2023-24 Roster

Rick had a decent roster in place - a core of Soriano, Posh, Dylan, Storr, Omar, Gardner and even Yaxel - that could've been the makings of a very good team.

These guys weren't bums. They were hard nosed basketball players on an underachieving team.

With a lot of coaching up and an influx of transfer talent, they could have been something.

There was no reason to blow it up.
 
MainMan said:
Rick had a decent roster in place - a core of Soriano, Posh, Dylan, Storr, Omar, Gardner and even Yaxel - that could've been the makings of a very good team.

These guys weren't bums. They were hard nosed basketball players on an underachieving team.

With a lot of coaching up and an influx of transfer talent, they could have been something.

There was no reason to blow it up.
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However Main Man it seems there were attitude and behavioral issues and our new HIGHLY GIFTED HC chose to clean house. There are other factors we are not privy to. Who am I to second guess Rick Pitino and staff???
We will have a team ( even if you and my 74 year old body are on it)
And undoubtedly our program wil slowly but surely progress to where Coach Pitino’s plans are met: competitive in BE and nationwide!!!
All the best
SS&G
 
Sherman Sheridan & Grant said:
However Main Man it seems there were attitude and behavioral issues and our new HIGHLY GIFTED HC chose to clean house. There are other factors we are not privy to. Who am I to second guess Rick Pitino and staff???
We will have a team ( even if you and my 74 year old body are on it)
And undoubtedly our program wil slowly but surely progress to where Coach Pitino’s plans are met: competitive in BE and nationwide!!!
All the best
SS&G
Click to expand...

Rick said he was cleaning house before he ever stepped inside the house.

I don't know who was feeding him Intel on the team, but he made up his mind to blow it up after speaking to only ONE player, Soriano.
 
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Wolfie said:
100% agree, General.
A common view (not necessarily a majority one) posits that Rick is shocked by how difficult it has proved to be (after 3 weeks) to recruit here, making his Press Conference comments 'embarrassing', worthy of ridicule, and an 'uh-oh' moment.
I don't buy it.
He's the consummate salesman...tells you what you want to hear...and knew it would be far more difficult than at KY / Louisville, but said "sh't, F-it, I can and will do this" and I believe him.
I do think Clayton headfaked him (NIL- $$$'s) but, banking off Rick's aura solely,
he'll adapt.
And here we go...
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This is a simplification and mischaracterization of the “common view.”

I think a number of us weren’t crazy about Pitino’s statements and actions in jettisoning most of the roster, irrespective of whether he was able to upgrade the talent.

The last three weeks have strongly suggested that recruiting at SJU is a tremendous challenge, regardless of the coach. Given the timing and lack of roster pieces to date, I think it’s fair to draw the conclusion that Pitino may have overplayed his hand and underestimated how difficult a task he faces on the recruiting trail. Filling eight or nine scholarships at this juncture would be a Herculean task at most programs, let alone SJU.
 
The hagiography of last year's team on this board is nuts. That team sucked. They were bad offensively, bad defensively, had a terrible attitude, and got outworked most nights. They were extremely difficult to root for. The team Pitino put together at Iona was better than St. John's last year. With MAAC resources he built a better team than Anderson could build with BE resources. Clayton jr going home hurts, but reading this board is brutal with all the giant babies on it.
 
Boo Harvey said:
This is a simplification and mischaracterization of the “common view.”

I think a number of us weren’t crazy about Pitino’s statements and actions in jettisoning most of the roster, irrespective of whether he was able to upgrade the talent.

The last three weeks have strongly suggested that recruiting at SJU is a tremendous challenge, regardless of the coach. Given the timing and lack of roster pieces to date, I think it’s fair to draw a conclusion that Pitino may have overplayed his hand and underestimated how difficult a task he faces on the recruiting trail. Filling eight or nine scholarships at this juncture would be a Herculean task at most programs, let alone SJU.
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There are over 1400 players in the portal. Mike Anderson had 5 to 7 kids transfer out one year . He found replacements. Rick Pitino is a winner wherever he goes. It will happen it’s going to take longer than 3 weeks. One recruit decides to go elsewhere and it’s hyperbole that the program is doomed! The board needs to try visualization, and stay positive.
 
MainMan said:
Rick had a decent roster in place - a core of Soriano, Posh, Dylan, Storr, Omar, Gardner and even Yaxel - that could've been the makings of a very good team.

These guys weren't bums. They were hard nosed basketball players on an underachieving team.

With a lot of coaching up and an influx of transfer talent, they could have been something.

There was no reason to blow it up.
Click to expand...

