Bobby Hurley

[quote="Beast of the East" post=339143][quote="SJU1512" post=339141]I have no idea if Bobby Hurley is the best candidate SJU can get or if SJU can afford him.

But if it ends up being Bobby, what is it exactly that would make folks anything other than ecstatic that he would consider coming to SJU? You could argue he has a better job right now, and there is almost no question he will have an opportunity to get a better job.

We aren't North Carolina or even North Carolina State. Have to be realistic - upside of owning the biggest sports media market in the country like a pro team notwithstanding, which I think is a real consideration for the right coach - about what this job is.

We are fortunate there seems to even be real conversation about Bobby Hurley, and that the ship hasn't sailed after we passed on him and his brother 4 years ago when we would have been more attractive in their respective career arcs. Danny has definitely passed this job by, and my guess is it's more peripheral factors - not just money or the quality of the job - that has us in the running for Danny.

Bobby's father is arguably the best high school coach of all time. Their network is a NY Metro one. He played for the best college basketball program in the country and thus knows how a real program is run. His pro career was tragically cut short so you get the sense, in addition to being a competitive maniac by nature, that succeeding in coaching matters to him. He and his brother took over a Wagner team that the year prior was 5-26 and in their second year went 25-6. Wagner! Bobby took over a Buffalo team that was 14-20 the year before he got there and had never been to an NCAAT, went 19-10 in year 1 and made the NCAAT in year 2. Arizona State had made the NCAAT 3 times in the prior 20 years and hadn't made it in consecutive years since the 1979 - 1981 seasons. Bobby made it twice and back to back within 4 years.

Was I blown away by his in game coaching in the 2 H2H matchups we had against them the last 2 years? No. But he won both of those games comfortably. I would trade where ASU's program is under him going into Year 5 for where SJU is currently in an instant.

Again hope SJU gets the best candidate available, and have no idea if that's Bobby. But if it is this program is incredibly lucky to be in a position where it can land a guy like this.[/quote]

Just a note, when Cluess coached at St. Mary's, for a period of time they were ranked the #1 team in the country, and he was in the top ten for a number of years. Playing and coaching are two different things, as we have just learned (the hard way)[/quote]

Agree completely, which is why I think despite all the other factors, the emphasis is not just on Bobby's 9 years of experience at 3 vastly different programs, but the fact that the success has been borderline astronomical relative to where each of those programs was for much of their history. The fact that the last of these is at a high-major is key also.
 
[quote="otis" post=339144]The Honorable Mike Cragg would not have set the dominos in motion by firing Coach Mullin unless he had a plan, a back up plan, and a back up plan to his back up plan.

Mullins firing was not impulsive as occurred when "Suites" Harrington fired Jarvis in early season. Craig puled the trigger after receiving financial commitments and speaking behind the scenes with agent and representatives of one or more coaches.

(With absolutely no inside information whatsoever) I expect an announcement as to who the new St. John's mens basketball coach will be before close of business Monday Ap 15th Think Coach K's coaching tree.[/quote]

Is Mike Cragg a judge? Also, why "Suites"?
 
[quote="mkras99" post=339178][quote="otis" post=339144]The Honorable Mike Cragg would not have set the dominos in motion by firing Coach Mullin unless he had a plan, a back up plan, and a back up plan to his back up plan.

Mullins firing was not impulsive as occurred when "Suites" Harrington fired Jarvis in early season. Craig puled the trigger after receiving financial commitments and speaking behind the scenes with agent and representatives of one or more coaches.

(With absolutely no inside information whatsoever) I expect an announcement as to who the new St. John's mens basketball coach will be before close of business Monday Ap 15th Think Coach K's coaching tree.[/quote]

Is Mike Cragg a judge? Also, why "Suites"?[/quote]. If Cragg is committed to a Dukie , regardless of Hurley , who is on that list ? Dawkins had a great year with UCF , Amaker ? Collins ? Wojo is not available . And , remember too, Quinn Snyder was a Dukie too and kind of did bad things when Coaching at Missouri . Cragg was there when Snyder was there . Just saying , the Duke tree isn’t as pure as the driven snow ., Scheyer is too young and inexperienced right now .,
 
[quote="SLYFOXX1968" post=339219][quote="mkras99" post=339178][quote="otis" post=339144]The Honorable Mike Cragg would not have set the dominos in motion by firing Coach Mullin unless he had a plan, a back up plan, and a back up plan to his back up plan.

Mullins firing was not impulsive as occurred when "Suites" Harrington fired Jarvis in early season. Craig puled the trigger after receiving financial commitments and speaking behind the scenes with agent and representatives of one or more coaches.

(With absolutely no inside information whatsoever) I expect an announcement as to who the new St. John's mens basketball coach will be before close of business Monday Ap 15th Think Coach K's coaching tree.[/quote]

Is Mike Cragg a judge? Also, why "Suites"?[/quote]. If Cragg is committed to a Dukie , regardless of Hurley , who is on that list ? Dawkins had a great year with UCF , Amaker ? Collins ? Wojo is not available . And , remember too, Quinn Snyder was a Dukie too and kind of did bad things when Coaching at Missouri . Cragg was there when Snyder was there . Just saying , the Duke tree isn’t as pure as the driven snow ., Scheyer is too young and inexperienced right now .,[/quote]

I find it hard to believe Cragg is married to the idea of hiring only Duke guys. Some of these names are vomit-inducing. Scheyer? On what planet is Scheyer the guy to lead us out of this hole?

