Anderson - is he really the guy ?

[SJU Double Alumn]

For the last time you don't get to make the continuity argument only when it conveniently suits your preferred coach.

Lavin got 5 years overhauled the roster, got Cancer and went to 2 NCAA's and 2 NIT's.  Including his last year.  I don't remember you ever arguing we needed to keep continuity.  Ever.

How about Mullin?  Did you argue SJU should keep him for continuity reasons?  Don't remember it?

Convenient how you make that argument NOW.

The Willard and Cooley hires are not applicable because one of the reasons you and others touted the Anderson hire was SPECIFICALLY his success at Arkansas and Missouri.  In other words two high majors and not having a losing season. Are you saying he should be held to the same standard as two coaches from the MAAC who had never gone to the NCAA's prior to their current stops?  If that is the case SJU should have hired a MAAC coach or HM assistant.  What difference would it make?

Lastly Providence is an anomaly with retention.  The transfer portal and the new rules about immediate eligibility changes the equation.

Case in point Marquette and Smart.  First off Smart isn't getting 6 years to make the NCAA's at Marquette like Willard did at SHU. That was NEVER going to happen.  Furthermore Marquette lost 3 big starters off of last year's team-Garcia transferred to UNC, DJ Carton went pro and Theo John transferred to Duke.  He had to replace 9 players in a few months including 3 starters.  How was he able to do all that in less than 5 months let alone in 5 years?  

And keep in mind SJU's transfers were hardly big time, not one transferred to a high major.  Marquette lost 3 starters and 2 of them went to the two biggest programs in the ACC.  And they are having a better year.



 

There are quite a number of people on this forum who believe firing Lavin was a mistake, some who even thought so at the time.

 

[bk8664]

"While I don't disagree at all that the team needs a couple more pieces (at a minimum Storr plus an impact transfer), I do think that our fan base underestimates the value of continuity and player development.  It's understandable since we haven't had any of either in 20 years."

This.

 

[Mullins Revenge]

Being that its Valentne's Day any chance we reach out to Drew Valentine's agent and ask him what it would take to get Drew in here?

 

[paultzman]

Being that its Valentne's Day any chance we reach out to Drew Valentine's agent and ask him what it would take to get Drew in here?

zero

 

[Spocky Ramone]

Being that its Valentne's Day any chance we reach out to Drew Valentine's agent and ask him what it would take to get Drew in here?

zero

What about Bobby?  Or for that matter, Greg “The Hammer”?

 

[lawmanfan]

Being that its Valentne's Day any chance we reach out to Drew Valentine's agent and ask him what it would take to get Drew in here?
 

LOL, Duke you are nothing if not consistent in your man-crushes.  I hope you sent Drew a Valentine, though. 

 

[SJU Double Alumn]

Here's the bottom line imho. CMA's first year was at least a push. Last year he overachieved unless you are of the view that being voted BE coach of the year by his peers is meaningless which would be fairly laughable. This year, barring a miraculous finish, will be a clear disappointment. In no way, shape or form does that justify considering changing coaches at this time, especially in a program with our recent lack of stability.     

What I don't understand is how fans of the program can think it is constructive to constantly be feeding threads like this and especially threads questioning why recruits would want to come to SJU. We all agree we need more talent and let's at least give coach a chance to see if he can do that.  Posh & Wusu were actually pretty good recruits, last year so/so based on results to date. Next year is key but staff deserves our support unless and until it is clear it is not warranted imho. 

Clearly yourself and others who didn’t read my initial post including the moderator who moved it to this thread didn’t read that this post was not meant for Anderson but for any coach who were to take the job in general. I specifically made mention of that. 

We have a coach. There is no discussion about how long our "any" coach should get that doesn't entail our existing coach.

 

[fordham96]

The poster I was referring to did NOT think it was a mistake.  And he knows it.

He simply concocts an argument to suit his purpose then totally forgets the fact that he never actually holds himself to that same standard.

