H&H

C

Class of 72

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This year the hype was obvious about our program. It wasn't about the players who were assembled in short order to become infamous but about our coaching staff made up of the greatest player in St. John's basketball history, Chris Mullin, and two great recruiters and Hall of Fame player Mitch Richmond replacing Gene Keady as coaching advisor.  We all got swept along by it, but the reality quickly set in when we started losing to D2 teams and other D1 teams by double digits on regular basis. We were embarrassed locally by Fordham and NJIT, Seton Hall beat us twice and we won one game in the Big East conference.  It was a short honeymoon and future hype better be about players.  Unfortunately, that big name game changer has not materialized as yet.  The big question will be can Barry "Slice" Rohrssen recruit that impact player that Mullin needs to put St. John's back on the basketball map. A couple of Big time fans who were very vocal with positive tweets in November have mysteriously gone completely silent.  The staff report card starts in seven months.  Until that  time much of what will be posted here will be hyperbole.

By definition, "hyperbole is an amusing and useful literary device that spices conversation and enriches literature, but in advertising and news reporting, it’s often used to evoke fear and dread."  Super fan Fun was famous for his hyperbole but was restricted to BEB as his writing violated every redmen.com rule.  Hopefully next season we will all be able to separate the hype from hyperbole without being banned, banished or rebuked.  Hopefully St. John's being advertised as "New York City's team" will not be hyperbole but fact.  Hopefully we will go from the woodshed to the winner's circle.  The Big East needs St. John's to be a winner in NYC.  This and next year's recruiting cycles will determine if that will ever be possible.  As Paultzman regularly says "patience". 
 
I think we're on the right track. However, I think the focus on a "game changer" recruit is misplaced. I like the talent level that we have, and what's being brought in. With the proper coaching this team can succeed with what we have in the next 2 years, assuming these players continue to develop and get better. With Lovett finally eligible next year, we'll have a true PG to handle the ball, and we've added some guys who should put up a lot of points in Ahmed & Ponds (and to a lesser extent Freudenberg; I'm always hesitant on foreign guys adjusting). And of course we still have that dynamic defensive front court duo of Sima & Yakwe, throwing the block party every game, bailing out their less defensively-inclined teammates time and time again.

I try to avoid the hyperbole. I think a lot of people expected too much from Mullin and co. around this time last year, I probably got wrapped up in it a little too, but I was always skeptical of Mullin as a HC. I had no doubt they would recruit with Slice & Matt, but so did Lavin...it means nothing if you can't coach. That said, I think a realistic expectation for this team is to reach the NIT. I think anything beyond that is pure gravy.
 
I think we're on the right track. However, I think the focus on a "game changer" recruit is misplaced. I like the talent level that we have, and what's being brought in. With the proper coaching this team can succeed with what we have in the next 2 years, assuming these players continue to develop and get better. With Lovett finally eligible next year, we'll have a true PG to handle the ball, and we've added some guys who should put up a lot of points in Ahmed & Ponds (and to a lesser extent Freudenberg; I'm always hesitant on foreign guys adjusting). And of course we still have that dynamic defensive front court duo of Sima & Yakwe, throwing the block party every game, bailing out their less defensively-inclined teammates time and time again.

I try to avoid the hyperbole. I think a lot of people expected too much from Mullin and co. around this time last year, I probably got wrapped up in it a little too, but I was always skeptical of Mullin as a HC. I had no doubt they would recruit with Slice & Matt, but so did Lavin...it means nothing if you can't coach. That said, I think a realistic expectation for this team is to reach the NIT. I think anything beyond that is pure gravy.
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Excellent points! I was actually shocked when Mullin was named coach. It was a Russian roulette hire but adding Matt and Slice made the gamble worthwhile. I also think that the absence of Lovett and Williams last season added at least 4 or 5 more defeats than I expected. Twelve wins would have been more digestible. I disagree with most redmen.com fans here about only 15 wins next year. Regardless of youth and inexperienced coaching, with a talented backcourt and a key addition up front, I expect at least 18-20 wins. In the end it is and will always be about getting the right players. We definitely will bring in a 5th year player and two guys who will be serviceable as redshirts. Marvin Clark, who Matt recruited at Iowa State, would be much better than Christian Jones in a 5th year. Get one key recruit every year and by year 3 the NCAA will become an annual event again.
 
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