As pissed as I am right now still
- Thread starter mjmaherjr
- Start date
jerseyshorejohnny
Well-known member
I was really ticked earlier today but have regrouped and will be going to N.C. to cheer on our seniors who deserve and have earned our collective support.
They made a leap of faith 4 years ago and they should know that we appreciate them.
Go Johnnies !!!!!!!
They made a leap of faith 4 years ago and they should know that we appreciate them.
Go Johnnies !!!!!!!
guinness77
Well-known member
Great thread. A month or so ago I thought these kids would miss out, so it's awesome they get to experience at least one NCAA Tourney game.
And, for the most part, they ARE the reason for the turnaround so kudos to the senior class, and everyone involved in the team.
And, for the most part, they ARE the reason for the turnaround so kudos to the senior class, and everyone involved in the team.
I'm sorry, but I'm still pissed. I'm three weeks shy of my 27th birthday, so I don't have the memories that many on this board have of the glory years. My earliest memories of this program came in the late 90's, during our run to the Elite 8 and the Big East Championship the following year. I was 12, 13 at that time, and was still too young to really appreciate what I was watching.
In High School, I endured the worst of the Jarvis era. I always enjoyed each March when the brackets came out and my friends would joke to me about where St. John's was (or wasn't).
In college, (split between Syracuse/Temple), I endured the Norm Roberts era. 'Nuff said.
When Lavin was first hired, I was fired up. I thought we finally had a guy that could bring this program back to respectability. I still have the newspaper clippings to this day. The first year was everything I could have hoped for and more. I was in the building when we throttled Duke on national television. I thought we could make some real noise in the tournament. Then D.J Kennedy suffers a horrific season ending injury, and we get blown out by Gonzaga in the first round of the tournament. Four years later, I'm once again unable to be as excited as I should be for an NCAA tournament appearance. The Obekpa nonsense, followed by another no-show in the Big East Tournament, has me almost relegated to the fact that once again we're not going to do anything meaningful in March.
I don't think Lavin deserves to remain coach at St. John's. It's not just the Obekpa stuff. It's a culmination of everything that's happened the past few years (players failing to qualify, players transferring, suspensions, etc.). Lavin is smooth as silk on camera, but I'm not currently proud or convinced he should be stewarding our program moving forward. Sometimes I wonder if our program will ever get back to where it should be, or if I'll ever have an opportunity to truly see what this city is like when St. John's is on top. All I can do is watch old highlights and listen to my dad tell stories of what it was like once upon a time.
beast of the east
Active member
I don't mind anyone saying that Lavin's 5 years in their opinion does not warrant an extension. However, to throw this on him, when you are already biased against him is unfair. Let's say CO played for Nova and was just suspended. No way any f you would be trying to pin this on Jay Wright in any way whatsoever. So try to somehow blame Lavin for this is a little hypocritical.
Beats me for next year. Yeah Lavin could salvage things if everything broke right but if today proves anything is how quickly things break wrong for us. The only reason I'm even thinking of still going is because I think of D'lo and how he didn't give up and quit the team when he got kicked off and he's one of my all time favorite johnnies
jerseyshorejohnny
Well-known member
Mike, I for one, hope you decide to make the trip.
We have two 6'9 players that are playing in the NBA. Ironically, we are playing against a 6'7 kid in the tournament that transferred from us because of those two players. We also lost Garrett because of one of those guys. None of that was due to any fault of the coach and there were no decent veterans to mitigate the damage done. ADR and Thomas could be pinned on Lavin to a degree, but they were cleared by both the SJU compliance office and the NCAA clearinghouse.
Hard to blame Lavin because of OB's stupidity but what can he or a future coach protect SJU from the Thomas and ADR situations?
As I understand it Thomas produces a transcript sometime in the summer which shows he is eligible, ADR produces a test score on the SAT which shows he too is eligible around the same time.
The NCAA investigates and declares both ineligible. Is SJU legally allowed to do more due diligence? Having players declared ineligible around Labor Day makes it impossible to recover.
As I understand it Thomas produces a transcript sometime in the summer which shows he is eligible, ADR produces a test score on the SAT which shows he too is eligible around the same time.
The NCAA investigates and declares both ineligible. Is SJU legally allowed to do more due diligence? Having players declared ineligible around Labor Day makes it impossible to recover.
If someone said we'd have 2x the number of wins the Knicks have at this point...
It's all relative. If this was the only drama we groaned through this season, we'd be applauding Lavin for his action. The problem is there's always drama. Here it is at season's end, and we have our best player on a six man team sitting on the bench at the start of the Providence game. We have players with black eyes. We have mystery injuries (Rysheed's wrist). We have a winnable game coming up against SDS and we'll probably look as we did in last year's NIT.
I'd love our five seniors and joey to have a great final game. I appreciate that they chose us. The next group of frosh deserve better.
beast of the east
Active member
Ok, but people here are blaming Lavin in part for Obekpa's transgression, and that's totally unfiar in my opinion. In an era of random and mandated drug testing, the kid is a total fool and selfish to risk this team's season, especially considering the thin roster
stjohnschris
Active member
This is exactly the sentiment I can't get on board with. Harkless leaving St John's for the NBA is ancient history, and giving that as an excuse for why we are so thin on the bench and in overall height is a weak argument. Other coaches would have replaced our prized NBA players 6 times by now, with 3 back up plans. It's poor recruiting, black and white.
