Fire Lavin!

[SJU1512]

"We like our roster the way it is," Lavin said. "If we get a piece or two [fine] . . . but 2015 and '16 are the classes we're focused on. We may be a little smaller, but if you look at the personnel on the other rosters in our conference, we match up very well with everyone in the league. I wouldn't trade our guys for anybody in this league."

:sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob:

I don't take the stuff that comes out of his mouth too seriously. But some of his statements sounds like he is delusional or the other way to look at it is he is so full of sh-t that you cant believe a word he says.

There are two (increasingly apparent) problems with the stuff Lavin says, one more important than the other:

1. It rarely comes to pass. "Player X is the best/most __________ I've ever coached in my career." We heard it about Branch's improvement, Max's shooting, etc. What's the point of beating the drum that Branch is the most improved player you've ever coached and Max is the best shooter you've ever coached if you aren't going to play either of them meaningful minutes? You want to pass this off as coach speak, fine, but it still makes no sense to operate this way even in that context.

2. More importantly, his comments are almost exclusively futuristic. We're going to peak in February. We're focused on two recruiting classes from now. It's never "now is the time", which only serves to lower the bar and build in an excuse.

This is a stark departure from one of the things I loved about him most when he first got here: he was totally results-driven. Build a great staff quickly. Get recruits. Win games. There was no talk about the facilities or not being able to win with Norm's players or the unbalanced scholarships in each class. Now that the going has gotten tough all we hear about is some point in time besides today and that's really getting tiresome.

 

[paultzman]

"We like our roster the way it is," Lavin said. "If we get a piece or two [fine] . . . but 2015 and '16 are the classes we're focused on. We may be a little smaller, but if you look at the personnel on the other rosters in our conference, we match up very well with everyone in the league. I wouldn't trade our guys for anybody in this league."

:sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob:

I don't take the stuff that comes out of his mouth too seriously. But some of his statements sounds like he is delusional or the other way to look at it is he is so full of sh-t that you cant believe a word he says.

There are two (increasingly apparent) problems with the stuff Lavin says, one more important than the other:

1. It rarely comes to pass. "Player X is the best/most __________ I've ever coached in my career." We heard it about Branch's improvement, Max's shooting, etc. What's the point of beating the drum that Branch is the most improved player you've ever coached and Max is the best shooter you've ever coached if you aren't going to play either of them meaningful minutes? You want to pass this off as coach speak, fine, but it still makes no sense to operate this way even in that context.

2. More importantly, his comments are almost exclusively futuristic. We're going to peak in February. We're focused on two recruiting classes from now. It's never "now is the time", which only serves to lower the bar and build in an excuse.

This is a stark departure from one of the things I loved about him most when he first got here: he was totally results-driven. Build a great staff quickly. Get recruits. Win games. There was no talk about the facilities or not being able to win with Norm's players or the unbalanced scholarships in each class. Now that the going has gotten tough all we hear about is some point in time besides today and that's really getting tiresome.

Fair points & nice post.

 

[beast of the east]

"We like our roster the way it is," Lavin said. "If we get a piece or two [fine] . . . but 2015 and '16 are the classes we're focused on. We may be a little smaller, but if you look at the personnel on the other rosters in our conference, we match up very well with everyone in the league. I wouldn't trade our guys for anybody in this league."

:sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob:

I don't take the stuff that comes out of his mouth too seriously. But some of his statements sounds like he is delusional or the other way to look at it is he is so full of sh-t that you cant believe a word he says.

There are two (increasingly apparent) problems with the stuff Lavin says, one more important than the other:

1. It rarely comes to pass. "Player X is the best/most __________ I've ever coached in my career." We heard it about Branch's improvement, Max's shooting, etc. What's the point of beating the drum that Branch is the most improved player you've ever coached and Max is the best shooter you've ever coached if you aren't going to play either of them meaningful minutes? You want to pass this off as coach speak, fine, but it still makes no sense to operate this way even in that context.

2. More importantly, his comments are almost exclusively futuristic. We're going to peak in February. We're focused on two recruiting classes from now. It's never "now is the time", which only serves to lower the bar and build in an excuse.

This is a stark departure from one of the things I loved about him most when he first got here: he was totally results-driven. Build a great staff quickly. Get recruits. Win games. There was no talk about the facilities or not being able to win with Norm's players or the unbalanced scholarships in each class. Now that the going has gotten tough all we hear about is some point in time besides today and that's really getting tiresome.

The only thing that matters about what comes out of Lavin is Wins. One could argue that they'd rather see a coach bolster all of his roster players, then tear them down publicly the way Doherty did during his meltdown year at UNC. Who the hell really cares WHAT Lavin says if we were winning, or what he says now that we failed to secure a bid?

