in losing most of his starting five, but ostensibly that should also have helped him get a recruiting advantage. It's funny seeing some teams/fanbases (UCLA, Kentucky, NC State) ready to kick out a good coach after a bad year or two while others (not named for the good of this board) need nearly half a decade of mediocrity to make a change.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Mar 31, 2010 9:23:37 GMT -5
If St. John's was looking for a serious hire, this wasn't it. I'm afraid Mr. (and Mrs.) Lavin will get as much attention in Page Six than on the sports pages. The headlines keep on coming, though. Deadspin called St. John's the "least desirable" coaching job in basketball, which may be extreme, but compared to those Redmen fans who think it's up there with Duke and UNC, it's an interesting read. (And if you tire of the article, check the link above the article to the story when Andre the Giant drank 156 beers in a sitting.) deadspin.com/5504968/the-least-desirable-gig-in-college-basketball
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CAHoya07
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Post by CAHoya07 on Mar 31, 2010 9:34:04 GMT -5
I'd say the least desirable coaching job in college sports seems to be DePaul at this point.
And they have decent history and tradition too.
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hoyarooter
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Post by hoyarooter on Mar 31, 2010 12:17:54 GMT -5
This is an interesting observation. I always had the impression that Lavin was extremely glib, but there was no substance behind the chatter. I don't know if Lavin was clean, but I certainly don't know that he wasn't, so I won't make any accusations as to that. As to his ruining the program, I wasn't referring to the five Sweet 16s. I was referring to the fact (indisputable) that he left the program in an absolute shambles, the worst it had been by far during my lifetime (of course, John Wooden covered a lot of that territory). UCLA was awful in Lavin's final year, and it was the culmination of a downward spiral, with no prospect for improvement. I call that ruining the program. how does that compare to the year we just saw Howland have? Admittedly there are differences considering that Howland was dealing with loaded final four teams (versus Sweet Sixteen teams) that resulted in losing most of his starting five, but ostensibly that should also have helped him get a recruiting advantage. It's funny seeing some teams/fanbases (UCLA, Kentucky, NC State) ready to kick out a good coach after a bad year or two while others (not named for the good of this board) need nearly half a decade of mediocrity to make a change. This season was the perfect storm. Holiday left unexpectedly, Lee and Anderson didn't show the improvement that was hoped for (Anderson had lots of physical issues), Gordon left, and Bobo couldn't cut it, leaving UCLA with a weak backcourt and no center. As an aside, I'm thankful we didn't end up with Morgan. I think UCLA will be fine (maybe not Final 4 fine, but certainly good enough to be a significant player in the Pac 10). I fully expect Nelson and Honeycutt to be major impact players before they are through, and the backcourt to be much improved next season with the further maturity of Lee and Anderson and the addition of Tyler Lamb and the juco kid. I'm just hoping that Josh Smith lives up to his advance billing.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Apr 1, 2010 8:07:16 GMT -5
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NCHoya
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Post by NCHoya on Apr 1, 2010 8:40:58 GMT -5
Let's face it, with the tourney expanding to 96, if SJU, with 8 seniors does not make the cut, Lavin has a problem.
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SirSaxa
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Post by SirSaxa on Apr 1, 2010 9:14:55 GMT -5
Gosh I hope the NCAA doesn't go to 96. One reason I read was because of the excitement experienced by all the kids on all the teams on Selection Sunday. "More kids should be able to experience that".
Good point. Why not also give Gold Medals to every Olympian -- afterall, the winners look so happy when they get theirs.
OK, off topic rant over. I do hope Lavin is successful. He says he wants to bring Gene Keady in as an "advisor". That would be a smart move.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Apr 1, 2010 9:16:35 GMT -5
I do hope Lavin is successful. He says he wants to bring Gene Keady in as an "advisor". That would be a smart move. At this rate Lavin will be propped up by 3 former head coaches (and counting?).
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SirSaxa
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Post by SirSaxa on Apr 1, 2010 9:19:14 GMT -5
I do hope Lavin is successful. He says he wants to bring Gene Keady in as an "advisor". That would be a smart move. At this rate Lavin will be propped up by 3 former head coaches (and counting?). He'll also have HOF'er Louie hanging around.
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theexorcist
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Post by theexorcist on Apr 1, 2010 9:39:48 GMT -5
At this rate Lavin will be propped up by 3 former head coaches (and counting?). He'll also have HOF'er Louie hanging around. If nothing else, St. John's won't be boring. For the past few years, the Garden was quiet and St. John's was mediocre. This board usually has threads that say how everyone hopes St. John's gets better and how a vibrant NYC team helps the Big East and how they're so cute and adorable and helpless, like a little kitten with big eyes and soft fur and no legs. This freak show of coaches and advisors and Lavin's cute wife (whom at least one paper has done a quick story on) will at least spark some interest in a program that desperately needs it. With the Johnnies right now, it's almost to the point where bad attention is better than no attention at all.
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Apr 1, 2010 11:48:26 GMT -5
Apparently Rohrssen has said he ain't jumping to SJU. We'll see how the assistants rumor pans out.
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