Fire Mullin!
- Thread starter ManhattAn1
- Start date
Sorry but where did I defend the coach? As a matter of fact I did not. Reread what I wrote , I said we are all disappointed with this loss as well as the Delaware State loss. I did not defend anyone.
And I did say I am willing to give the coach more time when I responded to the thread where you called me out for my opinion. He started with a farm league team in the majors , so yes I am still supporting the coach. As for today I could easily try to defend the loss but I will not.
And asking someone not to start three seperate threads on the very same topic is not throwing stones imho.
ManhattAn1
Active member
I want Mullin to succeed. The fact his coaching style is inconsistent is not good, players are regressing, and we have ZERO Division 1 Coaching experience besides MATT A is a huge problem.
I am looking for improvement, if we want to be hard on the last two coaches here I believe Mullin is fair game then,
I am looking for improvement, if we want to be hard on the last two coaches here I believe Mullin is fair game then,
Class of 72
Active member
I don't think anyone is criticizing you for Mullin's coaching style. Fact is he has no style as yet and the powers that be were willing to roll the dice for over $2 million for him to learn on the job. I'm not even sure that without St. Jean he would win one game on his own planning and coaching ability. Slice was supposed to be the intermediary in the coaching and recuiting of young new players. That is the reason for hiring him as the "associate" head coach. He wanted to target prime time talent and Matt was targeting projects. The problem was Slice did not get one prime player and Mullin leaned on St. Jean and Matt. Some in Slice's corner see that as a betrayal by Mullin after just a few short months. Other than Lovett and Ponds no one else appears to be Big East ready in year two. Year three we are adding 3 players formerly committed to other schools recruited by Matt. 2018 and 19 recruits are a long ways off and we are operating at maximum scholarships with less than ready talent. I am now on the fence with even Matt.
What you need to do is stop creating the same thread just to get attention to your frustration. We are all pissed with losing to Delaware State and L.I.U. After watching two Penn State games I have doubts we can beat them even with Lovett. Owens has been a pleasant surprise but should have been a 6th man. Other than him we have a very porous front line. Things could improve if Wild Bill Bashir played within the offense but I am not holding my breath.
I am beginning to think that having an NCAA team in year three in the 10 team Big East may be out of our reach without some more personnel changes.
Next summer will be the summer of change whether forced or voluntary.
beast of the east
Active member
I have said this before. We shouldn't be measuring Mullin on wins and losses. We were one bucket away from a win, and had we won, everyone here would say we are turning the corner.
I have been critical of Mullin not coaching. I will say that the Mullin I saw vs. Fordham was vocal and animated the entire game. I didn't watch today's game so can't comment on his coaching performance, but before he becomes a good coach, he has to coach, and at least for me saw signs the other night that he was doing just that. He also consulted St. Jean during play, had players coming out of the game to sit next to him (between St Jean), all things typical of what coaches do.
I have been critical of Mullin not coaching. I will say that the Mullin I saw vs. Fordham was vocal and animated the entire game. I didn't watch today's game so can't comment on his coaching performance, but before he becomes a good coach, he has to coach, and at least for me saw signs the other night that he was doing just that. He also consulted St. Jean during play, had players coming out of the game to sit next to him (between St Jean), all things typical of what coaches do.
Class of 72
Active member
Mully is more active and interested than last year. However, his use of time outs and substitutions deserve critical observation. Still needing an inexperienced kid coach to drawn lines, circles and arrows and do half the talking is mind boggling at this level. Not only does it not play well on T.V., it does not play well with recruits. Out of time outs this team fails to execute more often than not possibly because they are hearing too many voices. When you have more than one main chef the meal will never be consistent. Therefore, you will have losses to Delaware, blow outs of Fordham followed by a close loss to L.I.U.
The biggest problem right now is Chris Mullin does not look happy or comfortable coaching.
Sitting amongst my Redmen.com brethren at the Fordham game, I asked them if they felt CM was happy being a HC. Pretty much to a man the answer was "no". While it was only a group opinion, if in fact he's not happy doing this, that's a major problem. Of course frustration combined with losing tends to make people unhappy.