Proud Alumn post=457763
There are quite a number of people on this forum who believe firing Lavin was a mistake, some who even thought so at the time.

 

[SJU Double Alumn]

My dear friend F:

1.  No program other than SJU has hired Lavin in the last 20 years because nobody thinks the King of Continuity (cough) can coach at all and it was pretty clear at the end that he didn't want to, either.

2.  No program other than SJU has hired Mullin to coach, and it seems unlikely that any ever will again.

3.  There is fundamental difference between the analysis you bring to a proven quantity versus folks like Lav and Mullin who were essentially flyers at "maybe this will work." 

      3.a.: The sum total of my opinion on Anderson is that he is a professional coach who runs a clean program and should on balance be an improvement over Mullin, Lavin, Roberts, and He Who Shall Not Be Named - nowhere have I said that he is the next Jay Wright or even the next Greg McDermott.  He is what he is and that is a step in the right direction for the program.

4.  This may be a news flash to some, but SJU is not Marquette.  SJU isn't even Seton Hall or Providence.  It is probably the worst job at the school with the fewest resources, the worst facilities, the most restrictions on recruiting activities that are commonplace elsewhere (cough, Smart, cough), and the most unreasonable self-image of all of the schools in the Big East.  This is all about the expectations game - if you think that SJU is going to bring in some coach who is going to magically go from worst-to-first and bring in 5 star recruits, then you are just setting yourself up for disappointment.  It is not going to happen in the near or intermediate term and it may never happen.

     4.a.  Smart is doing a good job thus far, but I think it's a bit premature to be building statues of him.  Anderson did a pretty good job last year and now folks want his head.  One day a peacock, the next day a feather duster as Looie said.

You and others may disagree, but IMHO if your program is in the league basement by most metrics and you can hire a coach that has demonstrated the ability to get you a couple of stories above ground level, then you give that coach a chance to do that job even if you don't think that he is likely to get you to the penthouse.  Once you're solidly above ground you can start worrying about moving on up like the Jeffersons.

Or, you can keep hiring and firing coaches quadrenially trying to catch lightening in a bottle, because THAT plan has worked SO well!

Though TBH both your opinion and mine are irrelevant - the fact is that Coach Anderson is going to be here for at least two more years, and probably longer, so he will have a full and fair opportunity to prove one of us right and the other wrong, whether you like it or not.  Hopefully he will prove you wrong - I am sure that you would much rather be wrong and have the program succeed than be right and have it fail, no?

1.- Lavin definitely wanted to come back and keep coaching at St. John's.
2- Agree
3- Agree on Mullin, not on Lavin
3a- Agree, but will add that with the right talent, Anderson can win big. 
4- Agree, but St. John's will always have the potential to be a top-20 or better team if we put the right resources into the program.
4a- Agree 100%

It would be a big mistake firing Anderson this year. 

 

[beast of the east]

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Look at Depaul, Butler and even Georgetown. They all lost a handful of games by a few points. Plus we won a some games by just a few points, including games against cupcakes. You are what your record says you are, and we're right around where we belong in the Big East standings based on our talent level and how we've played. It is what it is. Let's pray for a miracle run in the Big East, and look to next season. 

Well, we essentially provided a semi-neutral court vs. UCONN and Villanova, whereby they had a real homecourt advantage (Villanova was sold out during a snowstorm).   Those schools march into MSG with a few thousand fans each.probably taking 40% of tickets.

My question was since we played 4 close games, is how we would have fared say with Villanova's sold out let's say as our home court, and they had to deal with small crowd at MSG as their home court.   Reverse the circumstances in both events.

 

[monte]

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Look at Depaul, Butler and even Georgetown. They all lost a handful of games by a few points. Plus we won a some games by just a few points, including games against cupcakes. You are what your record says you are, and we're right around where we belong in the Big East standings based on our talent level and how we've played. It is what it is. Let's pray for a miracle run in the Big East, and look to next season. 

