@Connecticut, Sat., Dec. 23, 8p, FOX

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Hardy said:
Who cares? A coach should be judged by the results on the court. Neither got it done but Lavin was much more successful here and we obviously would’ve been better off keeping him at the time (which isn’t just hindsight, many were against that decision).

I really don’t know how anyone can argue that 2 tourney appearances in 5 years (and another 2 NITs) at St. John’s didn’t deserve a paycheck. Look at the recent history of this program.
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I love people who waste their time replying to posts they don’t care about!! Kind of gives a bit of insight into how much their views should be taken seriously. Unlike you, I absolutely respect your right to your viewpoint though.
 
Beasts of the East said:
There is a great interview with Coach K on Max with Chris Wallace. He said he loved coaching and the games were no problem, but he started to dread all the prep work before games, watching tape, learning what other teams do and preparing to stop them, identifying weaknesses, etc. That's the reason he knew it was time to go.

It appears CRP still has that drive and work ethic. He's in great health and works out. He loves it all (coaching), says it's the only thing he really loves to do, but also knows he may not feel that way forever.

I would guess that Looie at 67, knew it was time. He could have been nudged, but likely not.
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I used to hang out in gym and “study” there v library a lot. One day, I hear Looie’s voice, “Hey kid, you ever meet a world champ” ? I looked up & Lou introduced me to then middleweight champ, Nino Benvenuti. As a boxing fan, that was cool and another example of LC’s incredible connections and popularity.

My other memory was waiting for a ride home to the Bronx from one of the players at CA and watching practice a lot. Lou could curse w the best of them and on one particular day really ripping Bobby McIntyre, the star lol These kind of things and seeing Tony Jackson team play with my dad as a kid have kept me hooked no matter how bad we are.
 
redmannorth said:
Mike to be fair they both suffered tragedies while coaching at SJU. Lavin’s dad died at 83 after living what seemed to be a very nice life. Mullins brother got sick in his 50s and passed away. Not comparing, as a loss of a family member is a loss, but it seems both suffered great tragedies while coaching at SJU.
Bottom line is many like myself believed the BS as we knew Mullin the player, having watched him play for 4 years, having watched him work out morning day and night 365 days a year, believed he had the keys to every gym in the city and would put the same effort into coaching as he did in playing. Fact is, and for whatever reason, he didn’t come close to putting in the effort required to succeed at SJU.
Lavin had zero ties to SJU, Chris had the greatest of ties, we believed he came home to make us great and not just to collect a large pay cheque. Chris’s lack of effort hurts much more than that of Lavin.
Sorry Carmine but that’s the way I see it.
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reading over the threads Those couple of lines said it best

I started Sju during Mullins junior year Wow what a time
the player our greatest ever. A legend

coach One of the greatest basketball minds is walking around and not in huddles. Etc……
 
paultzman said:
I used to hang out in gym and “study” there v library a lot. One day, I hear Looie’s voice, “Hey kid, you ever meet a world champ” ? I looked up & Lou introduced me to then middleweight champ, Nino Benvenuti. As a boxing fan, that was cool and another example of LC’s incredible connections and popularity.

My other memory was waiting for a ride home to the Bronx from one of the players at CA and watching practice a lot. Lou could curse w the best of them and on one particular day really ripping Bobby McIntyre, the star lol These kind of things and seeing Tony Jackson team play with my dad as a kid have kept me hooked no matter how bad we are.
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Great stories! Merry Christmas Paultz!
 
RedStormNC said:
I would have taken four more years of Lavin.

Who knows..while Lav didn't have a great team lined up for '15-'16...it might have been better if he didn't think he was being pushed out...and even if '15-'16 was sub par I think he still would have produced as good or better than Mullin over a four year period.
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There was a survey on redmen.com about keeping Lavin or not at season end. About 87% of us wanted him back I recall.
 
otis said:
Below is a link to a scouting report for this evenings game that appears on UConn’s fan website. Note the classy thing the author wrote about Brady Dunlap.

