Filo
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Post by Filo on Mar 31, 2015 9:49:40 GMT -5
Not sure if I am completely sold, but my initial reaction is generally positive. I fail to see how Mullin's hire is "swinging for the fences" or means that SJU "is all in" on this (actually, I don't even see these as negatives anyway -- the progam needs to do something!). They looked at the alternatives and chose Mullin. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work - why any more catastrophic than any of the others that haven't worked? If it does work, great for the team and basketball in the city.
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Post by vamosalaplaya on Mar 31, 2015 9:55:34 GMT -5
I think his experience as an executive will help tremendously in this new role. In addition to actually make the pros himself he has been in charge of/a part of evaluating them for pro potential - which is great for recruiting. He knows what it takes on several levels.
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SirSaxa
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Post by SirSaxa on Mar 31, 2015 10:32:19 GMT -5
First of all - the question "what if it doesn't work out?" This is a really exciting opportunity for the Johnnies. I can't think of another high profile coach they could have had a realistic shot at getting. And if you aren't willing to take some chances and swing for the fences, well... what the heck... why are you even in the game? To play it safe? Play not to lose?
Second.... no coaching experience. Well.... true. But he does have experience as the Exec VP, head of basketball operations for the Warriors for 5-6 years. Donnie Walsh thinks he'll be a great coach because he is an extraordinary leader, knowledgeable, hard working, constantly coached fellow players on various techniques and strategies. He is the kind of guy who can bring in a top notch staff...who wouldn't want to work with a Hall of Famer?
Third, 40+ years ago, GU hired a coach with no NBA coaching experience, no college coaching experience either, whose only coaching experience was at the HS level. Worked out OK.
There are no guarantees in life. But if you don't take chances you don't get anywhere. This seems like a really good chance to take. The upside could be terrific. I applaud the Johnnies for "going for it"!
As BE fans we'd better hope it works. If it does, it will go a long way to re-establishing the legitimacy of a Basketball First conference and will help GU stay among the nation's best basketball programs. Good luck Johnnies!
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Post by hoyalove4ever on Mar 31, 2015 10:48:02 GMT -5
I think his experience as an executive will help tremendously in this new role. In addition to actually make the pros himself he has been in charge of/a part of evaluating them for pro potential - which is great for recruiting. He knows what it takes on several levels. My thoughts exactly. He should be good at evaluating talent, which is one of the most important aspects of a college coach's job.
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Buckets
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Post by Buckets on Mar 31, 2015 11:24:12 GMT -5
Those talent-evaluating abilities led to four consecutive first rounds of Ike Diogu at 9, Patrick O'Bryant at 9, Brandan Wright at 8, and Anthony Randolph at 14, and the nonrenewal of Mullin's contract. In his tenure with the Kings, Ranadive has somehow made the Maloofs look competent, and he was involved in a power struggle. If he's willing to hit the recruiting trail and everyone is fully behind him it might work out, but it's also possible that in three years this job is a worse one than DePaul.
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Post by professorhoya on Mar 31, 2015 12:00:27 GMT -5
Matt Abdelmassih, Iowa State's monster lead recruiter is on board. Huge loss for Fred Hoiberg and Iowa State and big win for St. John's.
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lichoya68
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Post by lichoya68 on Mar 31, 2015 12:25:45 GMT -5
St johns NEEDS to be a power in the big east AND nationally go chris mullin YUP GO ST JOHNS except when they play our hoyas YUP the NEW OLD BIG EAST
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Post by ColumbiaHeightsHoya on Mar 31, 2015 12:30:34 GMT -5
Larry Bird didn't have any coaching experience either and he surrounded himself with guys who could flat out coach (Rick Carlisle). Mullin witnessed that first hand and I think he will know his strengths and weaknesses.
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hoyainspirit
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Post by hoyainspirit on Mar 31, 2015 12:37:54 GMT -5
Neither did Doc Rivers.
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RBHoya
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Post by RBHoya on Mar 31, 2015 13:34:11 GMT -5
Neither did Steve Kerr, who currently coaches the best team in the association (and who, like Mullin, had something of a mixed record as a front office guy). If you've been around the game enough, you surround yourself with a good staff and you have talented players on the floor, you can do pretty well without necessarily having been a coach in the past. It's becoming more and more popular in the NBA, with guys like Kidd and Fisher taking head coaching jobs immediately upon retiring.
I think Mullin is a bit of a gamble in that he doesn't have the coaching experience to judge off of, but as the leader and figurehead for the program he's great, and that's a really big part of the job. Persuading kids and parents (and hs/AAU coaches), exciting the fan base, rallying the donor base, motivating kids to be their best... that's all just as important as diagraming the plays on the clipboard in many ways. A lot of people can help you draw up a good inbounds play or an iso set, but outrecruiting the big dogs and getting the fans excited is something that not that many people can do.
It could fail miserably, but there's definitely a lot of reasons for optimism. With all the non-sense at Cuse, I hope Mullin and SJU can seize the opportunity to retake the mantle as New York's college sports team.
