Let me begin by saying that I have no inside knowledge, and I do not know any of the parties involved personally - not Mullin, Cragg, Cluess, Pitino - none of them. So this is just the opinion of one long-time Johnnies fan (I've been a fan since I was in HS and first watched almost those great Mullin/Berry/Wennington teams).
I feel badly Mullin had to go, and like almost everyone I wanted so badly for him to be a great coach here. I thought Lavin was never going to get us much past where he was his last few years - 20 or so wins, on one side or other of the bubble. Never bad teams, but never very good teams either. So we took a chance on the Crown Prince of St. John's basketball, betting that his HoF status, his NYC hoops legend, and legendary work ethic would get us where we all want to go. And what did we get when we finally had his most talented team with all his own players? Basically a Lavin season - 21-13, barely sneak into the Dance and then an early exit. Mullin simply saw the job differently than the way most coaches see it - and his delegating, NBA style is not conducive to the current college game.
Personally, I love the idea of Tim Cluess as the next coach.
1. He's a NY hoops lifer. He lives and breathes NYC basketball. Mullin has some of that as well, but he'd been away so long, his local ties were mostly by reputation only. Cluess knows the locals - and they know him.
2. He's already a successful head coach. Records don't lie - this guy knows what he's doing. And for those of us on this board who talk about the MAAC like it's Division III, ask Providence how they like Ed Cooley, and ask Iowa how they like Fran McCaffrey? We all think the Hall has the right coach - and where did Willard come from? How many times have those former MAAC coaches been to the Dance?
3. Most importantly, HE WANTS TO COACH HERE. This isn't going to be Fran who was looking for his next job from Day One he stepped on campus. It's not Jarvis, who always had an eye out for his next gig. Every coach says that their current job is their "dream job" and most of them are lying. But with Cluess don't you get the sense that this actually will be his dream job?
4. His teams plays an exciting brand of basketball. His players get up and down the floor, they cut and move the ball, and they score points. Today's players love that style of play. His lack of emphasis on defense will bother me sometimes, but I'll get over it. Do you know who else plays that exact style? Roy Williams at Carolina. When was the last time you watched Carolina and came away thinking, boy that's a great defensive team? Let me guess... Never. It appears Tar Heel fans have learned to live with it.
Given everything going on with his program, I say hire Tim Cluess today, get him two good assistants who will recruit their asses off for him, and let this man do his job.