Cragg Off Season Podcast

Seems to be saying that playing at MSG is a money drain unless attendance improves substantially. More games at CA in the future. Not a good omen.
 
I heard the Podcast and he stated that while it's nice to win, he judges a successful season by the....... !. Effort that the kids and staff put in and 2. That every player improved. Im sure that was the standard at Duke as well? He seemed to down play the importance of playing at MSG and stated that he would rather see a sold out 5000 seat C.A. then a half filled MSG. Can't say I agree with that unless the majority of fans were for the opposing team. He also harped on the poor facilities as to why we are having a problem attracting high level recruits..... again, there are many teams with less facilities then St. John's who have fared far better.

Where he completely lost me was this nonsense about "making the game experience an enjoyable one" with whatever bells and whistles are necessary. He wants everyone to go home saying, man that game was very enjoyable regardless of the out come? So here he is, in the most competitive city in the country, with fans who are starving for a winning program after more then 20 years of mediocrity and he thinks that fans are going to go home happy after a loss as long as Harry the Dunking Hippo does his thing at half time? Apparently he learned little at Duke. For those of you who have ever attended a Duke game, the facility , Cameron , is awful. There are places in the upper stands where there are beams in the line of site to watching the game. The half time entertainment, if there is any, is lifeless and the food sucks. So how do they have perennial sold out crowds? Could it be cause they win? Hmmmmm what a concept.

All this other stuff, upgrading facilities, Pizza give aways, half time entertainment, naked women running across the court (wait, scratch that) is not as important as putting the right staff, support personnel, NIL possibilities etc. together to get the program to become a winner. Craig should focus on whatever it takes to do so and not be distracted with tasks that make it "look like" there is an actual effort being made to succeed.
 
Johnny Rapper said:
I heard the Podcast and he stated that while it's nice to win, he judges a successful season by the....... !. Effort that the kids and staff put in and 2. That every player improved. Im sure that was the standard at Duke as well? He seemed to down play the importance of playing at MSG and stated that he would rather see a sold out 5000 seat C.A. then a half filled MSG. Can't say I agree with that unless the majority of fans were for the opposing team. He also harped on the poor facilities as to why we are having a problem attracting high level recruits..... again, there are many teams with less facilities then St. John's who have fared far better.

Where he completely lost me was this nonsense about "making the game experience an enjoyable one" with whatever bells and whistles are necessary. He wants everyone to go home saying, man that game was very enjoyable regardless of the out come? So here he is, in the most competitive city in the country, with fans who are starving for a winning program after more then 20 years of mediocrity and he thinks that fans are going to go home happy after a loss as long as Harry the Dunking Hippo does his thing at half time? Apparently he learned little at Duke. For those of you who have ever attended a Duke game, the facility , Cameron , is awful. There are places in the upper stands where there are beams in the line of site to watching the game. The half time entertainment, if there is any, is lifeless and the food sucks. So how do they have perennial sold out crowds? Could it be cause they win? Hmmmmm what a concept.

All this other stuff, upgrading facilities, Pizza give aways, half time entertainment, naked women running across the court (wait, scratch that) is not as important as putting the right staff, support personnel, NIL possibilities etc. together to get the program to become a winner. Craig should focus on whatever it takes to do so and not be distracted with tasks that make it "look like" there is an actual effort being made to succeed.
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Just my opinion, but I've never felt that wining was at or near the top of Craig's priority list, mostly because that's the culture of the school: "good is good enough". Hope to be proven wrong but nothing over the last 2 decades, or even in Craggs 5 years here, makes me feel differently.
 
I think a dose of reality has set in for Cragg and he's managing expectations for himself, his team and remaining fans.

I think he enjoys his job, puts on a good smile and tries to say the right thing and make improvements but he doesn't bleed red & white.

His expectations to win motto is shifting toward complacency.
.
 
His "fun" stuff is a bit too much for me.

This isn't doesn't need to be the circus, its college basketball...need a good product on floor and all else will follow.

Results of feasibility study to raise the $30M is going to make or break this program.
 
RedStormNC said:
His "fun" stuff is a bit too much for me.

This isn't doesn't need to be the circus, its college basketball...need a good product on floor and all else will follow.