Well, we essentially provided a semi-neutral court vs. UCONN and Villanova, whereby they had a real homecourt advantage (Villanova was sold out during a snowstorm).   Those schools march into MSG with a few thousand fans each.probably taking 40% of tickets.

My question was since we played 4 close games, is how we would have fared say with Villanova's sold out let's say as our home court, and they had to deal with small crowd at MSG as their home court.   Reverse the circumstances in both events.

We may have won. Or we may have still found a way to lose. We're not a very good team so, I really don't know. Can't assume anything. Maybe we beat UCONN with Posh. Or maybe he has a horrific game. Or maybe he gets in foul trouble. Or maybe if Gillespie and Moore are 100%, we loose by 30 to Nova. Or maybe if the Bengals coach doesn't go for it on 4th and 1 yesterday, maybe the Bengals are the Super Bowl champs. We may not have had a distinct home court advantage, but it's not like we were playing on the road at a disadvantage. We still could have won both games, but the better team won. Thank God we played some of our cupcake games at CA and not on the road, because we would have had a few more losses using that rationale. 

 

[ADORAZ]

Go back in time to this exact day four years ago (Mullin year 3). We had just beaten #4 Duke, #1 Villanova, Marquette and were getting ready to beat DePaul that night (uh oh, I can already hear Proud Alumn hammering on his keyboard). Although that year ultimately ended in disappointment, we were at least able to dream for a few weeks late in the season and the board generally was optimistic. That Duke game was one of the most memorial St. John's games in recent memory, I've watched highlights from it many times. So many people I know, even those who aren't St. John's fans, texted me in excitement. We were the biggest story in college basketball.

One of the roughest things about this year is this is the first time since at least the Norm years where we haven't had a win against either a Top 25 or top program nationally. The number of highlights I've watched has been an all-time low during my fandom.

Not to say this year has been the same as Mullin year 1 because obviously this year has been far better overall, but at least then we beat Syracuse at MSG (back when they were still a great team nationally- they went to the Final Four that year). Mullin year 2 we blew out Syracuse on the road and beat #13 Butler at home our next game.  Year 3 we beat #1 Villanova and #4 Duke, and year 4 we beat #16 Marquette, #10 Marquette, and #13 Villanova en route to the First Four (excellent MSG attendance, too).

CMA's first 2 years also had some huge wins, with year 1 including #16 Arizona (and WVU at MSG if you want to count that) and #10 Creighton. During CMA's second year we beat #23 UConn and #3 Villanova. This year, despite a LOT of opportunities, we've only beaten an unranked Seton Hall team. They're a solid team, but not huge nationally like Syracuse was at the time when we beat them 3 years in a row. 

Anyway, I think getting those massive, nationally relevant wins are huge for perception and fan interest. Of the last decade, if I were to pick out one or two wins from each year, this is the year I'd rank dead last for least excitement. With Marquette and Xavier both out of the rankings this week, it's very possible we won't even have another chance for a big win this season despite how strong the Big East has been.

For anyone perplexed as to why attendance is so awful this year (I mean really awful), this is one huge reason why. Having at least one or two big wins to point to each year really goes a long way for the average fan, while going 0-6 against Top 25 teams and 1-9 against Q1 has the opposite effect.

 

[ras]

I haven’t completely given up on Anderson, but one thing is for damn sure. Us not being able to grab Steve Pikiell is the most brutal miss our program has endured. Just an absolute shame. 

i know the timing was never right cause we were in the middle of the mullin era or something… but goddamn it hurts. Fucking Rutgers gets him and turns their program around 

but then again, it even took him a few years to get his feet under him at Rutgers. So maybe giving up on Mike A is jumping the gun. I don’t know anymore. I’m tired of this shit 
----
Your young Jack. Missing Pikiell is just one name out of many brutal losses our fans had to endure.
 

