Transfer Portal

I could be wrong, but I interpreted Pitino's comment about our current players to be more about their attitude than their basketball skill. CMA was not running a tight ship. The Curbelo and Pinzon incidents make a little more sense now...
 
Things have changed with NIL.. If Pitino does what he did when he took over at Louisville in 2001, he is not going to make a single player leave.. He is going to help them decide if they are going to be a good fit for St Johns.. Defense is the key with Pitino.. If they aren’t willing to play full tilt 100 percent on defense - they aren’t a good fit.. The man loves a simple defensive deflection of the basketball more than he loves a three point shot..
 
Overall I agree. This is the nature of the beast.

But as I mentioned in an earlier post, a part of me would like to see Soriano, Posh, and Wusu take one last crack at the NCAA Tournament together as seniors.

i agree. but Pitino unlike us, doesn't have any emotional attachment. he wants to win. and wants to win now. if that means 2 of the more like-able players have to go, then so be it. we've all waited decades to see a winning team. we can't have roster spots filled with guys who aren't going to make us winners. i have full trust in Pitino's judgement.
 
To everyone else on the roster...

Goodbye. Adios. See ya. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

It's time for us to start winning a minimum of AT LEAST 26 games per year !!!!!

LFG
imho very dismissive and hurtful to those student athletes (their families & friends)! who are on the team. What’s the purpose of that approach?
 
SJU85 likes fine cigars so he’s got some elitism in his blood he just doesn’t know it yet. But when I bring him up to the top of my ivory tower to look down on all the peasants while eating caviar and lobster then finish it off with his fine cigars I’m fully confident he’s joining the ivory tower club :)
You had me a lobster:)
 
Traore thing is more than a little odd in my opinion. Even if kid is greatest guy on planet. Unless was used to light fire or send message to rest of kids…,,
If I remember right, Traore was a decently rated recruit coming out of high school.
 
One of the courses I took at St Johns that made an impression on me was a Philosophy Course, "Logic", where we were encouraged to think and not just accept things at face value. It is very interesting that he mentioned Soriano who was our most productive player this past season and Traore who in essence was our 13 man, but was always involved, encouraging, and supportive of his teammates. What I believe Pitino was saying to the recruits and the players who have eligibility remaining is that if you bust your ass and can accept the role you are given between 1-13, all is well. If not, this is not the place for you.

In essence, play as hard as Soriano and have the attitude of Traore. This makes perfect sense to me.
Agree. It was absolutely no accident or coincidence that he picked numbers 1 and 13 in the rotation. He wants to see how everyone else reacts to a public challenge. How much/badly to they want it? Are they open to coaching and changing how they do things? Sometimes fans read way too much into things in the literal sense without understanding that there are often other motivations/strategies at play.
 
Things have changed with NIL.. If Pitino does what he did when he took over at Louisville in 2001, he is not going to make a single player leave.. He is going to help them decide if they are going to be a good fit for St Johns.. Defense is the key with Pitino.. If they aren’t willing to play full tilt 100 percent on defense - they aren’t a good fit.. The man loves a simple defensive deflection of the basketball more than he loves a three point shot..

Pitino definitely wants a bunch of guys who can shoot, but I think it's a bit overblown that he needs every single player on the team to be a great shooter. On defense though, he absolutely wants guys who compete on every possession and if you can't do that then you won't play for him.
 
Random thoughts in response to some of the previous posts in this thread -- first, Pitino did the current team members a favor by giving them a heads-up about what the immediate future looks like for them at SJU. However, his candor did open the door to criticism of those players who didn't leave it all out on the floor this season. I for one won't be rooting for Curbelo wherever he ends up. That said, I don't wish Belo ill, nor would I dis any of our players. They're Johnnies, as am I. And I haven't forgotten what it was like to be 20 years old. Not completely, that is.

Don't know what Pinzon's deal is, though at times he showed he can shoot. Just doesn't move well with or without the ball and clearly presented some discipline issues. As for the kids Pitino keeps, how about showing a little love for Stanley? He played with energy and grit, never left anything on the court, and while not a great shooter, he's not bad. I think RP can coach him up as a rotation player. Hope Posh stays. Let him play pure pg, teamed with a 2 guard who can drain the 3s. He's the motor, and I think RP can coach him back to his former level of performance. He just needs to do a better job of dishing off when he drives to the hoop.

