Coach Anderson

Jeff Borzello has a piece out on ESPN+ that's a scorecard for first-year coaches. He puts them into the following categories:

Overachieving (Juwan Howard, Mike Young, etc)
Jury is out (Eric Musselman, Mick Cronin, our very own Mike Anderson, etc)
Struggling (Hoiberg, Nate Oats, etc)
It's Going To Take Awhile (Mark Fox & Kyle Smith)

Here's the blurb on Coach Anderson...
Mike Anderson, St. John's Red Storm: Anderson had to remake most of the St. John's roster, but he brought back LJ Figueroa and Mustapha Heron, two of the best players in the Big East, and landed Cleveland State transfer Rasheem Dunn, who received a waiver to play immediately. There's some offensive talent on the roster. There have been some ups and downs with Anderson looking to completely change the system, but the Red Storm beat West Virginia at Madison Square Garden and have only two losses -- to Vermont and Arizona State. The Red Storm still might finish last in the Big East, but they're going to be competitive most nights.
 
My gut tells me we don't finish last, but ???

I agree we should be competitive most nights.

Anxious to see what Steere has to offer and ho9w that changes the dynamic.
 
I feel confident that St John's will have a winning record this season. 9-2 is a really good start.

Beyond that I have hopes of a NIT run this season.
 
Keep coaches winning seasons intact and make the NIT and I will call this year successful.
 
I guess it’s fair. His best work was getting LJ and MH to buy in. From where I sit (afar) it seems like both guys have bought in and are leaders. I will say one last thing, to those picking us to finish last, be careful. A huge positive to SJU is that they will scrap and play hard. They play like that they are not finishing last.

Out of curiosity I looked up Coach MA’s former team Arkansas and they are currently 8-1 under their new Coach Musselman. They just lost by 8 to Western Kentucky. Looks like they have a solid team and I assume some of their kids were recruited by MA. Wish them luck.
 
[quote="MainMan" post=367520]We're not finishing last.[/quote]. I am sure all of us share your Hope . But , who will be the doormat ? DePaul actually looks pretty strong so far . They have a sterling PG in Charlie Moore. And , Weems is a big talent . So , the Blue Demons might escape their traditional bottom status . It doesn’t appear that Providence has hit on all cylinders yet but , Cooley is a good Coach . Marquette may be beatable since they rise and fall on Howard and he isn’t going to score 50 every night . It’s going to be a dog fight every game this season . No one is going undefeated but , several teams could pretty much have the same records at season end . Tie breakers might decide the BE Winners and Tourney seeding .
 
We are already successful.
We got the best coach available.
He’s already kicked us up a notch with staff, recruiting, hard play. I could care less about our 2019-20 record. More important is the atmosphere and direction that Coach Mike Anderson is moving
SJU program into - a program that - as we know - has stagnated more years than not for several DECADES.
All the best
 
If you are looking for great insight, skip this post. I wanted to add my impressions of CMA.

I was struck by this comment in a recent Zach column: "A local high school coach who has been critical of St. John’s in the past texted me during the Arizona upset, “Coaching Matters.” What comes to mind for me on this inspired hire is "experienced", "professional", "solid", "focused" and "inspirational". Anyone who wouldn't want to play for Mike can go somewhere else with my blessing.

I am not going to trash the GOAT, but his shortcomings have been well documented. Lavin had "it" but with a flashy veneer and a lack of a blue collar essence that plays well in NY. Roberts had the right personal qualities and brought the program from the brink of disaster. but, unfortunately, didn't have the coaching chops. Fran had "it" but flew too close to the sun. Jarvis had "it" but got lazy and disinterested. Mahoney - see Roberts, Norm. Finally the right fit.

The season has evolved in a totally unpredictable, unexpected way and it is fun to root for SJ again.
 
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[quote="ctstorm" post=369196]If you are looking for great insight, skip this post. I wanted to add my impressions of CMA.

I was struck by this comment in a recent Zach column: "A local high school coach who has been critical of St. John’s in the past texted me during the Arizona upset, “Coaching Matters.” What comes to mind for me on this inspired hire is "experienced", "professional", "solid", "focused" and "inspirational". Anyone who wouldn't want to play for Mike can go somewhere else with my blessing.

I am not going to trash the GOAT, but his shortcomings have been well documented. Lavin had "it" but with a flashy veneer and a lack of a blue collar essence that plays well in NY. Roberts had the right personal qualities and brought the program from the brink of disaster. but, unfortunately, didn't have the coaching chops. Fran had "it" but flew too close to the sun. Jarvis had "it" but got lazy and disinterested. Mahoney - see Roberts, Norm. Finally the right fit.

The season has evolved in a totally unpredictable, unexpected way and it is fun to root for SJ again.[/quote]

So far I am elated with our play and apparent progress the program has made under CMA.

That said, it’s far too early to make pronouncements on the success of the CMA’s coaching tenure.

This season is early and I suspect we will be in for a few bumps. We should remain patient and judge CMA on his total body of work over the next several years.

No doubt, there is great cause for optimism.
 
The effort by the staff and the kids has been off the charts. The success on the court has been a huge surprise to even the most optimist of our fans. At the risk of beating a dead horse, CMA has instilled a culture of hard work and loyalty in the these kids, and had createD a family type of atmosphere around the program. You can see the admiration these kids have for him as both a coach and a person. In speaking on the phone yesterday with a couple of other poster/friends, we talked about how important it is that the kids respect/love their coach. It creates a far more stable program; one where kids may not be so quick to transfer out(IE Owens, etc). Stability is an important component of success. Thrilled so far with what I’ve see both on and off the court.
 
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