As pissed as I am right now still

[redfan259999888]

St. John's is like one of my children. No amount of disappointment will make me stop loving it. And no matter what, I would never disparage one of my children to someone else. Unconditional love.

But how much misery can people take before saying enough is enough, and to much bs happened while under lavins watch. I can't take it anymore.
If Lavin returns then I'm gone. lol I know many will tell me adios, and I'll say "yeah, enjoy being disappointed every year as long as Lavin is here."

Want to say oh Lavin has 2 guys in the NBA? Well where's the replacements? Want to say it's not Lavins fault that Chris smoked? It still happened under his watch, take responsility as coach for your players actions, you recruited him.

We need change.

 

[Class of 72]

Congrats to the seniors D'LO,Phil,Dom and Branch.

Just because I'm angry because of this suspension thing doesn't mean I'm not real happy for those 4 especially. Kids worked hard and I appreciate everything they have done for the program

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. 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.

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.

Jay Wright should have been fired after the Jay Pinkston "incident". After all he was arrested!

 

[Marillac]

After a 5 hour debate Mjmaherjr and Nathalie will be making the trip to Charlotte to see the Seniors

I'm glad you are making the trip. These guys deserve as many great fans by their sides as possible.

 

[jr49]

Too much drama surrounding this program. We were actually given a good path to return to a sweet sixteen if we had our full squad.

What's worse how much drama this season and seasons before have contained or the fact that Lavin has done so terrible recruiting that when one player gets suspended our entire front court has now vanished before our eyes. Sad.

He's done such a horrible job that the two 6'9 guys that had eligibility to play this weekend are playing in the NBA.

And he stopped bringing in players why. Self has 8 guys who can play so he backs of recruiting. They then leave early for the NBA and mighty Kansas is left with no players. This story never happened because it never would to a coach who knows his job. I will ask again, why did Steve stop recruiting, leaving us shot players and possibility of the secreat walk on hustle.

 

[Marillac]

Too much drama surrounding this program. We were actually given a good path to return to a sweet sixteen if we had our full squad.

What's worse how much drama this season and seasons before have contained or the fact that Lavin has done so terrible recruiting that when one player gets suspended our entire front court has now vanished before our eyes. Sad.

He's done such a horrible job that the two 6'9 guys that had eligibility to play this weekend are playing in the NBA.

And he stopped bringing in players why. Self has 8 guys who can play so he backs of recruiting. They then leave early for the NBA and mighty Kansas is left with no players. This story never happened because it never would to a coach who knows his job. I will ask again, why did Steve stop recruiting, leaving us shot players and possibility of the secreat walk on hustle.

Comparing St. John's to Kansas is unfair as comparing your gf/wife to that ridiculous blonde from The Wolf of Wall Street.

 

[Class of 72]

St. John's is like one of my children. No amount of disappointment will make me stop loving it. And no matter what, I would never disparage one of my children to someone else. Unconditional love.

But how much misery can people take before saying enough is enough, and to much bs happened while under lavins watch. I can't take it anymore.
If Lavin returns then I'm gone. lol I know many will tell me adios, and I'll say "yeah, enjoy being disappointed every year as long as Lavin is here."

Want to say oh Lavin has 2 guys in the NBA? Well where's the replacements? Want to say it's not Lavins fault that Chris smoked? It still happened under his watch, take responsility as coach for your players actions, you recruited him.

We need change.

Just curious did you feel the same way about Mike Jarvis? There are a few sociopathic fans here that still think he should not have been fired and none of what his players did....drugs, arrests, assault, etc. were his fault. Why even after the fall guy implicated Jarvis in illegal payments to Abe Keita he still denied it. St. John's under Jarvis has the distinction of being categorized in a group sports historians call COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S MOST INFAMOUS VACATED WINS TEAMS. Do you see any similarity whatsoever?
Complain about his recruiting letdown last year and question his x and o deficiency but none of these kids did anything even approaching the egregious acts of Jarvis and his players but yet his most ardent supporters who still kiss his ring for personal favors see Lavin as a despicable human being.
I have said here and in pms to fellow fans...I support any coach at St. John's if Lavin is fired but if the replacement is not a "home run" they will not see another $ from me outside of 2 game tickets. If Lavin stays he better hit the recruiting trail or just resign. I will never settle for the Steve Masiello's of the world and I don't given a crap about how many high school games control freak Hurley Sr. won his sons have never shown any interest in associating with St. John's and except for that one player Jarvis recruited from St. Anthony's who turned out to be a horn dog, not one player was ever sent our way by Sr. or Danny while at St Benedict's. I trust they will have any long term loyalty to St. John's.
Just my gut feeling.

 

[redfan259999888]

St. John's is like one of my children. No amount of disappointment will make me stop loving it. And no matter what, I would never disparage one of my children to someone else. Unconditional love.