the-boneyard.com

St. John's Scouting Report

Flying early tomorrow morning, so onto the next one... St. John’s (8-3) #61 in KenPom 48th in Offensive efficiency 2nd in offensive rebounding 58th in offensive tempo 60th in A/FGM (57.2%) 89th w/ a 35.5 3P%, but just 33.9% of FGAs are from three (269th) 203rd w/ a 49.3 2P% 198th in turnover...
the-boneyard.com the-boneyard.com
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Thanks for posting Otis. Other than the idiotic comment about Dunlap, it's a pretty respectful scouting report coming from that source. Does even say he expects Dunlap to be a very good Big East player over time.
 
redmannorth said:
Mike to be fair they both suffered tragedies while coaching at SJU. Lavin’s dad died at 83 after living what seemed to be a very nice life. Mullins brother got sick in his 50s and passed away. Not comparing, as a loss of a family member is a loss, but it seems both suffered great tragedies while coaching at SJU.
Bottom line is many like myself believed the BS as we knew Mullin the player, having watched him play for 4 years, having watched him work out morning day and night 365 days a year, believed he had the keys to every gym in the city and would put the same effort into coaching as he did in playing. Fact is, and for whatever reason, he didn’t come close to putting in the effort required to succeed at SJU.
Lavin had zero ties to SJU, Chris had the greatest of ties, we believed he came home to make us great and not just to collect a large pay cheque. Chris’s lack of effort hurts much more than that of Lavin.
Sorry Carmine but that’s the way I see it.
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Very fair assessment but one salient point, at least to me; Lavin was an experienced, border line acclaimed coach, Mullin had never coached so my expectations for both were different.
BUT, my expectations of effort for both were the same and both failed miserably in that department.
 
Beasts of the East said:
There was a survey on redmen.com about keeping Lavin or not at season end. About 87% of us wanted him back I recall.
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I met coach Lavin at LaGuardia when he was taking Phil Greene to his best friend's funeral in Chicago. His friend was killed in a gang shooting. Coach gave me a shout out on a social media site as a super fan. We had a great conversation about St. John's basketball. He was a class act, as far as I'm concerned.
 
I am kind of shocked that UConn, national champions with the vaunted Danny Hurley as their coach, has a frontcourt that is so lacking in depth that the injury of Clingan could make or break them.
 
gregbodkin said:
I met coach Lavin at LaGuardia when he was taking Phil Greene to his best friend's funeral in Chicago. His friend was killed in a gang shooting. Coach gave me a shout out on a social media site as a super fan. We had a great conversation about St. John's basketball. He was a class act, as far as I'm concerned.
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Greg, I feel the same way about Norm Roberts (class act). I met him at a coffee shop here on Long Island early one morning when he was the HC. He was at his son’s game at a local parish. Just me and him at 7 a.m. The poor woman making the coffee had no idea who he was. He spent 20 minutes talking about the Program. Total class act. Unfortunately it just didn’t work. HC was not his calling.

Big game tonight. Need to be ready for the Yukon tonight. Go SJU!
 
NCJohnnie said:
Thanks for posting Otis. Other than the idiotic comment about Dunlap, it's a pretty respectful scouting report coming from that source. Does even say he expects Dunlap to be a very good Big East player over time.
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Brady is kind of a favorite of mine, along with Joel, Ledlum and a few others.

Unlike on the court whiners, you'd really want to punch, Brady scraps, doesn’t complain to refs, hits the floor, mixes it up underneath. I suspect if punched in the face by a husky fan, he'd need no one to defend him.

Like many of us, Brady can't help it if he is good looking.

I take that as a compliment from a uconn fan since they have a beloved coach everyone here wants to punch in the face. Well, almost everyone.
 
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Wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holidays. I've placed my last group of kids with this class for a bit and have decided to step away from the game for awhile. I wanted to thank you all for the kindness not only to me but each other. This is a great loyal fan base who rally around each other in time of personal need. Please stay kind to each other. Again thank you all for welcoming me, go REDSTORM and please stay healthy and safe. God bless
 
gregbodkin said:
I met coach Lavin at LaGuardia when he was taking Phil Greene to his best friend's funeral in Chicago. His friend was killed in a gang shooting. Coach gave me a shout out on a social media site as a super fan. We had a great conversation about St. John's basketball. He was a class act, as far as I'm concerned.
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Met Lavin at MSG during Big East Tourney a few years ago when he worked for Fox. Great guy really friendly, he took a photo with us!
 
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