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Got home a little while ago from the CTK-Molloy game. Rawle as usual a man amongst boys. Anyhow as others have said, this is disappointing but not surprising. There have been warning signs including his demeanor as recently as at the SH game. Based on reports from Paultz, I assume we'll never see the likes of him again. Good bye and good luck.
Just to be clear. I am not certain how long the "leave" will be for. Since the problem has festered I just don't see a quick return.
What you have to love about rooting for this team is the way it keeps you guessing. A little over 48 hours ago, you could draw up a way for there to be two Top 10 teams playing in the Garden Tuesday night. Now a tricky game just got a lot trickier tomorrow and you can draw up a way for there to only be one ranked team playing in the Garden Tuesday night, with the unranked team without one of its two most talented players and returning to its bread and butter under multiple regimes the last 10 years: the 5 man rotation! WE ARE!
Interesting points.
Even if I cast no blame on anyone in this situation, I find myself asking a basic question, should this program be much more stable? Is there anything that can be done to reduce the instability that seems to plague us? If this is the norm, so be it. I can then find another diversion. If it is not, how can we get to a less volatile level & who is responsible for accomplishing that? My desire is to root for a team that has a minimum of drama, continuity, competes for a BE championship annually & goes to the Dance more often than not. As things stand, I have a hard time believing we will achieve that status. It seems like we get headed in the right direction only to be derailed. "Always something" could be our motto.
I've been saying this for awhile, St. John's is a tough sell to get kids to come here. This isn't the 80's anymore, things have changed so much in college BB since then. Of course Lavin gets the blame, but it's almost like he's got to take a chance on imperfect kids. I would wonder what realistic coach we could bring in here that could do a better recruiting job. At least Lavin has us in the running for the top talent. Norm was supposed to be an expert recruiter, and look how badly he failed at it.
*Edit: I don't want to make this seem like a Lavin defense. I'm not happy at all with the way he's seemingly taken recruiting periods off and put our future in a lot of doubt.
I have never subscribed to your view that St Johns is a tough sell. There are schools and programs that have enjoyed or are enjoying success in lesser locations. Gonzaga in Spokane, Xavier in Cincinnati, Villanova in Radnor, Davidson in the sticks, Syracuse in the North Pole, Butler, San Diego State, and others. For Christmas sake, NYC should be an easy sell for hungry and aggressive coaches. Hiring lazies or losers has been our athletic administration's history since Brian Mahoney was endorsed by Lou. The current situation is eerie in that it is shaping up to end like the Jarvis fiasco. Coaches with big egos thinking they deserve(d) contract extension without proving they worked hard enough for it, sabotaging their recruiting efforts with JC talent and walk ons and alienating the fan base. I agree with Paultzman in regard to the length of Rysheed's absence and since the Spring semester does not begin until January 21st, neither party will have any incentive to contact the other. If Jordan returns before that date he may have gotten the message. What message? That I (Lavin ) will ruin your selfish fckn NBA dream by exposing you as uncoachable and making you damaged goods even if it means losing my job since Class of 72 says I am losing it anyway. :angry:
You're missing my point though. You're not selling the top kids on NYC anymore. With the emergence of mainstream media and social media, these guys think they're rock stars in high school. Location hasn't proven to be a factor and time and time again we've seen kids interested in leaving home rather than put NY on their back. Kids are looking to get to the next level by any means necessary, even if they have to go to Podunk U. But the biggest thing is the level of support at schools like Syracuse, using your example. They are the main attraction there. Look how little support there is for st. John's.
Have to disagree. Just look at Xavier located in a rather mundane, not exactly cosmopolitan area with other sports options, albeit less than NY. It attracts three & four star kids for most part from all around the country built on its winning tradition. They then coach the hell out of and develop recruits. It can be done here with steady, competent leadership. Avoid the fools gold of "questionable" elite kids with NBA mania & build a solid core of basketball players. The volatility of our roster is a big factor in destabilizing the program with an end result of being mediocre more often than not. It is quite ok to look at current player & roster issues like Thomas debacle, Jordan & Adonis ineligibility to posit notion that we have to look at the way we do business here. At this stage of Lavin era we should not be looking at possibility of going to battle with such a thin roster. Perhaps we should put blame aside and objectively examine the state of the program, fairly look at who should be held accountable & develop a plan of remediation.
How are the sports facilities at Xavier? How is the campus and campus life? How is the fan support? I'm asking because I have no idea.
However, I do know that St. John's plays in a glorified high school gym nightly that is usually less than half full and has no semblance of a campus life (commuter school). I'm not trying to trash St. John's, I'm just stating what it is. When was the last time someone made a reach to come to St. John's because they wanted to elevate NYC? I think Moe Harkless I remember saying that, other than that I don't remember much of it.
Further, this goes to the administration also. The athletics are run like a mom and pop organization and has been for years. It's ridiculous really.
Can't argue with mom and pop point. Xavier plays in a decent arena, but MSG is better. CA admittedly is below average for sure. Xavier is a better academically than SJU & has a decent campus in a dreadful city.
I suggest you look at Seton Hall which is in Metro area in a lousy location with a so so campus. They seem to be attracting solid kids recently facing same challenges as SJU. However they are accomplishing that, it would appear it can be done. Like Tiny or not, SH appears to be putting in the work to succeed. Recruits appear to be finding SH to be a good destination. In the long run can they sustain that? I think so, but who knows. It is not about geography, facilities, kids leaving NYC, etc. It is more about leadership and surmounting those shortcomings Imo.
Come on Paultz. You are reaching on Seton Hall. You seem smarter than that. You lost me on that comparison. Major Reach
No offense but Seton Hall is a dump and the ONLY reason they got Whitehead and Delgado is because they offered jobs to Antigua and Morton. For all of Lavin's perceived faults on this board, at least he did not sell his soul to the devil (Mr. Morton) like Willard did to save his job.Their recruiting has stunk otherwise. Willard would jump from that Dump the first minute a better or more lucrative situation arose for him.
I was just giving an example of potential success facing same obstacles. If you can take a breath note I questioned whether they can sustain that success. I was attempting to negate the premise that with our facilities, etc, we can't succeed, the original post. Btw SH has a lot of recruits at Nova game today. Was told Tiny did not bribe them.
Btw, hiring Antigua was a good thing. I wish we were able to do that. We took that approach w Mo Hicks, but put him into DOB position, negating any recruiting dividends in that arrangement. Lastly do you think Joe Lapchick hiring Looie had anything to do with getting Donnie Burks & Willie Hall? Not a Willard fan, but he did nothing illegal in getting these kids. Before we cast aspersions, perhaps we should look at our own house seemingly plagued by eligibility & suspension problems.