Twice out of time outs yesterday the team ran beautiful plays and got Mussini wide open jumpers he missed; it happens. This coaching nonsense is so old; this amateur psychoanalysis from afar is even sillier. No one likes the losing but give it time. Ironically, I ran into a high school coach friend of mine last night and asked him if he saw the Johnnies game, he had, and I started bitching like crazy about Yakwe being on the floor at the end of the game and he disagreed vehemently. He saw Yakwe on the court for follow ups and saw the problem as Ponds and Ellison making poor decisions with the ball. Not saying he was right but another viewpoint and an impartial one.
beast of the east
Active member
There are a lot of opinions for certain, and I appreciate that you are patient to see what unfolds.
Let's all remember that the Mullin hire was huge risk/reward scenario. Unlike Dunleavy's Tulane salary, Mullin wasn't coming here for $150,000 per, and I do think the board was influenced on the ROI SJU received from Lavin as HC. Lavin didn't get fired because he didn't produce (in SJU's opinion), he got fired because at $2 million per, he didn't produce enough to warrant the salary.
A successful Mullin coaching legacy can mean so much more for the school beyond on court success. The ties to the iconic Carnesecca, a possible succession as the face of SJU, the story of local hero coming home to restore order all was/is too much to resist. The lack of coaching experience was factored into the decision eyes wide open. Everyone knows there is risk, but everyone who knows Mullin knew he wouldn't dog it, has immense personal pride, loves SJU, and would give it his all.
Is Mullin happy right now? Well, crap, of course not. How could anyone we happy with losing. I would say he isn't an easy guy to read, but also would say he is a totally honest person. He is optimistic and trying to be patient waiting for talent to arrive that will make us competitive. In the meantime he is learning and will make a ton of mistakes in the largest media market in the world.
I'm encouraged by what I've recently seen in his style. The clipboard stuff is overplayed - Looie didn't handle the clipboard, and honestly once you have a handle on the offensive and defensive plays and schemas we'd run, anyone with half a brain could do it. Is he short on coaching ability? Of course. He is also short a George Johnson, Jayson Williams, Walter Berry, Billy Goodwin, Ron Artest or David Russell on the front line. Pretty certain if we had a couple of those along with our backcourt Mullin (and us) would be a lot happier
To quote Aaron Rodgers, some of you guys have to RELAX.
It seems pretty clear that Mullin has a plan for what he wants the program to look like and how he wants the team to play. You can see flashes of it here and there, and when it works it doesn't look bad.
There are two problems with it at the moment. One big one is that there aren't enough players in the program with the skill set or experience to play the game Mullin wants to play. And there was no way on earth that there were going to be at this stage of the game. It's frankly pretty impressive and an enormous credit to Matt A and Mullin that they have the ones they do. But beyond those you need players to fill out the roster and they have done what they can to do that.
The other one is that the staff is missing an experienced D1 coach. Maybe Slice was supposed to fill that role (tho he would not have been my choice for that task), but he isn't here and the spot hasn't been filled ... yet. Maybe with better players the coaching issues would be less glaring, but it is what it is.
Bottom line is that the whole thing is a developmental project. Fans always want to win now, but reality doesn't usually work that way. Like it or not you are going to have to sit through this year and probably next before you are in a position to start passing judgment. Between now and then all there is to do is nitpick, bitch and moan, cheer, and look for signs of progress.
And btw if I were you I would enjoy watching Ponds and Lovett and a few others. And remember it isn't like they dropped from the sky and landed at St John's.
It seems pretty clear that Mullin has a plan for what he wants the program to look like and how he wants the team to play. You can see flashes of it here and there, and when it works it doesn't look bad.
There are two problems with it at the moment. One big one is that there aren't enough players in the program with the skill set or experience to play the game Mullin wants to play. And there was no way on earth that there were going to be at this stage of the game. It's frankly pretty impressive and an enormous credit to Matt A and Mullin that they have the ones they do. But beyond those you need players to fill out the roster and they have done what they can to do that.
