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[quote="Mike Zaun" post=296143]Great to get such positive news. Anyone know how likely it is that we switch back to Nike since he was the direct point person between Duke and Nike? I really hope they hear this guy out from day 1, because he's like an outside consultant at this point. Outside consultants from prestigious backgrounds can instantly assess a program and say what isn't working and what needs to be fixed immediately. I hope there are a lot of times he says to other admins, "At Duke this is how we did this".

I was also wondering, any chance we didn't hire another assistant so we can give that extra money to make a great AD hire like Cragg? No idea if it works like that or not, just an interesting thought.[/quote]
No relevance on your last point.

Mike, I hope you can give Cragg some time to get his bearings and priorities in order and avoid knocking on his door at midnight asking him when we are changing to Nike, modernizing CA, arranging a marketing strategy with Modells, creating a sky box for students, etc. :)

Trusting process is not a favorite term of mine, but merits consideration here. This is a challenging job & knee jerk reactions are what get you in trouble.
 
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[quote="Paultzman" post=296148][quote="Mike Zaun" post=296143]Great to get such positive news. Anyone know how likely it is that we switch back to Nike since he was the direct point person between Duke and Nike? I really hope they hear this guy out from day 1, because he's like an outside consultant at this point. Outside consultants from prestigious backgrounds can instantly assess a program and say what isn't working and what needs to be fixed immediately. I hope there are a lot of times he says to other admins, "At Duke this is how we did this".

I was also wondering, any chance we didn't hire another assistant so we can give that extra money to make a great AD hire like Cragg? No idea if it works like that or not, just an interesting thought.[/quote]
No relevance on your last point.

Mike, I hope you can give Cragg some time to get his bearings and priorities in order and avoid knocking on his door at midnight asking him when we are changing to Nike, modernizing CA, arranging a marketing strategy with Modells, creating a sky box for students, etc. :)

Trusting process is not a favorite term of mine, but merits consideration here. This is a challenging job & knee jerk reactions are what get you in trouble.[/quote] I think Mike will take the subtle approach and just start with a boom box outside his window blasting something like careless whisper.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=296148][quote="Mike Zaun" post=296143]Great to get such positive news. Anyone know how likely it is that we switch back to Nike since he was the direct point person between Duke and Nike? I really hope they hear this guy out from day 1, because he's like an outside consultant at this point. Outside consultants from prestigious backgrounds can instantly assess a program and say what isn't working and what needs to be fixed immediately. I hope there are a lot of times he says to other admins, "At Duke this is how we did this".

I was also wondering, any chance we didn't hire another assistant so we can give that extra money to make a great AD hire like Cragg? No idea if it works like that or not, just an interesting thought.[/quote]
No relevance on your last point.

Mike, I hope you can give Cragg some time to get his bearings and priorities in order and avoid knocking on his door at midnight asking him when we are changing to Nike, modernizing CA, arranging a marketing strategy with Modells, creating a sky box for students, etc. :)

Trusting process is not a favorite term of mine, but merits consideration here. This is a challenging job & knee jerk reactions are what get you in trouble.[/quote]

Of course give him time, I don't think I insinuated anything along the lines of demands and instant gratification...or a knee-jerk reaction. All I asked are what the chances were we switch to Nike because of his affiliation (others have thrown around this very concept already without ironically a "knee-jerk" reaction) and if we saved some money we would have allocated for an assistant and gave it to him. It is relevant because it would help explain why we did not hire another recruiter. Not sure why these are "radical" concepts that are apparently way too much to ask.
 
[quote="Mike Zaun" post=296150][quote="Paultzman" post=296148][quote="Mike Zaun" post=296143]Great to get such positive news. Anyone know how likely it is that we switch back to Nike since he was the direct point person between Duke and Nike? I really hope they hear this guy out from day 1, because he's like an outside consultant at this point. Outside consultants from prestigious backgrounds can instantly assess a program and say what isn't working and what needs to be fixed immediately. I hope there are a lot of times he says to other admins, "At Duke this is how we did this".

I was also wondering, any chance we didn't hire another assistant so we can give that extra money to make a great AD hire like Cragg? No idea if it works like that or not, just an interesting thought.[/quote]
No relevance on your last point.