Results of feasibility study to raise the $30M is going to make or break this program.
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Well the fun stuff appears to be meant to get interest from the common fan in an attempt to get them out to games and convert them to long term fans. He doesnt need to do anything to cater to the fans of this board, who are already going to the games already. We represent only a small portion of the fan base anyway.
 
don't get me wrong...it's good to improve a game day event, but if the thought is that he's going to turn CA into a memorable "experience" that new fans want to keep coming back for, it won't happen if team doesn't win enough.... new lighting, audio system synced up to video board some better food options and more seatbacks for some, not all won't change that for majority who show up as a first timer..


He's doing the right thing because at the moment its all he can do.

School needs to figure out how to make the $30M needs plan happen....otherwise I'd rather school put the money elsewhere than new strobe lights at CA....

It needs to be an AND, not OR plan.
 
monte said:
Just my opinion, but I've never felt that wining was at or near the top of Craig's priority list, mostly because that's the culture of the school: "good is good enough". Hope to be proven wrong but nothing over the last 2 decades, or even in Craggs 5 years here, makes me feel differently.
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I have to agree Monte..... He and Anderson are great at Talking the Talk but have yet to Walk the Walk. They say all the right things about wanting to win Big East and National Championships but are they even capable of coming close to such lofty goals? And while the effort seems there on Anderson's part, in terms of talent level and post season success, the program seems no better off then it has been over the last two regimes. I think that one reason you see the unwavering support for coach Anderson this past season and even if next season does not yield a favorable result is the extended contract Cragg afforded him. To not support him would signify a major mistake on Cragg's part and he is certainly not willing to concede that. Hopefully Anderson justifies Cragg's support and has a successful tenure of making the Dance next season and in future seasons beyond that.
 
Johnny Rapper said:
I heard the Podcast and he stated that while it's nice to win, he judges a successful season by the....... !. Effort that the kids and staff put in and 2. That every player improved. Im sure that was the standard at Duke as well? He seemed to down play the importance of playing at MSG and stated that he would rather see a sold out 5000 seat C.A. then a half filled MSG. Can't say I agree with that unless the majority of fans were for the opposing team. He also harped on the poor facilities as to why we are having a problem attracting high level recruits..... again, there are many teams with less facilities then St. John's who have fared far better.

Where he completely lost me was this nonsense about "making the game experience an enjoyable one" with whatever bells and whistles are necessary. He wants everyone to go home saying, man that game was very enjoyable regardless of the out come? So here he is, in the most competitive city in the country, with fans who are starving for a winning program after more then 20 years of mediocrity and he thinks that fans are going to go home happy after a loss as long as Harry the Dunking Hippo does his thing at half time? Apparently he learned little at Duke. For those of you who have ever attended a Duke game, the facility , Cameron , is awful. There are places in the upper stands where there are beams in the line of site to watching the game. The half time entertainment, if there is any, is lifeless and the food sucks. So how do they have perennial sold out crowds? Could it be cause they win? Hmmmmm what a concept.

All this other stuff, upgrading facilities, Pizza give aways, half time entertainment, naked women running across the court (wait, scratch that) is not as important as putting the right staff, support personnel, NIL possibilities etc. together to get the program to become a winner. Craig should focus on whatever it takes to do so and not be distracted with tasks that make it "look like" there is an actual effort being made to succeed.
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He is not the guy to lead this program, or St. John's Athletics in general, into the future. Everything is heading backward under his regime. There is a reason he was the #2 guy at Duke for so long. That is where his capabilities topped out. Nothing wrong with that, being a solid #2 is commendable. But leading is an entirely different animal.
 
He may be doing the best he can given the limited resources he is being given. Focusing on "game day experiences" is one of the easiest things to improve on. The next most pressing need I hear from him being addressed is upgrading facilities and resources for the student-athletes themselves. But that certainly dovetails, to me at least, with the issue of how do we get a more suitable on-campus arena for the benefit of teams and us fans alike. The school simply does not have an answer to that yet; hence he can only emphasize what he can control at this point. He is not at fault for that. It is an issue for the new president and administration to address; I'm afraid it may take some time though.
 
mm52 said:
He may be doing the best he can given the limited resources he is being given. Focusing on "game day experiences" is one of the easiest things to improve on. The next most pressing need I hear from him being addressed is upgrading facilities and resources for the student-athletes themselves. But that certainly dovetails, to me at least, with the issue of how do we get a more suitable on-campus arena for the benefit of teams and us fans alike. The school simply does not have an answer to that yet; hence he can only emphasize what he can control at this point. He is not at fault for that. It is an issue for the new president and administration to address; I'm afraid it may take some time though.
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Since a new or upgraded facility has been mentioned since the mid 80's time is something that most of us don't have (at least in abundance) anymore, unfortunately.
 
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