If Hurley is not signed then Cragg was played for a raise. It’s that simple. If Hurley is signed then we are an immediate force, we will own the press for a few weeks, and the inertia will be tough to stop. Cragg will be a hero.
 
[quote="otis" post=339144]The Honorable Mike Cragg would not have set the dominos in motion by firing Coach Mullin unless he had a plan, a back up plan, and a back up plan to his back up plan.

Mullins firing was not impulsive as occurred when "Suites" Harrington fired Jarvis in early season. Craig puled the trigger after receiving financial commitments and speaking behind the scenes with agent and representatives of one or more coaches.

(With absolutely no inside information whatsoever) I expect an announcement as to who the new St. John's mens basketball coach will be before close of business Monday Ap 15th Think Coach K's coaching tree.[/quote]

Lets hold off on the praise for the "Honorable" Mike Cragg. He has done nothing meaningful yet with this basketball program.

And I would like to see him get this hiring right after 27 years of poor decisions before the roses and congrats start flowing to Utopia and Union for him
 
[quote="Marillac" post=339224][quote="SLYFOXX1968" post=339219][quote="mkras99" post=339178][quote="otis" post=339144]The Honorable Mike Cragg would not have set the dominos in motion by firing Coach Mullin unless he had a plan, a back up plan, and a back up plan to his back up plan.

Mullins firing was not impulsive as occurred when "Suites" Harrington fired Jarvis in early season. Craig puled the trigger after receiving financial commitments and speaking behind the scenes with agent and representatives of one or more coaches.

(With absolutely no inside information whatsoever) I expect an announcement as to who the new St. John's mens basketball coach will be before close of business Monday Ap 15th Think Coach K's coaching tree.[/quote]

Is Mike Cragg a judge? Also, why "Suites"?[/quote]. If Cragg is committed to a Dukie , regardless of Hurley , who is on that list ? Dawkins had a great year with UCF , Amaker ? Collins ? Wojo is not available . And , remember too, Quinn Snyder was a Dukie too and kind of did bad things when Coaching at Missouri . Cragg was there when Snyder was there . Just saying , the Duke tree isn’t as pure as the driven snow ., Scheyer is too young and inexperienced right now .,[/quote]

I find it hard to believe Cragg is married to the idea of hiring only Duke guys. Some of these names are vomit-inducing. Scheyer? On what planet is Scheyer the guy to lead us out of this hole?

If Hurley is not signed then Cragg was played for a raise. It’s that simple. If Hurley is signed then we are an immediate force, we will own the press for a few weeks, and the inertia will be tough to stop. Cragg will be a hero.[/quote]. If you read closely , no one is advocating Scheyer . The words are too young and inexperienced . But, he is a Coach K Assistant .
 
[quote="Marillac" post=339224]

If Hurley is not signed then Cragg was played for a raise. It’s that simple. If Hurley is signed then we are an immediate force, we will own the press for a few weeks, and the inertia will be tough to stop. Cragg will be a hero.[/quote]

Agree. Think Cragg will do a good job here, but it's his first time through a men's basketball head coaching change so let's see.

All he's done thus far is likely the easy part - moving on from the current coach, and didn't do so particularly cleanly.

To do that without a clear replacement lined up would not be optimal. That process still needs a little bit of time to play itself out, but not much. So we should know shortly.

If for some reason we get burned on the initial target after all this that would not be a great look for Cragg, but it happens. If so agree with others who have noted we should not just go right to another offer. Would rather be patient and conduct truly robust search nationally, even if it means completely flushing next season. Think that's how critical this hire is for the program long term.

Hoping that's not the case and we are celebrating the Cragg hire before week end.
 
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[quote="Beast of the East" post=339140][quote="Moose" post=339135][quote="Beast of the East" post=339133][quote="we are sju" post=339128][quote="Paultzman" post=339123][quote="we are sju" post=339118]My hope is Hurley name getting floated out there to appease the fans and alumni that want a flashy name. This also helps out Hurley who maybe gets more $ out of ASU. Then hopefully ST John's for once can make a sound basketball decision that fits what ST John's should be trying to do going forward. But since we are ST John's …….[/quote]
Your suggested guys to consider?[/quote

I know most the name everyone wants but I do think Cluess makes most sense for the program.
Listen if Hurley gets the job I will root for the team and give him as much time as everyone gave Mullin/ LOL No will give him more than a year.
Hurley too volatile and not sure what on his coaching resume makes him this can't miss candidate. From what I understand did not get any 5 star guys and when I have watched ASU I never said damn I wish ST John's played that way.
Again if he is the guy I will hope for the best but my prediction is it ends badly in a Fran kind of way or he does well and moves on.
Mullin didn't work out and either did Lavin. The program took a shot, now lets go in other direction and bring in a coach that will try to build something and has had experience doing just that.
Though again sign me up for Pitino[/quote]

The commitment to Hurley would likely be in the 6 year $18 million range, maybe a little less. It would be all guaranteed, considering we fire a coach every 4 to 6 years.