Wusu I'm ambivalent about. When he was on he was really on, taking it to the hoop with authority and hitting outside shots. But then there were the times he'd try and bulldoze his way to the basket and end up with a charging foul. And the outside shooting was never a sure thing. Jones was frustrating. There were times he looked like the shooter we desperately needed, and at others displayed poor judgment. All decisions Rick will be making in the weeks ahead. As for his ability to recruit at SJU..."If you build it they will come." Fr. Shanley put the first building block in place by hiring RP. Kids today are savvy, and they know not only did he coach two schools to national titles, but he coached in the NBA and knows what NBA scouts look for in prospective draft picks. That, I believe, more than anything, will resonate with the better players.

We ARE...
 
Look with respect to Pitino shedding kids from the roster there is a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it.

The right way is to have a conversation with each kid let them know where they stand and be honest with them about their chances of playing and where they would fit and if it means they would be better somewhere else be honest. Let them know the Portal is available and he and the staff will help in trying to have them land on their feet somewhere else. That is the right way and I have no doubt that is the way he will do it.

But bottom line is he did not recruit these kids, he is coming here to turn this around and win. So if that means overhauling the roster then so be it. I mean first year coaches like Jerome Tang at KSU and others totally overhauled their rosters which meant kids transferring out. Heck forget new coaches look at Jeff Capel and Pitt. I think his entire starting 5 were brand new kids all from the portal.

I think the fact that Pitino said the quiet part out loud has maybe ruffled a few feathers but look at how many names are in the Portal already before 1 SJU player entered. It is the way of the world now. We can't have it both ways. We can't argue for years that players deserve freedom of movement without penalty or needing permission because coaches are allowed to move, but if a coach decides a player just is not a good fit here we think that is heartless.
Excellent description of the state of college basketball today!
 
Ha! You are not in thin ice unless your high school English teacher is a member here.😉
Thanks Krany , that’s your Hockey Name if you didn’t have one . Thin Ice in Hockey is not good . I think I have a solution , I’ll just write more Replies but , make them shorter . We have embarked on a new Day for SJU BB . Things are looking upward . Those mentioning Schaefer Beer need to be monitored . And , their not giving equal time to Ballantine or Knickerbocker is outrageous .
 
Thanks Krany , that’s your Hockey Name if you didn’t have one . Thin Ice in Hockey is not good . I think I have a solution , I’ll just write more Replies but , make them shorter . We have embarked on a new Day for SJU BB . Things are looking upward . Those mentioning Schaefer Beer need to be monitored . And , their not giving equal time to Ballantine or Knickerbocker is outrageous .
What about Piels or Rheingold beers?

I don't see anyone in the portal from us yet. As teams dwindle down in the tournaments (NCAA and NIT), I expect we will see more.
 
The title of the thread is "Transfer Portal".
It is the way of the future for schools that want to improve their rosters immediately.
It is what players use to look for better playing opportunities.
Four and five star players right out of high school don't transform college teams overnight. Look at Kentucky and North Carolina. Look at Duke this year. Those schools get the bulk of the top 20 players.
Using the Portal is a skillset that will define immediate expectations for some schools not named Kentucky, UCLA, etc.
I understand the sentimentality for some players but you either want results in today's world of college basketball or you take the risk of long term turnaround.
Judging by the ages of many here and that of our coach, I think we've waiting way too long for gradual improvement.
Now that we got the Hall of Fame coach we wanted let him do what he was hired to do and ease up on calling out each other here because they agreed with what our new coach said at the presser.
We may have 3 new starters next season. Most of us wished we had 3 different starters THIS SEASON.
So what are we arguing about????
 
Can’t have it both ways. All wanted a great coach , Pitino in particular. We got him and he is going to do whatever he thinks needs to be done to be successful. Posh, Wusu, Storr, whoever may be a casualty of that.
 
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