Nice hire by USF.
Also, does Mary Lavin actually appear in anything? I've heard this before, that he might move to LA for her acting career.
Not that this matters, but it seems to me that their household follows the direction Steve's career takes, and not the other way around. If one person makes over a million, and the other is an extra in a sitcom every other year, seems like they would go where Steve's coaching or broadcasting dictates. but that's just my opinion.
Didn't you want Orlando here? Also, aren't you a Mets fan with an Orioles avatar?
1) Yes, I think he would've fit the bill of a hungry young coach with ties to NYC. Also known by everyone on the AAU circuit from recruriting the John Walls and Anthony Davises.
2)
Former Mets fan. I renounced that organization because I feel the Wilpons engaged in a fraud by knowingly accepting out-sized returns from Madoff while back loading their players' contracts to the most extreme extent possible. And then they lied about it. So, I can't in good faith spend money at Citifield anymore.
I looked around and knew I couldn't root for the Yankees or Phillies, Boston fans annoy me, so Baltimore was the next closest team and they don't regularly play against the Mets. Hence, I'm a O's fan now.
1) I am sure someone rattle off the names Norm recruited for big schools. Doesn't = big coach
2) My brother who is an SJU grad/MBA/law degree all from SJU working at Davis Polk in Wilpons defense honestly believes they didn't know. He's a good a man I know. That is enough from me.
The thing I would say about comparing Norm to any other high profile assistant, is that they aren't all alike. And in Antigua's case, you can question how much credit he should get for the recruiting success, but what he's done with Calipari is unprecedented. Norm may have signed two or three McD AA at Kansas, the UK coaching staff brings in 5+ a year. So I think OA has far more experience in recruiting top notch talent, not to mention he also learned from Dixon and Slice back in his Pitt days.
As for the Mets, I respect your brother, but I know from experience that sometimes you get a case of tunnel vision when you have to advocate for a client day in and day out. Plus, truthfully, you only know as much as your client tells you. Right?
Either way, he's privy to more info than we are, but at the end of the day I can't reconcile how anyone can take Bobby Bonnilla's contract, worth $5.something mil and tell him "Bobby, defer getting paid for a couple of years and we'll pay you $1.2m a year for the next 25 years". They owed him $5mil and preferred to delay it and pay him $29mil?? Either the Wilpons deferred everyone's payday because they knew they'd get a 40% return in the meantime, or they are simply the dumbest men on the planet. Also, it's interesting they were so close personally with the Madoffs, and somehow the Mets were net winners in a ponzi scheme, while most investors never even got their principal back. Long story short SI, I can't give the organization my money. We can talk about this more in another thread
To point one, recruiting for Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, UNC - the high profile perennially successful programs compared to recruiting for say, St John's, is like the difference between selling BMWs vs. Kia's. One brand sells itself, is prestigious to be a part of, and while not an automatic sell, brings in potential buyers that want to be a part of the very best traditions. Simply being recruited by a Kentucky or Kansas is prestigious in itself, something to brag about. In college recruiting, the head coach very often comes in to close the deal for the very best players, and less frequently does all the legwork.
In the case of Long Island's Willie Dersch, who played for Virginia about a dozen years ago, when it came time to make a decision, Bobby Knight, Coach K, and a few other finalists all showed up at his house. They weren't visible until then on a face to face basis. I'm presuming this is how most top notch programs work.
In Bonilla's case, I'm guessing that they did a future value analysis on a chunk of change, since it was deferred until he was 50. They have accountants and actuarials, so I am guessing the numbers worked. Unless of course, they were counting on Madoff inspired 20% returns.