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boxout05
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Post by boxout05 on Mar 31, 2015 13:49:28 GMT -5
Don't buy the Cuse/ESPN propaganda. New York doesn't have a college sports team, let alone Cuse. Everyone tries to stake a claim (Cuse, UConn, Rutgers football) but it's bogus.
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RBHoya
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Post by RBHoya on Mar 31, 2015 14:35:50 GMT -5
Don't buy the Cuse/ESPN propaganda. New York doesn't have a college sports team, let alone Cuse. Everyone tries to stake a claim (Cuse, UConn, Rutgers football) but it's bogus. I'm from the area and you're right, there are fans of every team you can think of in NYC and the area, and certainly no overwhelming favorite. It's also a pro sports town (like all the big northeastern cities). But as far as basketball goes, I'd have to say that Cuse packs the Garden the most and either they or UConn probably get the most media buzz when things are going well. No reason that SJU couldn't generate that kind of buzz or more with some success. As I recall, the city was really behind them when they had Artest and Thornton and Postell and those guys and got a 2 seed one year (99 or 2000, maybe?) but they haven't been better than decent since. A NYC boy at the helm leading them back to prominence would definitely grab some headlines, I think.
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gujake
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Post by gujake on Mar 31, 2015 14:46:36 GMT -5
Matt Abdelmassih, Iowa State's monster lead recruiter is on board. Huge loss for Fred Hoiberg and Iowa State and big win for St. John's. Huge first step. Abdelmassih was Iowa State's lead recruiter for Cheick Diallo, who's unsigned and currently the #6 overall player in 2015 according to 247's composite rankings. A bunch of experts changed their prediction to St. John's today fwiw.
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Big Dog
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Post by Big Dog on Mar 31, 2015 14:49:31 GMT -5
Could there be worse news for the BE these last two weeks? Tourney failure, Chris Mullin and Dave Leitao hired, DSR leaving.
I was watching Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports talk about the St John's job and saying without being malicious that they want to be to the Big East what San Diego State is to the Mountain West Conference.
Welcome to mid-major hoops people.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2015 15:00:08 GMT -5
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EtomicB
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Post by EtomicB on Mar 31, 2015 18:19:36 GMT -5
Could there be worse news for the BE these last two weeks? Tourney failure, Chris Mullin and Dave Leitao hired, DSR leaving. I was watching Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports talk about the St John's job and saying without being malicious that they want to be to the Big East what San Diego State is to the Mountain West Conference. Welcome to mid-major hoops people. I heard him say that exact statement yesterday on WFAN's Joe&Evan, I cringed too.. He also said the NBE is more aligned with the A10 and the American than any of the power 5 conferences..
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reformation
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Post by reformation on Mar 31, 2015 21:02:15 GMT -5
Not sure I see the logic linking the Mullin signing to the other items--comparing him to Leitao is ridiculous. BE needs some good publicity. Mullin has at least done this-obviosly the good pub will wear thin if he doesn't produce-I don't think St Johns had any sure thing options that were necessarily better--its good to see them take a risk to be really good.
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DFW HOYA
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Post by DFW HOYA on Mar 31, 2015 21:18:02 GMT -5
Not sure I see the logic linking the Mullin signing to the other items--comparing him to Leitao is ridiculous. BE needs some good publicity. Mullin has at least done this-obviosly the good pub will wear thin if he doesn't produce-I don't think St Johns had any sure thing options that were necessarily better--its good to see them take a risk to be really good. Leitao is the unpopular pick but the stakes are much lower--DePaul can't get much worse, and the expectations have been ground down so much that an NCAA bid may be grounds for a parade down Michigan Avenue. With the new arena still short of groundbreaking, the time is now to pump some life into that program. St. John's is swinging for the fences, and the risk is that if Mullin can't turn around the ship, then who? The Redmen are going to be really bad for 2015-16 and the fan base has to give him time--but the problem is that the BE needs a resurgent St. John's to sell tickets during the ACC Brooklyn invasion in 2017 and 2018. This year's turnout by the local St. John's crowd in the quarterfinal was awful.
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AltoSaxa
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Post by AltoSaxa on Mar 31, 2015 21:46:16 GMT -5
This is a big gamble by St. John's but an interesting point came up on WFAN in NY. M. Francessa rebuked many callers stating that while Mullin's name has no recognition with this generation of high-schoolers it does with their fathers and their high-school and AAU coaches. Hopefully they see Mullin as a guy who walked the same path they would like their sons to walk. You cannot argue with his success (Three-time BE POY, 1984 Olympics, Wooden Award winner, three-time Hagerty Award Winner, 5-time Allstar, two-time Naismith Hall of Fame inductee, etc.). It certainly won't be based on coaching experience and recruiting prowess.
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CaliHoya
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Post by CaliHoya on Apr 1, 2015 12:26:25 GMT -5
Mullin press conference streaming live in 5 mins on espn3. Also being shown on FS1. Huge media attention for a new hire
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