 

[SJU Double Alumn]

Go back in time to this exact day four years ago (Mullin year 3). We had just beaten #4 Duke, #1 Villanova, Marquette and were getting ready to beat DePaul that night (uh oh, I can already hear Proud Alumn hammering on his keyboard). Although that year ultimately ended in disappointment, we were at least able to dream for a few weeks late in the season and the board generally was optimistic. That Duke game was one of the most memorial St. John's games in recent memory, I've watched highlights from it many times. So many people I know, even those who aren't St. John's fans, texted me in excitement. We were the biggest story in college basketball.

One of the roughest things about this year is this is the first time since at least the Norm years where we haven't had a win against either a Top 25 or top program nationally. The number of highlights I've watched has been an all-time low during my fandom.

Not to say this year has been the same as Mullin year 1 because obviously this year has been far better overall, but at least then we beat Syracuse at MSG (back when they were still a great team nationally- they went to the Final Four that year). Mullin year 2 we blew out Syracuse on the road and beat #13 Butler at home our next game.  Year 3 we beat #1 Villanova and #4 Duke, and year 4 we beat #16 Marquette, #10 Marquette, and #13 Villanova en route to the First Four (excellent MSG attendance, too).

CMA's first 2 years also had some huge wins, with year 1 including #16 Arizona (and WVU at MSG if you want to count that) and #10 Creighton. During CMA's second year we beat #23 UConn and #3 Villanova. This year, despite a LOT of opportunities, we've only beaten an unranked Seton Hall team. They're a solid team, but not huge nationally like Syracuse was at the time when we beat them 3 years in a row. 

Anyway, I think getting those massive, nationally relevant wins are huge for perception and fan interest. Of the last decade, if I were to pick out one or two wins from each year, this is the year I'd rank dead last for least excitement. With Marquette and Xavier both out of the rankings this week, it's very possible we won't even have another chance for a big win this season despite how strong the Big East has been.

For anyone perplexed as to why attendance is so awful this year (I mean really awful), this is one huge reason why. Having at least one or two big wins to point to each year really goes a long way for the average fan, while going 0-6 against Top 25 teams and 1-9 against Q1 has the opposite effect.

Getting those big upsets a few years ago was big for a couple of days each. That's it. The reality is we were 4-14 in conference that year and the season was a wreck. 

 

[monte]

Go back in time to this exact day four years ago (Mullin year 3). We had just beaten #4 Duke, #1 Villanova, Marquette and were getting ready to beat DePaul that night (uh oh, I can already hear Proud Alumn hammering on his keyboard). Although that year ultimately ended in disappointment, we were at least able to dream for a few weeks late in the season and the board generally was optimistic. That Duke game was one of the most memorial St. John's games in recent memory, I've watched highlights from it many times. So many people I know, even those who aren't St. John's fans, texted me in excitement. We were the biggest story in college basketball.

One of the roughest things about this year is this is the first time since at least the Norm years where we haven't had a win against either a Top 25 or top program nationally. The number of highlights I've watched has been an all-time low during my fandom.

Not to say this year has been the same as Mullin year 1 because obviously this year has been far better overall, but at least then we beat Syracuse at MSG (back when they were still a great team nationally- they went to the Final Four that year). Mullin year 2 we blew out Syracuse on the road and beat #13 Butler at home our next game.  Year 3 we beat #1 Villanova and #4 Duke, and year 4 we beat #16 Marquette, #10 Marquette, and #13 Villanova en route to the First Four (excellent MSG attendance, too).

CMA's first 2 years also had some huge wins, with year 1 including #16 Arizona (and WVU at MSG if you want to count that) and #10 Creighton. During CMA's second year we beat #23 UConn and #3 Villanova. This year, despite a LOT of opportunities, we've only beaten an unranked Seton Hall team. They're a solid team, but not huge nationally like Syracuse was at the time when we beat them 3 years in a row. 

Anyway, I think getting those massive, nationally relevant wins are huge for perception and fan interest. Of the last decade, if I were to pick out one or two wins from each year, this is the year I'd rank dead last for least excitement. With Marquette and Xavier both out of the rankings this week, it's very possible we won't even have another chance for a big win this season despite how strong the Big East has been.