The other one is that the staff is missing an experienced D1 coach. Maybe Slice was supposed to fill that role (tho he would not have been my choice for that task), but he isn't here and the spot hasn't been filled ... yet. Maybe with better players the coaching issues would be less glaring, but it is what it is.
Bottom line is that the whole thing is a developmental project. Fans always want to win now, but reality doesn't usually work that way. Like it or not you are going to have to sit through this year and probably next before you are in a position to start passing judgment. Between now and then all there is to do is nitpick, bitch and moan, cheer, and look for signs of progress.
And btw if I were you I would enjoy watching Ponds and Lovett and a few others. And remember it isn't like they dropped from the sky and landed at St John's.
VillageRedman
Member
Lets get something straight ...Chris will be here until he wants to leave --He will never be fired !!!!
Yes he is a new coach and is working things out -- His style is not yet solidified. He has the KIDS playing hard.
Anyone who thinks that loss yesterday was his fault is missing the point. He put the KIDS in a position to win. The last play was set up perfectly Ponds just missed the shot. They made several rookie mistakes. If you dont think Ellision has improved I think you are watching the wrong games --Does he have some drawbacks ? yes he sometimes panics when handleing the ball and picks up his dribble. when he did yesterday the spacing was way off. We all had expectations for this season. None more than me. !!Yakwe has regressed but many sophs do --He will improve !
Stop bashing these kids and HOF coach ..
Yes he is a new coach and is working things out -- His style is not yet solidified. He has the KIDS playing hard.
Anyone who thinks that loss yesterday was his fault is missing the point. He put the KIDS in a position to win. The last play was set up perfectly Ponds just missed the shot. They made several rookie mistakes. If you dont think Ellision has improved I think you are watching the wrong games --Does he have some drawbacks ? yes he sometimes panics when handleing the ball and picks up his dribble. when he did yesterday the spacing was way off. We all had expectations for this season. None more than me. !!Yakwe has regressed but many sophs do --He will improve !
Stop bashing these kids and HOF coach ..
JackofVirginia
Active member
Follow ups, like putting back a rebound? Has anyone seen Yakwe do that consistently or even recently? After a late timeout either Ponds or Ellison passed in low to Yakwe who, of course, fumbled and lossed the ball. Had to assume that play was setup by coach.
Ellison has been one of the most frustrating players to watch and I am constantly hitting my $#%^& key when I start to post something. When I see him starting, I immediately head to the bathroom.. but I have to agree that while he still has very poor decision making skills, since Lovett went down, he has seemed to step up in a good way. Instead of trying to be a savior he has been a lot less selfish and got into the good ball movement. Not an excuse for the mistakes he's made but just agreeing that he has made some progress.
I haven't seen thread-the-needle bullets like Ponds and Lovett are capable of with an almost imperceptible flick of the wrist, since Omar Cook who had the same problem with guys on the receiving end. Those are beautiful, works of art but as the decision maker you've got to take responsibility for that too. Assuming Simon, Clark and hopefully Brown have some NBA ready hands, we are going to see some awesome stuff but unfortunately I think only Lovett and Ponds on the current team are ready for that kind of ball.
we are sju
Active member
In a forum where yours truly has more than 2k posts this is the best one ever
we are sju
Active member
Honestly everyone loves Matt A but our bigs all suck. I know the buck ultimately stops with Mullin and he takes a hit as well but maybe it is time for everyone to stop verbally giving Matt BJ's and hope he can bring in a big that can catch the ball, dunk it every once in awhile and grab 7 boards.
Can I borrow some kool-aid? If he's so great, and I assume in your eyes since hes an HOFer that automatically = a great coach and free passes left and right, how come they were even in that position to begin with against such a crap team?
He needs to bite the bullet and get people who know how to coach and emphasize fundamentals on that bench. His friends, friend's son, are failed experiments. It's a business after all.