Mike, I hope you can give Cragg some time to get his bearings and priorities in order and avoid knocking on his door at midnight asking him when we are changing to Nike, modernizing CA, arranging a marketing strategy with Modells, creating a sky box for students, etc. :)

Trusting process is not a favorite term of mine, but merits consideration here. This is a challenging job & knee jerk reactions are what get you in trouble.[/quote]

Of course give him time, I don't think I insinuated anything along the lines of demands and instant gratification...or a knee-jerk reaction. All I asked are what the chances were we switch to Nike because of his affiliation (others have thrown around this very concept already without ironically a "knee-jerk" reaction) and if we saved some money we would have allocated for an assistant and gave it to him. It is relevant because it would help explain why we did not hire another recruiter. Not sure why these are "radical" concepts that are apparently way too much to ask.[/quote]
Thought smiley face would clearly connote I was just ribbing you my sensitive friend. Will desist going forward.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=296153][quote="Mike Zaun" post=296150][quote="Paultzman" post=296148][quote="Mike Zaun" post=296143]Great to get such positive news. Anyone know how likely it is that we switch back to Nike since he was the direct point person between Duke and Nike? I really hope they hear this guy out from day 1, because he's like an outside consultant at this point. Outside consultants from prestigious backgrounds can instantly assess a program and say what isn't working and what needs to be fixed immediately. I hope there are a lot of times he says to other admins, "At Duke this is how we did this".

I was also wondering, any chance we didn't hire another assistant so we can give that extra money to make a great AD hire like Cragg? No idea if it works like that or not, just an interesting thought.[/quote]
No relevance on your last point.

Mike, I hope you can give Cragg some time to get his bearings and priorities in order and avoid knocking on his door at midnight asking him when we are changing to Nike, modernizing CA, arranging a marketing strategy with Modells, creating a sky box for students, etc. :)

Trusting process is not a favorite term of mine, but merits consideration here. This is a challenging job & knee jerk reactions are what get you in trouble.[/quote]

Of course give him time, I don't think I insinuated anything along the lines of demands and instant gratification...or a knee-jerk reaction. All I asked are what the chances were we switch to Nike because of his affiliation (others have thrown around this very concept already without ironically a "knee-jerk" reaction) and if we saved some money we would have allocated for an assistant and gave it to him. It is relevant because it would help explain why we did not hire another recruiter. Not sure why these are "radical" concepts that are apparently way too much to ask.[/quote]
Thought smiley face would clearly connote I was just ribbing you my sensitive friend. Will desist going forward.[/quote]

No relevance on your last point.

Mike, I hope you can give Cragg some time to get his bearings and priorities in order and avoid knocking on his door at midnight asking him when we are changing to Nike, modernizing CA, arranging a marketing strategy with Modells, creating a sky box for students, etc. :)

(Clearly joking...I got that part and thought it was funny actually)

Trusting process is not a favorite term of mine, but merits consideration here. This is a challenging job & knee jerk reactions are what get you in trouble.

(Doesn't seem to be in joking manner)
 
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[quote="Mike Zaun" post=296154][quote="Paultzman" post=296153][quote="Mike Zaun" post=296150][quote="Paultzman" post=296148][quote="Mike Zaun" post=296143]Great to get such positive news. Anyone know how likely it is that we switch back to Nike since he was the direct point person between Duke and Nike? I really hope they hear this guy out from day 1, because he's like an outside consultant at this point. Outside consultants from prestigious backgrounds can instantly assess a program and say what isn't working and what needs to be fixed immediately. I hope there are a lot of times he says to other admins, "At Duke this is how we did this".

I was also wondering, any chance we didn't hire another assistant so we can give that extra money to make a great AD hire like Cragg? No idea if it works like that or not, just an interesting thought.[/quote]
No relevance on your last point.

Mike, I hope you can give Cragg some time to get his bearings and priorities in order and avoid knocking on his door at midnight asking him when we are changing to Nike, modernizing CA, arranging a marketing strategy with Modells, creating a sky box for students, etc. :)

Trusting process is not a favorite term of mine, but merits consideration here. This is a challenging job & knee jerk reactions are what get you in trouble.[/quote]

Of course give him time, I don't think I insinuated anything along the lines of demands and instant gratification...or a knee-jerk reaction. All I asked are what the chances were we switch to Nike because of his affiliation (others have thrown around this very concept already without ironically a "knee-jerk" reaction) and if we saved some money we would have allocated for an assistant and gave it to him. It is relevant because it would help explain why we did not hire another recruiter. Not sure why these are "radical" concepts that are apparently way too much to ask.[/quote]
Thought smiley face would clearly connote I was just ribbing you my sensitive friend. Will desist going forward.[/quote]

No relevance on your last point.

Mike, I hope you can give Cragg some time to get his bearings and priorities in order and avoid knocking on his door at midnight asking him when we are changing to Nike, modernizing CA, arranging a marketing strategy with Modells, creating a sky box for students, etc. :)

(Clearly joking...I got that part and thought it was funny actually)

Trusting process is not a favorite term of mine, but merits consideration here. This is a challenging job & knee jerk reactions are what get you in trouble.