For anyone perplexed as to why attendance is so awful this year (I mean really awful), this is one huge reason why. Having at least one or two big wins to point to each year really goes a long way for the average fan, while going 0-6 against Top 25 teams and 1-9 against Q1 has the opposite effect.

I hadn't thought about it, but now that you mention it, not one of my non-SJU friends texted me anything about SJU this season. And I have a ton of college basketball fan friends. No "are you watching the game?", or "how you feeling about the game tonight?" or "great win by the Johnnies!". Nothing. zip, zilch. I cannot remember the last time that happened over the course of a season. 

 

[room112]

Go back in time to this exact day four years ago (Mullin year 3). We had just beaten #4 Duke, #1 Villanova, Marquette and were getting ready to beat DePaul that night (uh oh, I can already hear Proud Alumn hammering on his keyboard). Although that year ultimately ended in disappointment, we were at least able to dream for a few weeks late in the season and the board generally was optimistic. That Duke game was one of the most memorial St. John's games in recent memory, I've watched highlights from it many times. So many people I know, even those who aren't St. John's fans, texted me in excitement. We were the biggest story in college basketball.

One of the roughest things about this year is this is the first time since at least the Norm years where we haven't had a win against either a Top 25 or top program nationally. The number of highlights I've watched has been an all-time low during my fandom.

Not to say this year has been the same as Mullin year 1 because obviously this year has been far better overall, but at least then we beat Syracuse at MSG (back when they were still a great team nationally- they went to the Final Four that year). Mullin year 2 we blew out Syracuse on the road and beat #13 Butler at home our next game.  Year 3 we beat #1 Villanova and #4 Duke, and year 4 we beat #16 Marquette, #10 Marquette, and #13 Villanova en route to the First Four (excellent MSG attendance, too).

CMA's first 2 years also had some huge wins, with year 1 including #16 Arizona (and WVU at MSG if you want to count that) and #10 Creighton. During CMA's second year we beat #23 UConn and #3 Villanova. This year, despite a LOT of opportunities, we've only beaten an unranked Seton Hall team. They're a solid team, but not huge nationally like Syracuse was at the time when we beat them 3 years in a row. 

Anyway, I think getting those massive, nationally relevant wins are huge for perception and fan interest. Of the last decade, if I were to pick out one or two wins from each year, this is the year I'd rank dead last for least excitement. With Marquette and Xavier both out of the rankings this week, it's very possible we won't even have another chance for a big win this season despite how strong the Big East has been.

For anyone perplexed as to why attendance is so awful this year (I mean really awful), this is one huge reason why. Having at least one or two big wins to point to each year really goes a long way for the average fan, while going 0-6 against Top 25 teams and 1-9 against Q1 has the opposite effect.

I hadn't thought about it, but now that you mention it, not one of my non-SJU friends texted me anything about SJU this season. And I have a ton of college basketball fan friends. No "are you watching the game?", or "how you feeling about the game tonight?" or "great win by the Johnnies!". Nothing. zip, zilch. I cannot remember the last time that happened over the course of a season. 

What you and Adam are getting at, is there is no buzz about the program this year. Just perhaps if we had snuck out some of those close losses, it would be different. But big wins lead to headlines, which in turns leads to free press, which in turn generates interest from common fans.

 

[ras]

Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Look at Depaul, Butler and even Georgetown. They all lost a handful of games by a few points. Plus we won a some games by just a few points, including games against cupcakes. You are what your record says you are, and we're right around where we belong in the Big East standings based on our talent level and how we've played. It is what it is. Let's pray for a miracle run in the Big East, and look to next season. 

Well, we essentially provided a semi-neutral court vs. UCONN and Villanova, whereby they had a real homecourt advantage (Villanova was sold out during a snowstorm).   Those schools march into MSG with a few thousand fans each.probably taking 40% of tickets.

