Joe Lapchick

I see no reason why there can't be 2 statutes, one of Carnesseca & one of Lapchick (one near Taffner entrance & one near Belson Stadium side). I would contribute financially for this in a heartbeat. If Cincy can have one of the Big O while he is still alive we can do one of Looie.
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Cost is a serious matter, and since Looie already has his name on the arena, let's concentrate on having Coach Lapchick's statue at the entrance to it.
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have mixed emotion about naming a court after a coach.Great coaches can be honored by statue.pictures and memorabilia.displayed hopefully schools.will have great coaches. over the next 100.yrs There is only one court
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There is also only one Looie. Despite what older alums may feel about Lapchick, Looie is a homegrown coach, a guy who have been associated with St. John's every year of his adult life. I love the idea of a sttue for Lapchick, and he may have been a finer coach, but Looie is a treasure for SJU. He STILL lights up any room he enters.
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Beast, no one is diminishing Looie's contribution to St. John's. He's the face of our program, he's loved by all of us, and our on-campus arena is rightfully named after him. But what's long overdue is recognition for Coach Lapchick, one of the iconic figures in all of basketball, one of the game's pioneers, and a great humanitarian whom we were very blessed to have as our coach for so many years ... and Looie would be the first one to tell you so. 
 
Joe Lapchick was a legend before the word got bandied around like it does today..Truly, a Lion among men. The likes of Bobby Knight, prominently mentioned in Gus Alfieri's book, regarded Coach Lapchick as a mentor and Knight was in awe of Joe,as he began his career.

When Bobby Knight speaks about Basketball and Coach Lapchick, it gives you a perspective about Joe's greatness.

St. John's was very fortunate to have him as a Coach and his legacy deserves acknowledgment  by the school in a way that he deserves. A statue on campus would be appropriate.

And, in my view , honoring Coach Lapchick in no way diminishes Louie's stature as a St.John's icon..

Buck Freeman,Frank McGUIRE, Joe Lapchick, Lou Carnesecca all HOF Coaches.. They contributed much to the school's identity and BB legacy. We should be proud.
 
 or it could be the senior class gift. I know the 09' class gift is the fire place in the DAC. get someone in student government to add this idea to the list of possible senior class gifts.
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The senior class has about as much affinity to Joe Lapchick as a college kid would have to Gil Hodges. This will only happen if the school consents and it is entirely paid by donations with an overflow that goes to the Athletic Dept.
 
 or it could be the senior class gift. I know the 09' class gift is the fire place in the DAC. get someone in student government to add this idea to the list of possible senior class gifts.
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I would be all for a statue, and the creation of an SJU Hall of fame exhibit at CA. it would be a nice touch to have a statues out front, and a Lapchick exhibit in an SJU Hall of fame open before and after games.
 
Appreciate the PM's that I have received.

That said, I would have expected much greater interest.

If this proposed initiative is going to have "legs" we are going to need a much stronger response along with firm financial commitments.

The more solid monetary commitments we have the easier it will be to make the proverbial sale to the powers that be.

If we had a commitment total of $10K (10% of the potential cost of the project) that would really open some eyes and ears. At least then people would know that we are serious.

Any individual monetary commitment would be great.

Please PM me and spread the word to your friends.

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.



  
 
 I want to thank JerseyShoreJohnny for his efforts on this. I hope this does not lose momentum. I sent him a private message letting him know not only that I would be willing to help out in any way that I can but I also gave him a specific amount of how much I would contribute. Lets make this happen.
 
 Frankly I love Louie like no other, but a strong case could have been made to name the present arena after Joe Lapchick. When you do a side by side comparison of both coaches, I believe Lapchick had greater credentials with his NIT Championships which Redmen accurately stated were National Championships!!!
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Alumni hall should have been renamed Joe Lapchick arena & The Court named after LouC.

Why they chose to name both after Louie is really over the top bec. Joe Lap. was the better Coach winning those National Championships indeed.

I think the fact Coach Lap was forced to retire at age 65 was a mistake too because Lew Alcindor would have been a Johnny instead of a Bruin.
 
Sent JSJ a PM with a contribution amount, I hope this gets off the ground; it is an idea that should have happened years ago, IMHO. 
 
 3K already with just a thread on an unofficial site...not a bad start if you ask me. Just think if the school makes this an actual project where the deep pocket basketball donors are approached, this can happen. How great would it be if at the start of the first home game next year at Carnesecca Arena a tribute to Lapchick is unveiled with our Lavin back at the helm with Louie in attendance. Lapchick, Louie & Lavin...one of the few times in sports its great to be associated with Ls.
 
 Guys lets make this happen! When's the last time the boosters or an alumni group started a grassroots effort to honor a former member of the university?
 
 JerseyShoreJohnny, can you tell us what if anything needs to happen next? Did you get the sense that Monasch and/or the University are on board with this? Thanks again for all of your efforts. Many here have (rightly so) complained about the apathy of alumni, students & fans of St. John's in the past, this would be a great opportunity to show just how proud we are of our basketball program and our basketball history.
 
 I think a big key to this would be if the University actually accepted the Brick idea. If they did I think there would be no problem rasing 100K at $125 you would only need 800 bricks sold. I know I would take 2....

Heck I think they could probably get enough for 2 statues if they did this 1 for Louie too.
 
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