Cragg - Is He the Guy?

[IDRAFT]

He has been here four years now. Nothing gets built, nothing gets funded, and the attendance at basketball games decreases annually. He pushed out the last coach with no plan on a new coach, which led to weeks of embarrassment for the University. And as the AD he has also helped destroy the Lacrosse and Baseball programs. 

People say he is a hard worker. The athletic department did a good job at one thing in four years, they got more students to games this year. What else? What am I missing about this guy? 

 

 

[Johnny Rapper]

You forgot to mention his genius move of giving a coach who had not yet made the Dance, lost 9 players to transfer and had rumors of disfunction on his team, an extended contract. 

 

[otis]

Count me pro Cragg.

The man is merely playing the losing hand he walked into when he took the job.  Change takes time particularly when you do not have a pile of money to cause positive change.  

 

[Knight]

I like Cragg.  SJU was and is a challenging place for an AD or HC.  Stay the course.  They have not been here long enough to hear the sweet sound of the whining of the loyalists.

 

[rcatalano]

We are damn lucky we have Cragg! 

 

[redfazed]

He is vastly overrated, although I do not think he should be fired. The Mullin replacement search was humiliating. As another poster (I forget who) mentioned, Cragg is a guy who spent 30 years at a school where the head coach was never once replaced, and the fan base is deep-pocketed and adoring. Maybe his experiences here in the "real world" have woken him up enough to be effective moving forward.  This upcoming head coach search will show if he’s the real deal or not.

 

[paultzman]

Without knowing terms of extension, I won’t bang  Cragg too hard, although extension was unnecessary it seems.

That said, reading some of these posts, let’s fire Cragg, the entire athletic department, can Shanley and replace him with Friar Tuck, change our name to St. Jim’s University, push out Posh, put more metal detectors in CA, play in Rucker Park v MSG and consider joining the Horizon League

 

[fordham96]

By all accounts Cragg is a good fundraiser and has solid people skills.  Very important for any AD.

But at a school like SJU as the AD you will be ultimately judged on how your signature athletic program performs (Men's basketball).  And more importantly how successful the person is that you choose to lead that signature program.

If Mike leaves the next hire is what Cragg will be judged by.

 

[IDRAFT]

I'm just trying to understand what he brings to the table. Since he arrived all the programs have declined. Attendance at basketball games goes down every year. Insiders post that SJU can't raise funds. And so far all I see in his defense is "I like the guy."

I don't like him or dislike him. I don't know him. But what tangible evidence is there that he can do his job? What has he done? Nobody yet has responded with one thing. I'm not trying to kill him. But how can there be all these pages questioning CMA and no one is wondering about Cragg?

 

[monte]

I'm just trying to understand what he brings to the table. Since he arrived all the programs have declined. Attendance at basketball games goes down every year. Insiders post that SJU can't raise funds. And so far all I see in his defense is "I like the guy."

I don't like him or dislike him. I don't know him. But what tangible evidence is there that he can do his job? What has he done? Nobody yet has responded with one thing. I'm not trying to kill him. But how can there be all these pages questioning CMA and no one is wondering about Cragg?

I've long wondered myself. I've especially wondered how, during his 30 years at Duke, another ACC or SEC or Big Ten school didn't offer him an AD job? Or did they and he was just waiting for his dream job, SJU? All kidding aside, I judge an AD based purely on how our basketball program does, so my jury is still out.  Maybe that's not fair but that's me. Not knocking the guy, but sure as hell ain't sold on him. 

 

[bk8664]

.... That said, reading some of these posts, let’s fire Cragg, the entire athletic department, can Shanley and replace him with Friar Tuck, change our name to St. Jim’s University, push out Posh, put more metal detectors in CA, play in Rucker Park v MSG and consider joining the Horizon League, Sheez!

Just imagine how bad the "other" STJ's board must be like right now... I dare not even look.

 

[otis]

…….Nothing gets built, nothing gets funded, and the attendance at basketball games decreases annually. He pushed out the last coach with no plan on a new coach….

 

——
iDEAFT

1. Not sure what part of the country you live in but you should understand that attendance has been down in every sporting event in the US during the last 2+ years because of COVID.

2. I am also not sure that it is accurate to say that Mr. Cragg “pushed out the last coach” (your phrase).  My understanding is that Coach Mullin went to Cragg after completion of his 4th season and asked for an extension.  Cragg declined.  Mullin unexpectedly quit causing St. John’s to play catch up on the process.  IMO refusing to give Mullin  an extension of his contract when he sported a lousy Big East record of just 20 wins and 52 losses (being a 27.8% win percentage) was prudent, not pushing Mullin out.  Had Cragg terminated Mullin then I expect he would have been better prepared for the process.



.

 

[SLYFOXX1968]

We ‘re going for the whole thing !  Next new Topic  will be : IS FR SHANLEY the right guy ?   Where does it end ?             The first post will be : “ We knew he was going to be a Suspect because of his Providence Connections .”   I’m kidding of course .     Although , I would like to know how Fr . Shanley spent Friday night after the game with Creighton ?  Coming 24 hours after our Game with Villanova . Needless to say , with the Anderson rumors , he has a lot on his plate . As does Cragg .  My answer is probably a Novena for Father . 

 

[monte]

I got blasted by some for saying this, but I'll say it again: School presidents, ADs and HCs come and go, especially around here. Yeah they want the basketball program to do well, but to them it's just business. They get compensated handsomely(not sure about Shanley) for what they do, whether the program does well or not. Essentially they are hired guns. OTOH for us it's a passion. We live and die with this program. I don't get too attached to any coach, AD or Pres. Here today, gone tomorrow. After the last 20+ years, I've conditioned myself to say "don't let the door hit you on the way out" and "next man up". If CMA stays, fine, if he leaves we'll be no worse off then we have been over the past 20 years. That I'm extremely confident of. 