My question was since we played 4 close games, is how we would have fared say with Villanova's sold out let's say as our home court, and they had to deal with small crowd at MSG as their home court.   Reverse the circumstances in both events.
------
Ive been saying that for years. We would play Syracuse at MSG and the crowd was 50% cuse fans , at  Syracuse it was 99% cuse fans. The reality is Cuse had a home game and a nuetral court game. Puts us at a disadvantage.
 

 

[GardenCity62]

Throughout its basketball history SJU has been connected with MSG and the loss of a home court edge. In the late forties when SJU would play home and home games vs Kentucky bookies would give SJU a two point advantage at MSG the smallest home court edge in the country, and Kentucky would get sixteen points at their court ,the highest in the country.
When games started to be on tv that Kentucky edge was dropped somewhat because the refs had to be a little more honest but in the late forties and early fifties you couldn’t get a call in Kentucky and while they had great talent they also got every call. Playing at MSG has always put SJU at a disadvantage if it involves a game at the opponents court the following year.

 

[ADORAZ]

Go back in time to this exact day four years ago (Mullin year 3). We had just beaten #4 Duke, #1 Villanova, Marquette and were getting ready to beat DePaul that night (uh oh, I can already hear Proud Alumn hammering on his keyboard). Although that year ultimately ended in disappointment, we were at least able to dream for a few weeks late in the season and the board generally was optimistic. That Duke game was one of the most memorial St. John's games in recent memory, I've watched highlights from it many times. So many people I know, even those who aren't St. John's fans, texted me in excitement. We were the biggest story in college basketball.

One of the roughest things about this year is this is the first time since at least the Norm years where we haven't had a win against either a Top 25 or top program nationally. The number of highlights I've watched has been an all-time low during my fandom.

Not to say this year has been the same as Mullin year 1 because obviously this year has been far better overall, but at least then we beat Syracuse at MSG (back when they were still a great team nationally- they went to the Final Four that year). Mullin year 2 we blew out Syracuse on the road and beat #13 Butler at home our next game.  Year 3 we beat #1 Villanova and #4 Duke, and year 4 we beat #16 Marquette, #10 Marquette, and #13 Villanova en route to the First Four (excellent MSG attendance, too).

CMA's first 2 years also had some huge wins, with year 1 including #16 Arizona (and WVU at MSG if you want to count that) and #10 Creighton. During CMA's second year we beat #23 UConn and #3 Villanova. This year, despite a LOT of opportunities, we've only beaten an unranked Seton Hall team. They're a solid team, but not huge nationally like Syracuse was at the time when we beat them 3 years in a row. 

Anyway, I think getting those massive, nationally relevant wins are huge for perception and fan interest. Of the last decade, if I were to pick out one or two wins from each year, this is the year I'd rank dead last for least excitement. With Marquette and Xavier both out of the rankings this week, it's very possible we won't even have another chance for a big win this season despite how strong the Big East has been.

For anyone perplexed as to why attendance is so awful this year (I mean really awful), this is one huge reason why. Having at least one or two big wins to point to each year really goes a long way for the average fan, while going 0-6 against Top 25 teams and 1-9 against Q1 has the opposite effect.

Getting those big upsets a few years ago was big for a couple of days each. That's it. The reality is we were 4-14 in conference that year and the season was a wreck. 

First, we had a really strong OOC capped off by the Duke win. There's more to a season than just our Big East record. We easily had better results in November, December, and February compared to this year. That matters to fans.

Second, the excitement was not for "a couple days each". The Duke win was February 3 and we didn't lose until February 21, so it was nearly a three week period that we were nationally relevant. Even after our streak ended we won again a week later, and again a week after that to open the BET. Generally fans were pretty optimistic heading into Mullin year 4.

Third, I actually agree that the season overall wasn't good. What's so unfortunate though is that the #4 Duke win in front of a sold out MSG was more noteworthy than the 24 games we've played this season combined. The #1 Nova win on the road was more noteworthy than the 24 games we've played this season combined. This year has been the quietest year we've played in a long, long time. There's zero buzz surrounding this program. Zero highlights I'd like to rewatch. Nobody outside our program cares about St. John's for the first time since Norm, not even for a day.