But how much misery can people take before saying enough is enough, and to much bs happened while under lavins watch. I can't take it anymore.
If Lavin returns then I'm gone. lol I know many will tell me adios, and I'll say "yeah, enjoy being disappointed every year as long as Lavin is here."

Want to say oh Lavin has 2 guys in the NBA? Well where's the replacements? Want to say it's not Lavins fault that Chris smoked? It still happened under his watch, take responsility as coach for your players actions, you recruited him.

We need change.

Just curious did you feel the same way about Mike Jarvis? There are a few sociopathic fans here that still think he should not have been fired and none of what his players did....drugs, arrests, assault, etc. were his fault. Why even after the fall guy implicated Jarvis in illegal payments to Abe Keita he still denied it. St. John's under Jarvis has the distinction of being categorized in a group sports historians call COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S MOST INFAMOUS VACATED WINS TEAMS. Do you see any similarity whatsoever?
Complain about his recruiting letdown last year and question his x and o deficiency but none of these kids did anything even approaching the egregious acts of Jarvis and his players but yet his most ardent supporters who still kiss his ring for personal favors see Lavin as a despicable human being.
I have said here and in pms to fellow fans...I support any coach at St. John's if Lavin is fired but if the replacement is not a "home run" they will not see another $ from me outside of 2 game tickets. If Lavin stays he better hit the recruiting trail or just resign. I will never settle for the Steve Masiello's of the world and I don't given a crap about how many high school games control freak Hurley Sr. won his sons have never shown any interest in associating with St. John's and except for that one player Jarvis recruited from St. Anthony's who turned out to be a horn dog, not one player was ever sent our way by Sr. or Danny while at St Benedict's. I trust they will have any long term loyalty to St. John's.
Just my gut feeling.

Jarvis was a shithead. Stopped going after the AAU kids and nyc hs ballers, and just went after jucos. The kids went to a strip joint and that was the lowest point in school history, and they paid Abe Keita, but why him? Atleast pay someone like a Carmelo Anthony (who won a nc at Syracuse all by himself.), Keita sucked.
Jarvis called SJU to offer his services, as did Lavin. Next time IF SOMEONE CALLS TO COACH US, TURN HIM DOWN IN A SECOND.

 

[NYCRedmen]

Still on the fence about going, but I now have until Thursday to cancel my hotel reservation in Charlotte.

 

[SJUalum98]

Too much drama surrounding this program. We were actually given a good path to return to a sweet sixteen if we had our full squad.

What's worse how much drama this season and seasons before have contained or the fact that Lavin has done so terrible recruiting that when one player gets suspended our entire front court has now vanished before our eyes. Sad.

He's done such a horrible job that the two 6'9 guys that had eligibility to play this weekend are playing in the NBA.

So moe left what 3 years ago and I'm not allowed to blame Lavin for not filling the roster spot by now? Lol. I really hate obekpa for what he did but these circumstances once again reveal how bad this roster has been put together. We made the tournament and that's great. I think we have a shot at SDSU. But I personally want Lavin gone. It's just my preference at this point. Don't get mad at me or try to act like I'm less of a fan than you because I don't like the way things have gone under the coach, but I just personally would like a change because under Lavin there's always drama, and I finally thought we had overcome it all and could enjoy the tourney feeling good about our team and this program sneaks in more drama hours before the selection show. I'm so done with him.

I said no such thing, Jack. I think you are a great fan and I honestly feel bad that you have to go through this. At your age, I at least had the great 98-00 team to look forward to in a few years.

People just don't realize how barren the cupboard was for Lavin. It is absolutely unprecedented in Big East history and those NBA defections and no-fault transfers kill you when you don't have junior and senior role players to take the sting away. If Amar was a senior right now, we'd be looking at a very realistic chance at an Elite 8. Look at what is after DUKE!!!!! Get past Duke, and a Final Four isn't out of the question.

This is by far the biggest cop out I've ever read on this site.

I'll shut up about the staff and administration until after the season and just support the team.

But that was laid on thick. Enjoy.

 

[TonyinFairfield]

Still on the fence about going, but I now have until Thursday to cancel my hotel reservation in Charlotte.

Same here. I booked a room at a Residence Inn about 6 miles from the arena, so I've also booked a rental car. Have until Thursday to cancel that too. If I find out today that my son can go with me, then I'm definitely in and will book my plane tickets today.

 

[fun]

Too much drama surrounding this program. We were actually given a good path to return to a sweet sixteen if we had our full squad.

What's worse how much drama this season and seasons before have contained or the fact that Lavin has done so terrible recruiting that when one player gets suspended our entire front court has now vanished before our eyes. Sad.

He's done such a horrible job that the two 6'9 guys that had eligibility to play this weekend are playing in the NBA.