Cluess could cost as little as 6 years $4.5 million, or a contract that starts at 750 and escalates to $1 million by year 3 or 4.

For the money, Cluess would appear to be a much better value. At the same salary, I'd go for Hurley, although with a lot of success he would definitely be a flight risk. This would be Cluess' only desire and he could be here for the next 10-12 years.[/quote]

You know Cluess it seems on some level directly or indirectly. Any truth the rumors of the rift with Lou that only recently seemed to pop up. For years it was just that he left SJU but now it seems chatter about a rift.[/quote]

In any conversation with him he has never mentioned any animosity towards St. John's or Lou. In fact I know for a fact that he reads or read this site, and has remained at the very least highly interested in our program and at most a big fan. To be clear, I'm not in recent touch with him, but would add that knowing him personally he is really a great person - not just saying that. He is a very straight and direct shooter, extremely respectful, and will ask your opinions about basketball, not just espouse his.

I don't know what the fallout was or if there was a fallout out. He never got any opportunity to play here. He speaks about a knee injury hampering him, and maybe he was upset at not getting a chance to perform on the court here - I don't know.[/quote]

So, a day later but not a $ closer, hey?!?
I favor Bobby Hurley as our next coach because of his solid trajectory as a HC, his work ethic, recruiting skills, and Jersey/NY Metro ties, but my biggest worry is the 'timeline' we have to stop our roster leaks, repair it, and ideally, add to it in the Spring signing period.
The longer we go without a HC, the worse our outlook becomes both for next year and afterwards. Hiring a HC too late this Spring may bring us back to the realities of rebuilding an empty roster like Mullin had to do in years 1 - 2 and the resulting flood in roster departures as guys were recruited over, left, and the over-reliance on the transfer market that heightened the instability of our program.
That's a nightmare I'd like to not revisit.
So, I ask 'who' beyond Hurley do we have on the screen and 'how long' before he would be inked and on the job?
Because if it'll take 1 - 2 months, I say go with the local 'Plan C' favorite...Tim Cluess, who bleeds Redmen-red and is a damned good coach--albeit at a lower level of college hoops, but with a work ethic and solid player development skills that are undeniable.
Gotta be able to drink and handle a bottle of beer before you can drink and handle a bottle of Jack.
Go with the 'best' we have in hand and build it.
They'll come.
 
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[quote="SeattleJohnny" post=339244]https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1116010555515506688

Not sure if this has anything to do with maybe Bobby leaving, but thought it was worth noting[/quote]

No idea but has a shot at being a late first round pick although second round seems more likely. Says he is all in.
 
If I had $3 million to spend on a HC, I don't think I'd spend it here. WE will see though. I won't be upset if we make the hire. Pretty sure Hurley would have to drink Repole's energy drinks on the sidelines till his bladder burst if Mikey is footing the bill.
 
[quote="SeattleJohnny" post=339244]https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1116010555515506688

Not sure if this has anything to do with maybe Bobby leaving, but thought it was worth noting[/quote]

I'm seeing article from April 3rd he declared?
 
If “Bobby H wants to come home” theory does not hold water, in a sparse market we’ll all have to lower expectations I suspect. SJU is not a dream destination and very tough job to boot.
Pitino seems folly to me, but maybe I am missing something. Does Cragg take safe choice in Cluess or a riskier one with a rising coach. I do agree that everything should not be considered through Duke prism btw, but MC may be so inclined.
 
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[quote="Moose" post=339258][quote="SeattleJohnny" post=339244]https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1116010555515506688

Not sure if this has anything to do with maybe Bobby leaving, but thought it was worth noting[/quote]

I'm seeing article from April 3rd he declared?[/quote]

I believe this is new news. Appears that the media is just now starting to cover it, such as AZcentral (who has been on top of the Hurley situation).

Anyways, could mean nothing but I see it as a positive sign. If he announced he was coming back then that would have been a bad sign.
 
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If losing one point guard to the draft was enough to make Hurley run away from his current job, then what would that say about his ability to maintain a balanced roster? Would tell me he's not worth $3 million a year.

That said, he may very well be staying put.
 
[quote="Adam" post=339261][quote="Moose" post=339258][quote="SeattleJohnny" post=339244]https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1116010555515506688

Not sure if this has anything to do with maybe Bobby leaving, but thought it was worth noting[/quote]

I'm seeing article from April 3rd he declared?[/quote]

I believe this is new news. Appears that the media is just now starting to cover it, such as AZcentral (who has been on top of the Hurley situation).

Anyways, could mean nothing but I see it as a positive sign. If he announced he was coming back then that would have been a bad sign.[/quote]

I just meant I remember this from a few days back

https://247sports.com/college/arizo...entz-Dort-NBA-Draft-ASU-basketball-130829689/
 
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