 

[TobinGrad]

"We like our roster the way it is," Lavin said. "If we get a piece or two [fine] . . . but 2015 and '16 are the classes we're focused on. We may be a little smaller, but if you look at the personnel on the other rosters in our conference, we match up very well with everyone in the league. I wouldn't trade our guys for anybody in this league."

:sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob:

I don't take the stuff that comes out of his mouth too seriously. But some of his statements sounds like he is delusional or the other way to look at it is he is so full of sh-t that you cant believe a word he says.

There are two (increasingly apparent) problems with the stuff Lavin says, one more important than the other:

1. It rarely comes to pass. "Player X is the best/most __________ I've ever coached in my career." We heard it about Branch's improvement, Max's shooting, etc. What's the point of beating the drum that Branch is the most improved player you've ever coached and Max is the best shooter you've ever coached if you aren't going to play either of them meaningful minutes? You want to pass this off as coach speak, fine, but it still makes no sense to operate this way even in that context.

2. More importantly, his comments are almost exclusively futuristic. We're going to peak in February. We're focused on two recruiting classes from now. It's never "now is the time", which only serves to lower the bar and build in an excuse.

This is a stark departure from one of the things I loved about him most when he first got here: he was totally results-driven. Build a great staff quickly. Get recruits. Win games. There was no talk about the facilities or not being able to win with Norm's players or the unbalanced scholarships in each class. Now that the going has gotten tough all we hear about is some point in time besides today and that's really getting tiresome.

Good points. This is one of the major gripes ucla fans had with him. In fact most of the things that are annoying Johnnie fans now are things that irked Bruins years ago. Go to one of those old articles written by ucla alumn bashing Lavin and read the comments section and it is amazing just how similar the criticisms are.

 

[SJU1512]

"We like our roster the way it is," Lavin said. "If we get a piece or two [fine] . . . but 2015 and '16 are the classes we're focused on. We may be a little smaller, but if you look at the personnel on the other rosters in our conference, we match up very well with everyone in the league. I wouldn't trade our guys for anybody in this league."

:sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob:

I don't take the stuff that comes out of his mouth too seriously. But some of his statements sounds like he is delusional or the other way to look at it is he is so full of sh-t that you cant believe a word he says.

There are two (increasingly apparent) problems with the stuff Lavin says, one more important than the other:

1. It rarely comes to pass. "Player X is the best/most __________ I've ever coached in my career." We heard it about Branch's improvement, Max's shooting, etc. What's the point of beating the drum that Branch is the most improved player you've ever coached and Max is the best shooter you've ever coached if you aren't going to play either of them meaningful minutes? You want to pass this off as coach speak, fine, but it still makes no sense to operate this way even in that context.

2. More importantly, his comments are almost exclusively futuristic. We're going to peak in February. We're focused on two recruiting classes from now. It's never "now is the time", which only serves to lower the bar and build in an excuse.

This is a stark departure from one of the things I loved about him most when he first got here: he was totally results-driven. Build a great staff quickly. Get recruits. Win games. There was no talk about the facilities or not being able to win with Norm's players or the unbalanced scholarships in each class. Now that the going has gotten tough all we hear about is some point in time besides today and that's really getting tiresome.

The only thing that matters about what comes out of Lavin is Wins. One could argue that they'd rather see a coach bolster all of his roster players, then tear them down publicly the way Doherty did during his meltdown year at UNC. Who the hell really cares WHAT Lavin says if we were winning, or what he says now that we failed to secure a bid?

I completely agree Beast, results speak loudest and the only time what Lavin says gets analyzed is when he's not getting results. But the two are going hand in hand more and more with him. The less the actual results (whether in the W/L column, on the recruiting trail, or in maintaining a stable roster) the more we hear about prospective results, and while I understand the need to project confidence, I don't think this trend is a healthy one.

 

[beast of the east]

"We like our roster the way it is," Lavin said. "If we get a piece or two [fine] . . . but 2015 and '16 are the classes we're focused on. We may be a little smaller, but if you look at the personnel on the other rosters in our conference, we match up very well with everyone in the league. I wouldn't trade our guys for anybody in this league."

:sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob: :sob:

I don't take the stuff that comes out of his mouth too seriously. But some of his statements sounds like he is delusional or the other way to look at it is he is so full of sh-t that you cant believe a word he says.

There are two (increasingly apparent) problems with the stuff Lavin says, one more important than the other:

1. It rarely comes to pass. "Player X is the best/most __________ I've ever coached in my career." We heard it about Branch's improvement, Max's shooting, etc. What's the point of beating the drum that Branch is the most improved player you've ever coached and Max is the best shooter you've ever coached if you aren't going to play either of them meaningful minutes? You want to pass this off as coach speak, fine, but it still makes no sense to operate this way even in that context.