So moe left what 3 years ago and I'm not allowed to blame Lavin for not filling the roster spot by now? Lol. I really hate obekpa for what he did but these circumstances once again reveal how bad this roster has been put together. We made the tournament and that's great. I think we have a shot at SDSU. But I personally want Lavin gone. It's just my preference at this point. Don't get mad at me or try to act like I'm less of a fan than you because I don't like the way things have gone under the coach, but I just personally would like a change because under Lavin there's always drama, and I finally thought we had overcome it all and could enjoy the tourney feeling good about our team and this program sneaks in more drama hours before the selection show. I'm so done with him.

I said no such thing, Jack. I think you are a great fan and I honestly feel bad that you have to go through this. At your age, I at least had the great 98-00 team to look forward to in a few years.

People just don't realize how barren the cupboard was for Lavin. It is absolutely unprecedented in Big East history and those NBA defections and no-fault transfers kill you when you don't have junior and senior role players to take the sting away. If Amar was a senior right now, we'd be looking at a very realistic chance at an Elite 8. Look at what is after DUKE!!!!! Get past Duke, and a Final Four isn't out of the question.

 

[paultzman]

I just saw interviews on the news with Phil and Dlo and saw how excited they were.

If it's that important to them then it's that important to me.

I'm still angry but I'm glad we changed our minds

Who knows. Backs to the wall maybe the seniors steal a game. That's about all I can ask for

SDSU is not a great team, so SJU can certainly win one. They have big edge on boards, but our guard play is potentially better. Reunion for Dee & his AAU buddy, Winston Shephard. Enjoy it Mike!

 

[logen]

Congrats to the seniors D'LO,Phil,Dom and Branch.

Just because I'm angry because of this suspension thing doesn't mean I'm not real happy for those 4 especially. Kids worked hard and I appreciate everything they have done for the program

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. 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.

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.

Mostly because Jay Wright has not commandeered a program that has been cluttered with non-basketball drama, incidents, suspensions, ineligibilities, never ending changing starting line-ups that defy explanation, etc. Comparing Lavin to Jay Wright is about the lowest dig you could give Jay Wright.

 

[logen]

Congrats to the seniors D'LO,Phil,Dom and Branch.

Just because I'm angry because of this suspension thing doesn't mean I'm not real happy for those 4 especially. Kids worked hard and I appreciate everything they have done for the program

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. 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.

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.

Beast, Jay has a full roster. I'm not biased against our coach. I'm pissed our roster is so thin that the loss of CO is devastating. Where are the players? This is year 5.

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.

Utter nonsense and I am tired of the ridiculous rationizations defending this guy. He recruited players with NBA potential and then stopped recruiting for a couple of years; and every coach with half a brain knows coaching at this level means recruiting is a 365 day a year job EVERY DAY EVERY YEAR. Did you see redmannorth's post about Calapari's pipeline to Canada? I hate Calapari but you would have to be a fool to not admire what he is doing. He and his staff work and even if he has the advantage of under the table perks he is still out there WORKING. You don't have the time, energy, integrity to earn your money than don't take the job! We all applauded the level of player Lavin got his first year and rightfully so. There were posts on this board about Harkless leaving after his freshman year midway through the season and now FOUR years later not replacing him is offered as a viable reason for our lack of size and depth? Give me a break and stop insulting your own and our intelligence! Harkless and Sampson leaving HAS NOTHING to do with the state of the program. Lavin's laziness and refusal to roll up his sleeves is the reason we are in the place we are, nothing else. And if the university president can't see that then SJU is getting exactly what they deserve.

 

[logen]

As a follow-up to my above diatribe I agree with mjmaher's sentiment on this thread and while I will not be in Carolina I will be watching and rootong like hell.

 

[paultzman]

P

As a follow-up to my above diatribe I agree with mjmaher's sentiment on this thread and while I will not be in Carolina I will be watching and rootong like hell.

Can appreciate your frustration, which I share to a certain degree. That said, I enjoy your posts, recognize you are clearly a SJU fan, know the game & give you credit for having balls to express your convictions. I would never lump you in with a few guys who really could care less about SJU success.

 

[sirvoo]

I've had 18 hours to digest this and will give my analysis...

chris obekpa tested positive for pot
and ended up swatting the last second shot
but of course it wasn't in the final four
something that would go down in redmen lore
it was his coach's last attempt
to deflect our contempt

to chris we say goodbye
looking back you were probably always high
a bit of relief from this shitty luck
is all that can stop us from feeling fu&*ed

 

[logen]

P

As a follow-up to my above diatribe I agree with mjmaher's sentiment on this thread and while I will not be in Carolina I will be watching and rootong like hell.

Can appreciate your frustration, which I share to a certain degree. That said, I enjoy your posts, recognize you are clearly a SJU fan, know the game & give you credit for having balls to express your convictions. I would never lump you in with a few guys who really could care less about SJU success.

Thank you, I appreciate that. I AM a big time SJU fan for a long time and have no agenda other than to see SJU succeed.