D'Angelo Harrison
- Thread starter NYCRedmen
- Start date
Same here.
He left the door wide open for him to leave. That wasn't a ringing endorsement for a player that you want back.
When you start talking best opportunities available elsewhere for a kid who is your leading scorer, that doesn't sound like you're holding the door open for him.
I say D'Lo and possibly 2 others don't come back next year.
Class of 72
Active member
No love lost between them. Harrison's behavior while his coach was mourning the loss of his father was unforgivable. Lavin worshiped his dad and this was the ultimate insult. Forget the Spring/Summer evaluation period. There is nothing to evaluate. The bond is broken and Harrison is estranged from the team.
beast of the east
Active member
Lavin's dad was an English teacher. You wonder how much Coach Lavin is influenced by Cap Lavin,teacher. Teachers/Schools draw a lot of lines for students. If you cross over them, there are ramifications. You can care a lot for a student, even while doling out harsh punishment for student actions. A coach/teacher who doesn't act decisely to apply discipline is going to lose the team. Leaving the door open for a player to change and come back is appropriate. The rest is up to Harrison. Lavin's job isn't to soften, but also afford Harrison an opportunity to reflect on how his life is going, and the chance to come back with a different attitude towards the team and coaches. I think if this happens, Lavin would hold any grudges and welcome Harrison back.
If this is Lavin's attitude towards Harrison, I'd be good with it. Even John Thompson dismissed players from his Georgetown team for disciplinary reasons. I really hope that Harrison does want to return, because rather than wiping the slate clean and going somewhere else, if he does come back to SJU, he will have to change as a person.
Is such a change possible? People here may remember Bjorn Borg, who in an era of tennis that included bad boys Nastasi, Connors, and McEnroe, was seen as the ultimate in self control on the court. He rarely displayed emotions on the court, never argued with a line judge or umpire. The story goes that when Borg was 13 or 14, he once slammed his racket on the ground in a tantrum against an umpipre. When he got home, his parents took the racket from Borg, and wouldn't let him near a tennis court for a month. He returned a different person, not less intense in his effort, but there on out, exhibited self control and respect for opponents and umpries and line judges.
In the absence of facts Harrison's suspension is another black eye for the program. A lot of kids watched him play and admired his toughness. Allowing for his high strung nature I never saw any game conduct that would warrant a season ending suspension. Some may talk about body language but watch the mocking smile on Obekpa's face after every call and tell me about it. Some claim to have inside knowledge on this and I'd be very happy to hear it and change my position if warranted. Until that happens all we have to work with is a season destroying decision by a coach under a cloud of secrecy. There's no way that's good for business and the fans deserve to hear the truth for the money they paid.
beast of the east
Active member
Reports are that he loudly cursed out Rico Hines in Syracuse within earshot of fans sitting courtside. This was while Lavin had entrusted the head coaching reponsbilities to Hines while Lavin was attending his father's funeral. As reported, the suspension was not for a single event, but reportedly that outburst was the culmination of a series of negative events which include profane outbursts on the court and in practice, as well as late to team bus and practices. Why do you insist on ignoring what his been reported to spam redmen.com with negative commentary on the coach and program. As far as I see it, a coach who puts behavior by any individual above his ability to help the basketball team is a class guy who elevates our program, not defames it.
One may recall the famous story where UCLA had an enforced dress code which prohibited facial hair. Bill Walton came back to school one fall, and meeting with Wooden, announced that he was going to exercise his constitutional rights as an individual, and was keeping his beard in defiance of team policy. Wooden replied, "Bill, I really respect your ability to stand up for what you believe in. It takes a lot of character to do so. The team is going to miss you." Walton showed up the next day clean shaven.
Rules are for everyone.
I've mainly stayed out of this conversation on Harrison, as I feel things will sort itself out in a couple of months.
OTOH, what else should you expect from him? He's also been spamming for the past week. He rarely responds to anything that soundly shoots down any of his diatribes. He'll deflect and turn it into some other rant.
Besides, he clearly has an ax to grind, so anything he says should definitely be taken with a grain of salt.
beast of the east
Active member
I am really hopeful that Harrison does come back. I don't hope this because we need his basketball skills - there are plenty of guards that can play ball without being disruptive. He can probably find a program that would take him and the baggage he carries of being suspended a couple of times this season. I'm much more concerned about D Harrison the individual, who has got to make changes in terms of self control if we wats to be successful on the court and off. Guys who mouth off to their superiors at work get fired. Guys who mouth off like that on the streets end up dead or in prison. I'd love to have a conversation with Harrison 10 years from now at a RW event with a 30 year old Harrison who has a degree and solid job, or if his dreams fly, a Harrison with a degree from SJU who is playing ball professionally.
If we care about our guys only because they can put the ball in the hole, and disregard behaviors that will be damaging to them going forward, we really aren't St. John's, just basketball fans.
Lavin has been the soul of disgression and explanations are rarely offered for the screwups that have taken place like winding up with six players last year etc. In this case the suspension of the team's top scorer is almost unprecedented and there are a lot more people than me that would like to know what led to the maneuver. In case you haven't noticed we haven't exactly had our doors knocked down by kids looking to jump on the bandwagon. You gonna blame that on me too? I really haven't posted alot about the situation and have stuck to common sense questions. Since when is that unacceptable? In my experience when facts are scarce there are things being hidden. This is not a CIA operation. It's a college basketball team and I don't see the need for such secrecy in amateur sports.
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How about to protect the student-athlete's privacy? In the event what he did was bad enough to scare potential transfer instutuions away.
Or to preserve the coach's trustworthiness with other current and future players - nobody wants to play for someone who airs their personal, dirty laundry to the media.
How about to protect the student-athlete's privacy? In the event what he did was bad enough to scare potential transfer instutuions away.
Or to preserve the coach's trustworthiness with other current and future players - nobody wants to play for someone who airs their personal, dirty laundry to the media.
we are sju
Active member
Except in this case it has done the exact opposite. Lavin does not have to give any explanation, but it has not stopped most on these boards from trashing a kid that they did not like anyway.
beast of the east
Active member
Unlike your special relationships with MArk JAckson and Evans, Lavin not only doesn't have to share anythign with you or the public. Harrison isn't complaining that he was jobbed or being treated unfairly. Good initial step. You are a griper about our program, and what Harrison did or didn't do is really none of your business. You'd likely take that information and in your mind present arguments for why this is unfair.
What is ridiculous is the continued insistence the suspension is for nothinng more than feeding off emotions during games; it is not. Read the press release, Harrison was a habitual problem and respected no rule or no person, including his teammates. How many of you ever sat in a bus waiting for the one guy who felt he was above it all? Gets old pretty quick and can divide a team quicker than anything. And so many of you call him a leader because he could make a jumper?
To be fair it wasn't posters on RMDC who proclaimed DH a leader. It was someone with a little more pull:
“Because he’s in a leadership role, he’s going to be held to a high standard, and those who are given much, much is expected from,” Lavin said. “D’Angelo has demonstrated the ability to be the leader we know he’s capable of being."