Big East Coach of the Year
- Thread starter salty dog
- Start date
As much as I'd love to see Lavin get it, I agree with you.
Class of 72
Active member
Jay Wright gets my vote. Chris Holtmann next.
I am sure a few fans on this site would pick Lavin. Ricky Smith, Avon, JohnnyFan, Lawman, etc. but Lavin is a distant 3rd unless he wins the next 5 games including the Big East tourney.
Even then the Maven wants him fired because he doesn't attend Sunday Mass.
Well, that's one less reporter I need to bother listening too. Completely discredited in my mind.
Lavin has arguably the most talent in the conference and has his team in 5th place. On what planet does that equate to Coach of the Year accolades? Absolutely ridiculous to even mention his name in the conversation. He's lucky if he retains his job.
Jay Wright gets my vote. Chris Holtmann next.
I am sure a few fans on this site would pick Lavin. Ricky Smith, Avon, JohnnyFan, Lawman, etc. but Lavin is a distant 3rd unless he wins the next 5 games including the Big East tourney.
Even then the Maven wants him fired because he doesn't attend Sunday Mass.
I should come clean and disclose that I agree with Desco and deduct points for no tie.
beast of the east
Active member
About a week ago, I stated that Lavin should be in the discussion for Coach of the Year - not to actually win coach of the year but to be part of the dialogue of guys who have done a good job.
your argument confounds me - We have good talent 1-5, but you and a lot of others rightfully argued that we have absolutely a weak bench and that should be on Lavin. So now we are 9-7 and we have the most talented team in the league?
What you fail to realize is that with a team with no power forward, no credible backups on the front line, a team that has started five guards when Obekpa doesn't start, should somehow be in position to go to the NCAA tournament.
He did this by playing an uptempo game, pushing the ball in transition, taught our guys to play team defense, taught them to find the open man on offense and be patient, and offset the rebound gap by creating a team that causes turnovers and has a terrific margin in steals.
Throw in the fact that everyone in the playing rotation has improved measurably since they first stepped foot on the court at SJU and I don't remember any coach who has accomplished that ever here.
So dislike all you want, but Lavin has this squad playing about as well as can be expected given their talent.
I really do agree on this beast.
Our bench was a problem from day one that everyone complained about, including me. Rightfully so as well, the 2014 class wasn't great and it showed with how small the bench is.
Blame Lavin for that 2014 class, he deserves the blame, but don't come on here and say "Oh we are only in fifth place with most talented team in the big east"
Get. That. BS. Outta. Here.
Obekpa and Jordan were both question marks coming into the season. Sure there was an issue with Jordan at one point this year but here we are in march and Lavin has both of them playing within our team concept.
I guess some will just continue to pretend the staff and Lav deserves no credit for the improvement of pointer, Phil, and yes, DLo.
Also, Lavin has found minutes for Amar and Felix, and even though Felix was god awful yesterday, the point is, our starters don't seem as tired anymore. We looked gassed in mid January, and I don't know what Lavin did, but these guys look fresh for 40 minutes now.
I remain neutral on extending our coach. The 2013-14 season and the 2014 class annoy me and they are failures. But no one can claim Lavin hasn't done a good job this year. Like him or not the credit must be given if you posters claim you are not agenda driven and just "realists". What we do in the tournament and the 2015 class will waver my neutrality on whether or not Lav deserves an extension but I have warmed up to the thought of it because of this year I will say that.
BE COY or not, the slick Steve Lavin has done a good job this year.
Take out the fact that his recruiting strategy (lack of one? lack of effort?) screwed us and Beast you are correct. In terms of doing more with less, yes. The fact that he's responsible for the "less" is another matter.
Without the losses to Creighton and DePaul I think he'd be in the discussion legitimately. But where we are you hit it.
Without the losses to Creighton and DePaul I think he'd be in the discussion legitimately. But where we are you hit it.
beast of the east
Active member
Agree with you Red. It's the guy who does the best job coaching. Calipari may go undefeated with his squad but if it was split down the middle he'd likely have two top ten teams. It's hard to say he's done the best job coaching because the award isn't about who has the best team or record but who has done the most with what he's had to work with.
Aside from a thin roster we've had adversity. A number of people here at different points in the season said they wanted no part of Obekpa or Jordan next season, and right now both are key components of our success. Aside from what has been stated before that is also to Lavin's credit. The wheels could have fallen off this season.
He's lucky if he retains his job? Are you kidding me? See, here's where you lose all credibility. He may not get an extension, but he will certainly retain his job for at least the next year.
It absolutely astounds me how you guys are able to take every positive experience and turn it into a negative.
I don't agree with a lot of what you write, but I've always thought you were one of the more level headed posters who were critical of Lavin. But you just proved that you're not. And please, spare me the fallacy that you root for the guys to win but you don't like Lavin.
beast of the east
Active member
Who I really feel sorry are guys who are proclaiming they are enjoying this season but have bitched during bad and now good times. If this is their idea of enjoying themselves, I can't imagine what it's like to be around them in person.
For my part, as an ardent fan I always want more, all the way up to a championship, but this season has been immensely enjoyable in the aggregate, worth every penny of a season ticket. The guys are playing team ball - the way it's meant to be played, they are extremely likable guys, and fought back from adversity. I've got no complaints that override the upside.
For my part, as an ardent fan I always want more, all the way up to a championship, but this season has been immensely enjoyable in the aggregate, worth every penny of a season ticket. The guys are playing team ball - the way it's meant to be played, they are extremely likable guys, and fought back from adversity. I've got no complaints that override the upside.
I totally agree with the part that some posters are not being honest when they say that they root for the team to win. With the amount of animosity directed towards Lavin and the stated desire to have a new coach, they can't possibly be rooting for the team to win. This goes against their stated agenda.
You can root for the team and be frustrated that we don't have a decent reserve core because our 2014 recruiting class was a disaster. We are well into the 2015 reporting period and are again on shaky ground given that we have to replace four key players. The two are mutually exclusive.