2. More importantly, his comments are almost exclusively futuristic. We're going to peak in February. We're focused on two recruiting classes from now. It's never "now is the time", which only serves to lower the bar and build in an excuse.

This is a stark departure from one of the things I loved about him most when he first got here: he was totally results-driven. Build a great staff quickly. Get recruits. Win games. There was no talk about the facilities or not being able to win with Norm's players or the unbalanced scholarships in each class. Now that the going has gotten tough all we hear about is some point in time besides today and that's really getting tiresome.

Good points. This is one of the major gripes ucla fans had with him. In fact most of the things that are annoying Johnnie fans now are things that irked Bruins years ago. Go to one of those old articles written by ucla alumn bashing Lavin and read the comments section and it is amazing just how similar the criticisms are.

the only thing I'd say about Bruins fans vs. our fans and the comparison drawn to their criticisms is this. The stuff we are referring to comparing our unhappiness with theirs is simply parroting - not just some double blind study. We were aware of the criticism before he got hired, and then just referred to them when things didn't go well here. Make no mistake - had we just come off 6 straight NCAA appearances to go sub .500 this season, our fans would be much more patient than theirs.

 

[Muse]

Lavin is full of wishful thinking. He may well be living in his own world.

 

[MainMan]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

 

[bball purist]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

I'm signed up for season tix for that lineup. And I'll be making a 4 hr trek up from the DMV!

 

[TobinGrad]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season. You guys must think him a magician, able to get whatever he wants for no reason other than sheer charisma. The past recruits came here because they bought the hyped expectations of something great being built, of St. Johns "coming back". Now, after having the most talent in the league and going nowhere, no recruit is going to buy it. Writing is on the wall, some of you Lavin lovers just cant yet see past your man crush.

 

[Marillac]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season.

Dramatic much?

 

[usguard]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season. You guys must think him a magician, able to get whatever he wants for no reason other than sheer charisma. The past recruits came here because they bought the hyped expectations of something great being built, of St. Johns "coming back". Now, after having the most talent in the league and going nowhere, no recruit is going to buy it. Writing is on the wall, some of you Lavin lovers just cant yet see past your man crush.

Talent I keep hearing we had the most but in fact we did not.With the most talent we were projected 5 0r 6th When the season started it was obvious most teams had better shooters bounders better ball handlers and better IQ for the game Yes this falls on coaching but more on the players Actually ,coach did a fair job Probably most are going to disagree Waiting to see how he does with a bunch of different players

 

[beast of the east]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season. You guys must think him a magician, able to get whatever he wants for no reason other than sheer charisma. The past recruits came here because they bought the hyped expectations of something great being built, of St. Johns "coming back". Now, after having the most talent in the league and going nowhere, no recruit is going to buy it. Writing is on the wall, some of you Lavin lovers just cant yet see past your man crush.

So to be certain, let's get this straight. With his first recruiting class not reaching senior season yet, with one in the NBA, one just declared, and one first team all big east, another led the nation in shots blocked as a freshman, and another almost certain to declare for the NBA before his senior year, you are declaring that Lavin will never again recruit like this? You must be a riot at your place of employment with such an optimistic outlook.

 

[Andrew]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season. You guys must think him a magician, able to get whatever he wants for no reason other than sheer charisma. The past recruits came here because they bought the hyped expectations of something great being built, of St. Johns "coming back". Now, after having the most talent in the league and going nowhere, no recruit is going to buy it. Writing is on the wall, some of you Lavin lovers just cant yet see past your man crush.

So to be certain, let's get this straight. With his first recruiting class not reaching senior season yet, with one in the NBA, one just declared, and one first team all big east, another led the nation in shots blocked as a freshman, and another almost certain to declare for the NBA before his senior year, you are declaring that Lavin will never again recruit like this? You must be a riot at your place of employment with such an optimistic outlook.

You must have had a lot invested in internet stocks when the dot com bubble burst.

 

[austour]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
.

Haven't read enough of MainMan's posts to figure that out for yourself?

 

[beast of the east]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season. You guys must think him a magician, able to get whatever he wants for no reason other than sheer charisma. The past recruits came here because they bought the hyped expectations of something great being built, of St. Johns "coming back". Now, after having the most talent in the league and going nowhere, no recruit is going to buy it. Writing is on the wall, some of you Lavin lovers just cant yet see past your man crush.

So to be certain, let's get this straight. With his first recruiting class not reaching senior season yet, with one in the NBA, one just declared, and one first team all big east, another led the nation in shots blocked as a freshman, and another almost certain to declare for the NBA before his senior year, you are declaring that Lavin will never again recruit like this? You must be a riot at your place of employment with such an optimistic outlook.

You must have had a lot invested in internet stocks when the dot com bubble burst.