As Monte alluded to, the number of texts I've received regarding St. John's this year has been the worst in a decade, and frankly it isn't close (and yes I still talk to most of those same people consistently about other things). It sucks that our program has absolutely nothing going for it this year. It's like it doesn't even exist.

 

[monte]

Go back in time to this exact day four years ago (Mullin year 3). We had just beaten #4 Duke, #1 Villanova, Marquette and were getting ready to beat DePaul that night (uh oh, I can already hear Proud Alumn hammering on his keyboard). Although that year ultimately ended in disappointment, we were at least able to dream for a few weeks late in the season and the board generally was optimistic. That Duke game was one of the most memorial St. John's games in recent memory, I've watched highlights from it many times. So many people I know, even those who aren't St. John's fans, texted me in excitement. We were the biggest story in college basketball.

One of the roughest things about this year is this is the first time since at least the Norm years where we haven't had a win against either a Top 25 or top program nationally. The number of highlights I've watched has been an all-time low during my fandom.

Not to say this year has been the same as Mullin year 1 because obviously this year has been far better overall, but at least then we beat Syracuse at MSG (back when they were still a great team nationally- they went to the Final Four that year). Mullin year 2 we blew out Syracuse on the road and beat #13 Butler at home our next game.  Year 3 we beat #1 Villanova and #4 Duke, and year 4 we beat #16 Marquette, #10 Marquette, and #13 Villanova en route to the First Four (excellent MSG attendance, too).

CMA's first 2 years also had some huge wins, with year 1 including #16 Arizona (and WVU at MSG if you want to count that) and #10 Creighton. During CMA's second year we beat #23 UConn and #3 Villanova. This year, despite a LOT of opportunities, we've only beaten an unranked Seton Hall team. They're a solid team, but not huge nationally like Syracuse was at the time when we beat them 3 years in a row. 

Anyway, I think getting those massive, nationally relevant wins are huge for perception and fan interest. Of the last decade, if I were to pick out one or two wins from each year, this is the year I'd rank dead last for least excitement. With Marquette and Xavier both out of the rankings this week, it's very possible we won't even have another chance for a big win this season despite how strong the Big East has been.

For anyone perplexed as to why attendance is so awful this year (I mean really awful), this is one huge reason why. Having at least one or two big wins to point to each year really goes a long way for the average fan, while going 0-6 against Top 25 teams and 1-9 against Q1 has the opposite effect.

Getting those big upsets a few years ago was big for a couple of days each. That's it. The reality is we were 4-14 in conference that year and the season was a wreck. 

First, we had a really strong OOC capped off by the Duke win. There's more to a season than just our Big East record. We easily had better results in November, December, and February compared to this year. That matters to fans.

Second, the excitement was not for "a couple days each". The Duke win was February 3 and we didn't lose until February 21, so it was nearly a three week period that we were nationally relevant. Even after our streak ended we won again a week later, and again a week after that to open the BET. Generally fans were pretty optimistic heading into Mullin year 4.

Third, I actually agree that the season overall wasn't good. What's so unfortunate though is that the #4 Duke win in front of a sold out MSG was more noteworthy than the 24 games we've played this season combined. The #1 Nova win on the road was more noteworthy than the 24 games we've played this season combined. This year has been the quietest year we've played in a long, long time. There's zero buzz surrounding this program. Zero highlights I'd like to rewatch. Nobody outside our program cares about St. John's for the first time since Norm. Not even for a day.

As Monte alluded to, the number of texts I've received regarding St. John's this year has been the worst in a decade, and frankly it isn't close (and yes I still talk to those same people consistently about other things). It sucks that our program has absolutely nothing going for it this year. It's like it doesn't even exist.

These kinds of posts are going to be perceived by some as "negativity" . I see it as "reality". The only thing  that gives me hope is that things can turn quirkily. They did under Lavin, even if it wasn't sustained. So I'm hoping it happens under CMA.