(Doesn't seem to be in joking manner)[/quote]
No actually was making that as general impulsive, ill advised public reaction to change, not a personal issue. Can believe me or I can send a gift. :)
 
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[quote="Class of 72" post=296074][quote="panther2" post=296067][quote="Beast of the East" post=296056][quote="panther2" post=296050]Looking forward to his coming aboard. While I have no love for Duke, one thing that I respected about their basketball program is how they kept former players involved. Due to the turnover in coaches since Coach Carnesecca left, there are no former players working for the University. Hopefully we get some stability and begin to bring former players back in some capacity.[/quote]

Does Bill Schaeffer still work for the university?[/quote]


Yep, so there are two, Chris and Bill. One played here almost 50 years ago and one played over 30 years ago. The point I was making that there are no recent former players who could connect and act as role models for our current players. I wonder how many current players would recognize Bill on campus.[/quote]

We also had Bernard Rencher working in an academic capacity at St. John's. Zendon was a volunteer (? ) assistant coach in 2014-16. I always wondered if he could have worked as an assistant coach recruiting with Matt if Mully kept Mitch on a per diem basis since Mitch seems to prefer per diem work.;)[/quote]

Killer Davis worked for quite a while retired maybe two - three years ago.
 
Great post & ‘gut’ stuff, Paultz. That wouldn’t be advanced tea leaf reading on Heron and Spring Dancing, would it?!?
Cragg’s pedigree is an awesome ‘get’ for St. John’s.
Be interesting to see how he mesh’s with Chris...and Mitch. The three of them have great creds—that matched by success on the court—could be a huge boost to fund raising and perhaps even ‘facility imorovement’ over time.
 
[quote="L J S A" post=296181]Are ADs usually involved in getting hardship waivers approved?[/quote]

Funny, was thinking same thing LJSA.
I’d think that they would have a role in hiring counsel and monitoring the process, yes, but thinking that Heron’s process is, by now, far along and nearing a Decision Day.
Maybe Cragg can ‘check in’ with NCAA ‘contacts’ though....
 
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This decision is actually in line with what I've learned about Bobby and also the board.

Bobby likes high quality hires. He knows basketball success is important to the identity of the school and keeps a close eye on this program. He also from what I see, trusts the high caliber, uber successful, and incredibly good people that are board members. Some of them have had just phenomenal career success that speaks volumes about what a St. John's education can provide. Since the Vincentians have given control for the very first time to a lay president, that president in turn relies on some very talented people to advise him and guide him. It's not without reason - the board can to an extent control his destiny, but also can be incredibly valuable business tools in helping him navigate areas he has less knowledge in.

In this case, the above logic has a lot to do with the successful hire of a high caliber candidate from a academically superior school with off the charts success in basketball. This hire is consistent with very many good things happening at St. John's.

Now - just because Cragg is here doesn't mean it's a good fit. Actually, last time around, the school had a hard time finding a qualified candidate, this a national search. They made a compromised hire and they knew it. As it turns out Goff was an enthusiastic fan, but did not have the capacity to run a big time athletic program or the ability to manage an icon like Mullin - but that's in the past.

Cragg comes from a school that might as well print money the way alumni donate. He's coming to a school where we might as well do the same, but for different reasons. Our fans and alumni don't comprehend that if we want a new on campus arena, if we want better seats in CA, if we want the school to spend more money on anything, there's only only main place schools get it from, and that's their donor base. Cragg was successful at Duke raising money, but my guess is that he may get frustrated trying to have 1/2, 1/4 or even 1/10th of the athletic fund raising success he had at Duke. So many lament that Danny hurley is at UCONN not here, but Hurley for starters was given 6 years, $18 million. Guaranteed if he takes them to the promised land, alumni donors will pony up even more dough to keep him there. Could we say the same?

One huge positive is that Cragg knows how a successful basketball operation is run, both from a staffing perspective and a budgetary perspective. At Duke, everything is first class, which for certain helps with recruitment. Students camp out sometimes for days to get tickets to Cameron, and I hope Cragg has some ideas in addition to on court success to energize our fan base, especially students.

It's exciting, and MJMaher's campaign to get me the job fell short. Even so, I'm very happy with this hire. :)
 
[quote="Spocky Ramone" post=296206]What's the over/under on the amount of time before we find out he was a special mentor to the 2006 lacrosse team?[/quote]

Lucky for us they were innocent.
 
Looks like a very solid hire, and I hope he can turn this dysfunctional ship around, because if he can't, our only recourse would be Fr. Lancaster Merrin.
 
Had a text last night from a friend connected to Duke. He sent along a hearty congratulations on a great hire. I'll let my optimism kick in and view this as a big step forward for our program.
 
[quote="Windy City Johnny Fan" post=296224]Should I be concerned that it's nearly 5 and no announcement? I acknowledge that I'm insane but I blame the decades of disappointment.[/quote]
We can’t close :)
 
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[quote="Paultzman" post=296227][quote="Windy City Johnny Fan" post=296224]Should I be concerned that it's nearly 5 and no announcement? I acknowledge that I'm insane but I blame the decades of disappointment.[/quote]
We can’t close :)[/quote]

It's our trademark LOL
 
[quote="L J S A" post=296181]Are ADs usually involved in getting hardship waivers approved?[/quote] The AD job is a walking hardship waiver here
 
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