Haha. Actually, I didn't pay attention to my 401K and had it all in 6-8% guaranteed return. I transferred it to a stock fund like 3 days before one of those black Friday crashes, but it's done pretty well since. I do have way too much in the bank at 0.7% interest though, and am a long term conservative investor. Real estate is another place that at times I've done well, and other times am sitting on losses. I tend to take the long view with my personal assets and don't move things around much. With Lavin I take the long view also.

 

[Andrew]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season. You guys must think him a magician, able to get whatever he wants for no reason other than sheer charisma. The past recruits came here because they bought the hyped expectations of something great being built, of St. Johns "coming back". Now, after having the most talent in the league and going nowhere, no recruit is going to buy it. Writing is on the wall, some of you Lavin lovers just cant yet see past your man crush.

So to be certain, let's get this straight. With his first recruiting class not reaching senior season yet, with one in the NBA, one just declared, and one first team all big east, another led the nation in shots blocked as a freshman, and another almost certain to declare for the NBA before his senior year, you are declaring that Lavin will never again recruit like this? You must be a riot at your place of employment with such an optimistic outlook.

You must have had a lot invested in internet stocks when the dot com bubble burst.

Haha. Actually, I didn't pay attention to my 401K and had it all in 6-8% guaranteed return. I transferred it to a stock fund like 3 days before one of those black Friday crashes, but it's done pretty well since. I do have way too much in the bank at 0.7% interest though, and am a long term conservative investor. Real estate is another place that at times I've done well, and other times am sitting on losses. I tend to take the long view with my personal assets and don't move things around much. With Lavin I take the long view also.

Fair enough. Staying the course in investing is usually the wisest long term strategy.

 

[beast of the east]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season. You guys must think him a magician, able to get whatever he wants for no reason other than sheer charisma. The past recruits came here because they bought the hyped expectations of something great being built, of St. Johns "coming back". Now, after having the most talent in the league and going nowhere, no recruit is going to buy it. Writing is on the wall, some of you Lavin lovers just cant yet see past your man crush.

So to be certain, let's get this straight. With his first recruiting class not reaching senior season yet, with one in the NBA, one just declared, and one first team all big east, another led the nation in shots blocked as a freshman, and another almost certain to declare for the NBA before his senior year, you are declaring that Lavin will never again recruit like this? You must be a riot at your place of employment with such an optimistic outlook.

You must have had a lot invested in internet stocks when the dot com bubble burst.

Haha. Actually, I didn't pay attention to my 401K and had it all in 6-8% guaranteed return. I transferred it to a stock fund like 3 days before one of those black Friday crashes, but it's done pretty well since. I do have way too much in the bank at 0.7% interest though, and am a long term conservative investor. Real estate is another place that at times I've done well, and other times am sitting on losses. I tend to take the long view with my personal assets and don't move things around much. With Lavin I take the long view also.

Fair enough. Staying the course in investing is usually the wisest long term strategy.

Thank you. FWIW, I don't want to get into pissing matches with you. You seem like a good guy and a bright guy, and we are all fans, and all frustrated.

 

[Andrew]

PG: Briscoe
SG: Calhoun
SF: Diallo
C: Govan
PF: Lawrence

Is this a joke?
5 guys who will never step foot on campus as students.

Lavin will never again have as much talent as he had this season. You guys must think him a magician, able to get whatever he wants for no reason other than sheer charisma. The past recruits came here because they bought the hyped expectations of something great being built, of St. Johns "coming back". Now, after having the most talent in the league and going nowhere, no recruit is going to buy it. Writing is on the wall, some of you Lavin lovers just cant yet see past your man crush.

So to be certain, let's get this straight. With his first recruiting class not reaching senior season yet, with one in the NBA, one just declared, and one first team all big east, another led the nation in shots blocked as a freshman, and another almost certain to declare for the NBA before his senior year, you are declaring that Lavin will never again recruit like this? You must be a riot at your place of employment with such an optimistic outlook.

You must have had a lot invested in internet stocks when the dot com bubble burst.

Haha. Actually, I didn't pay attention to my 401K and had it all in 6-8% guaranteed return. I transferred it to a stock fund like 3 days before one of those black Friday crashes, but it's done pretty well since. I do have way too much in the bank at 0.7% interest though, and am a long term conservative investor. Real estate is another place that at times I've done well, and other times am sitting on losses. I tend to take the long view with my personal assets and don't move things around much. With Lavin I take the long view also.

Fair enough. Staying the course in investing is usually the wisest long term strategy.

Thank you. FWIW, I don't want to get into pissing matches with you. You seem like a good guy and a bright guy, and we are all fans, and all frustrated.

Same here. I appreciate that post. I enjoy reading your posts.

 

[bamafan]

To anyone worried about Delarosa visiting Pittsburgh, have you seen Pittsburgh at this time of the year?