 

[IDRAFT]

…….Nothing gets built, nothing gets funded, and the attendance at basketball games decreases annually. He pushed out the last coach with no plan on a new coach….

 

——
iDEAFT

1. Not sure what part of the country you live in but you should understand that attendance has been down in every sporting event in the US during the last 2+ years because of COVID.

2. I am also not sure that it is accurate to say that Mr. Cragg “pushed out the last coach” (your phrase).  My understanding is that Coach Mullin went to Cragg after completion of his 4th season and asked for an extension.  Cragg declined.  Mullin unexpectedly quit causing St. John’s to play catch up on the process.  IMO refusing to give Mullin  an extension of his contract when he sported a lousy Big East record of just 20 wins and 52 losses (being a 27.8% win percentage) is prudent, not pushing them out.  Had Cragg terminated Mullin then I expect he would have been better prepared for the process.

I live in the metro area. Covid was a factor this year but not in the years (excepting last year of course) before that. Attendance didn't just start declining since Covid, it started when Cragg instituted his Red/White program. That's not an opinion.

I'm sure you have your sources I have mine as well. Mine have always indicated "pushed out."  As someone who lives in the Metro area, and always has, I do know people connected within SJU. Not that I'm saying you don't - I don't even know who you are. No matter. Let's say he quit. Being prepared for a coaching change is AD 101. And I don't know where you live, here in New York everyone in basketball circles who wasn't in a coma knew Mullin was conflicted about the job. Everyone I guess except the AD.

And lastly your response still doesn't include one positive thing Cragg has done. Which continues to be my point. I'm a season ticket holder who has attended all but two games, and that includes exhibitions, since 2011. I could be buying better seats for $6 a game on Stubhub. But I figure by keeping ST and not buying tickets already sold it's better for the program. I also have donated to the program during this period in order to try and assist. And I'm not an alumnus.

So before I go back in my pocket again I thought maybe someone here could give me some good reasons that I'm not wasting my money. A little reassurance.

Not seeing it.

 

[Johnny Rapper]

Actually, the biggest issue I have with Cragg is not even the extension to Anderson, its his poor scheduling of non conference opponents. The poor OOC schedule directly affects the status of a tournament bid be it NIT or NCAA. Cragg's priority should be the success of the hoops program which is the most visible entity of the University and it's athletic program.To inexplicably schedule a weak non conference schedule which for two years in a row has been detrimental to a tourney bid is inexcusable and reeks of incompetence.

 

[Linx]

Not offering Chris Mullin a contract extension was a strategic play by Mike Cragg. Everyone knows a lame duck coach cannot recruit successfully. Cragg knew Mullin would ask for an extension and he also knew he wasn't going to offer one at the time. Mullin was going to have to force his hand with on court success. It didn't happen. Hurley Jr. was always the play, but his dad convinced him otherwise. So, yes, the responsibility falls on Mike Cragg for the Mullin situation, the coaching search, and the current state of affairs...good and bad.

As far as Anderson, I'm not sure how "all in" he is. He took this job without any knowledge of the university, the city, or the infrastructure. It was a very quick hire. It was almost like he took the job out of spite for his firing from Arkansas. Nontheless, Mike is a solid coach and if you're OK with St. John's being a middle of the pack BE school with a chance at a Ncaa tournament every few years then he is the guy. He is a safe choice and better than Hewitt or James ( the finalists). 

 

[plandome4]

Some people spew nothing but stupidity on this board. We lose and the sky is falling/ let's clean house/bring back Louie. We win we were lucky or better yet a potential top 10 team. SMH!

 

[RedStormNC]

As far as Anderson, I'm not sure how "all in" he is. He took this job without any knowledge of the university, the city, or the infrastructure. It was a very quick hire. It was almost like he took the job out of spite for his firing from Arkansas. Nontheless, Mike is a solid coach and if you're OK with St. John's being a middle of the pack BE school with a chance at a Ncaa tournament every few years then he is the guy. He is a safe choice and better than Hewitt or James ( the finalists). 

Brings back the fond memory of Anderson's initial press conference when he called us "St. James University"...

the good ole days.

 

[Alumni Hall]

He has been here four years now. Nothing gets built, nothing gets funded, and the attendance at basketball games decreases annually. He pushed out the last coach with no plan on a new coach, which led to weeks of embarrassment for the University. And as the AD he has also helped destroy the Lacrosse and Baseball programs. 

People say he is a hard worker. The athletic department did a good job at one thing in four years, they got more students to games this year. What else? What am I missing about this guy? 
After reading the above post got me looking into how our spring sports are doing after our disastrous winter sports:
As of today the combined record of Lacrosse (1-5) Baseball (2-13) and Softball (3-16) are 6-34!!! What has happened to our storied baseball program?  Team is getting blown out in many games and just dropped 2 of 3 to MANHATTAN. Softball traditionally makes the Big East Tourney and they are usually competitive but are also getting blown out most games. Even Fencing is having its worst season in years with probably the least amount of fencers getting an NCAA invite. I don’t think we can place any blame on our AD…but something must be up with these results and W Hoops going 12-19 to go along with our 17-15 season looks bad. Are our coaches being held accountable for these poor on field performances by our Senior Athletic Staff?
If the Big East still had the Commissioner's Trophy , emblematic of the best program in the conference, we might very well be in last place in the standings this year.