Article: St. John's - Sweet 16 or Bust

I think he said what we all think. At least what i think. The talent is there. No excuses to not make a strong run this year.
 
A lot of pressure on Lavin.
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I don't know that there is a lot of pressure on Lavin. We have come a long way, the ship is heading in the right direction but I do not get the feeling Monasch looks at the talent and issues Lavin any ultimatums. Let's face it, based on the previous regimes, you have to be really try hard to get fired / not renewed at SJU. Our fan base might grumble from time to time but I doubt you will ever see a www.firecoach_____.com" set up, like some other (albeit mostly football) schools where boosters bring all kinds of heat. If Lavin feels pressure, it might be self-inflicted. That said, this should be the season where we get an answer to "We know he can recruit - but can he coach?"
 
This is a huge wing year for us... It's pretty simple, we win we sign elite talent for 2015! If we linger I'n the middle of the pack... We will miss out on Alot of 15 targets!!! Big big year
 
A lot of pressure on Lavin.
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A millionaire living in Soho with an attractive wife and a nice contract has little pressure. :cheer:
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Good point,but how about as far as his coaching career goes he is under pressure. He is living the dream tho!
 
I love that the expectations are heightened this season and, like many, I'm hoping for a number beside our name and a visit to the Sweet Sixteen in March. Still, these pre-season "win-now-or-else..." previews should be taken with a grain of salt.

The program is upping the depth and talent every year. The BS that happened in the Jarvis years is done. We have a coach who seems to be finding the sweet spot between building an elite program and keeping his eye on the integrity and reputation of school.

I'll be disappointed if Lavin and his coaches don't get this crew in shape, but I hardly think of it as a make-or-break year.
 
I think it's pretty ridiculous for Darcy to write Sweet 16 or bust.

We're not an elite team and we're not a Cinderella. We are/should be middle of the pack. Why set that kind of standard in your article? Internally the staff and team has goals. And the fanbase has expectations.

But this is the typical NY media build them up to tear them down mentality.

The team is to take the next step. That is the NCAA tourney. After that it's any man's game. Anything can happen.
 
I think it's pretty ridiculous for Darcy to write Sweet 16 or bust.
We're not an elite team and we're not a Cinderella. We are/should be middle of the pack. Why set that kind of standard in your article? Internally the staff and team has goals. And the fanbase has expectations.
But this is the typical NY media build them up to tear them down mentality.
The team is to take the next step. That is the NCAA tourney. After that it's any man's game. Anything can happen.
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The Sweet 16 part is like you said but overall I think the sentiment of the article is on the money.
 
I think it's pretty ridiculous for Darcy to write Sweet 16 or bust.

We're not an elite team and we're not a Cinderella. We are/should be middle of the pack. Why set that kind of standard in your article?
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I kind of like it. This tells me that we are relevant. This tells me that we are on the verge of finally arriving. Doesn't matter if it's written in the paper or not, it IS one of the most important seasons this program has had in maybe decades.

Tonight the bell rings. Do we finally answer it this year?
 
Sweet-16 is not the GOAL for this season, but the minimun acceptable.

Elite-8 or better is a reasonable goal for such a highly ranked, experienced group of players. Sweet-16 & top 25 ranking would be respectable. Anything less and its time to look for a new coach.
 
I don't think people realize how hard it is to get into the tournament let alone advance to the Sweet 16.

And after watching the play from last night's game, Sweet 16 shouldn't even be in the discussion.
 
If I can make a baseball analogy here this article was written from the perspective of the Yankee mentality. The mentality of a Yankee fan is win every year, which they pretty much do.

Now during the Louie years that Yankee mentality expectation seemed valid. We in fact made the NCAA tournament 18 times in his 24 seasons (we made the NIT in the other 6). We even made it to the NCAA sweet sixteen or beyond 6 times in those 24 years. Also in those same 24 years we finished the season 10 or more games over five hundred 20 times and 5 or more over five hundred the other 4 times.

Now in the next 21 years since Louie under Mahoney, Fraschilla, Jarvis/Clark, Roberts and Lavin things have been very different. We have made the NCAA's just 6 times (with only one sweet sixteen appearance), there have been 4 appearances in a diluted NIT, we have finished the season 10 games over five hundred only 4 times and we had another 3 seasons where we were 5 games or more over five hundred. Add in the fact that the bulk of the success over this time was under a corrupt and tainted Mike Jarvis tenure and the Sweet sixteen or bust mantra in this article seems ill conceived to me.

Now I am very hopeful that we will have a good season, There is some really good talent here and I think we should make the tournament. After that who knows what could happen. However if this group falls short of expectations ask yourself who is going to do a better job than Lavin at turning this around. He has improved our recruiting, national image and has brought us back to the point where an article can even be written called sweet sixteen or bust.

I understand why we all impatient. As a lifelong Met fan it is hard to wait for glory when you know that the Yankees are in the playoffs every season. However, I also know that when you are building with resources that are not on the level of Kentucky, Duke or North Carolina you have to be realistic. As good as Lavin has recruited, we have not had a McDonald's All-American here in more than ten years.

In the end with our current leadership we are either on the wrong path or the right path. From where I sit we are on the right path and I am going to do my best to try and wait (hopefully I won't die first) :) until making the sweet sixteen will be a regular thing
 
If I can make a baseball analogy here this article was written from the perspective of the Yankee mentality. The mentality of a Yankee fan is win every year, which they pretty much do.

Now during the Louie years that Yankee mentality expectation seemed valid. We in fact made the NCAA tournament 18 times in his 24 seasons (we made the NIT in the other 6). We even made it to the NCAA sweet sixteen or beyond 6 times in those 24 years. Also in those same 24 years we finished the season 10 or more games over five hundred 20 times and 5 or more over five hundred the other 4 times.

Now in the next 21 years since Louie under Mahoney, Fraschilla, Jarvis/Clark, Roberts and Lavin things have been very different. We have made the NCAA's just 6 times (with only one sweet sixteen appearance), there have been 4 appearances in a diluted NIT, we have finished the season 10 games over five hundred only 4 times and we had another 3 seasons where we were 5 games or more over five hundred. Add in the fact that the bulk of the success over this time was under a corrupt and tainted Mike Jarvis tenure and the Sweet sixteen or bust mantra in this article seems ill conceived to me.

Now I am very hopeful that we will have a good season, There is some really good talent here and I think we should make the tournament. After that who knows what could happen. However if this group falls short of expectations ask yourself who is going to do a better job than Lavin at turning this around. He has improved our recruiting, national image and has brought us back to the point where an article can even be written called sweet sixteen or bust.

I understand why we all impatient. As a lifelong Met fan it is hard to wait for glory when you know that the Yankees are in the playoffs every season. However, I also know that when you are building with resources that are not on the level of Kentucky, Duke or North Carolina you have to be realistic. As good as Lavin has recruited, we have not had a McDonald's All-American here in more than ten years.

In the end with our current leadership we are either on the wrong path or the right path. From where I sit we are on the right path and I am going to do my best to try and wait (hopefully I won't die first) :) until making the sweet sixteen will be a regular thing
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Sweet sixteen? Heck I am a Yankee fan I want the Final Four
 
Me too!
Oh hell forget the final four, let's just win it all!

However if we go 17-13 and make the NIT and not the NCAAs I don't think changing leadership is the answer. I still think we are on the right path, regardless of whether we have the season we want or expect.
 
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