“Decent “ team and talent gets you 17-14,18-15. I don’t recall seeing Gardner or Yaxel play a minute of Big East ball. Omar a role player. Not against keeping “core 4” but remember he did NOT throw them out, he was just honest and didn’t guarantee them anything. Amazing how much revisionist history re what transpired between CRP and our players on this site in order to reach false conclusions. Our lack of knowledge doesn’t entitle us to make stuff up in order to criticize the new coach. You have every right to criticize facts but we don’t know the facts, thus false conclusions based on fiction!
 
adavis1 said:
The hagiography of last year's team on this board is nuts. That team sucked. They were bad offensively, bad defensively, had a terrible attitude, and got outworked most nights. They were extremely difficult to root for. The team Pitino put together at Iona was better than St. John's last year. With MAAC resources he built a better team than Anderson could build with BE resources. Clayton jr going home hurts, but reading this board is brutal with all the giant babies on it.
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Trust me, if you go look at the game threads there is a ton of revisionist history going on. I’m with you, it was maddening going to Carnesecca and watching that team phone it in on defense and wander around the arena during time-outs. Now that they all decided to transfer rather than stick around and show a HOF coach they weren’t part of the problem everyone loves them.

Shrug.
 
adavis1 said:
The hagiography of last year's team on this board is nuts. That team sucked. They were bad offensively, bad defensively, had a terrible attitude, and got outworked most nights. They were extremely difficult to root for. The team Pitino put together at Iona was better than St. John's last year. With MAAC resources he built a better team than Anderson could build with BE resources. Clayton jr going home hurts, but reading this board is brutal with all the giant babies on it.
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Post of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Is there a sticky somewhere that lists our current roster and can get updated as things change? Just a thought.
 
Getting to the point I can't read these boards anymore. Many of you are out of your minds honestly. Three weeks and it sounds like the norm roberts days. Come on give it a break it's three weeks in one week to evaluate what we have left week two to start combing through the 1300 portal market never mind just got his full staff in place yesterday! Give the guy a break. Al this complaining about faculties the same one lavin did well in hell even mullin had a decent one year. Jarvis had a run. Give it a break gang take a chill pill and see what happens in two months.
 
MainMan said:
Rick had a decent roster in place - a core of Soriano, Posh, Dylan, Storr, Omar, Gardner and even Yaxel - that could've been the makings of a very good team.

These guys weren't bums. They were hard nosed basketball players on an underachieving team.

With a lot of coaching up and an influx of transfer talent, they could have been something.

There was no reason to blow it up.
Click to expand...
Let's just maybe go with this thought... Maybe Rick didn't want to coach those guys?
 
njfan said:
Getting to the point I can't read these boards anymore. Many of you are out of your minds honestly. Three weeks and it sounds like the norm roberts days. Come on give it a break it's three weeks in one week to evaluate what we have left week two to start combing through the 1300 portal market never mind just got his full staff in place yesterday! Give the guy a break. Al this complaining about faculties the same one lavin did well in hell even mullin had a decent one year. Jarvis had a run. Give it a break gang take a chill pill and see what happens in two months.
Click to expand...

Some would be well served to log off from this site for a few weeks or even months, and come back once the roster is set.
 
Boo Harvey said:
This is a simplification and mischaracterization of the “common view.”

I think a number of us weren’t crazy about Pitino’s statements and actions in jettisoning most of the roster, irrespective of whether he was able to upgrade the talent.

The last three weeks have strongly suggested that recruiting at SJU is a tremendous challenge, regardless of the coach. Given the timing and lack of roster pieces to date, I think it’s fair to draw the conclusion that Pitino may have overplayed his hand and underestimated how difficult a task he faces on the recruiting trail. Filling eight or nine scholarships at this juncture would be a Herculean task at most programs, let alone SJU.
Click to expand...
The 2022-23 team was a mess. A talented cluster of players who never fused into a 'team', with off-court issues impacting on-court performance. That's on the coach, primarily for not forming a capable unit, but it also is on the players for not owning up to their responsibility to the 'team' and for not realizing their potential, with episodic unhinged play.
I hoped Posh, Wusu, Storr, Jones & King would return. We all have our guesses why they left, only a few have the whole story. 'Rick jettisoned the team' is, I think, an unfair and inaccurate portrayal of what went down, but--to be fair-- I don't 'know' that it's unfair and inaccurate, and you do not know that it fits what actually went down.
Let's let this lie and just root for Rick to be able to make St. John's men's hoops competitive next season and maybe for some real good gravy in the years ahead.
 
I’ve been a fanatic follower of this program for the 30 years, and I’ve never felt more distant from it. The return of Posh would help that a lot. There’s an emotional element to all this, even a parental element. Calipari’s teams of 5 star recruits who came and went in a year even left some Kentucky fans cold. Loyalty, continuity and soul are important. A kid busts his ass for us for three years and is fired. “Just win now,” right? Bullshit. Leaves me cold.
 
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