Class of 72
Active member
There was a great crowd today at the Garden for the worst team in the Big East and that is a good sign of things to come once this staff gets real players. That was about the only positive to take away from today's game against the Providence Friars. They had a better coached team with NBA quality players. They deserve an NCAA bid. Ed Cooley is one of the better coaches in the Big East and it was evident in the time outs when I rewatched the game. Cooley spoke about specific things he wanted to see while Mullin was a cheerleader saying insightful things like "play hard" and "Don't get discouraged". Mullin has made Steve Lavin look like a Nobel laureate when communicating to his players. Perhaps, as bad as our players are, the reason they commit the same errors right after the time out is because they are told absolutely nothing strategy-wise and are just given a pep talk.
Case has been made that we need talented lead guards like Ponds and Lovett because Mussini and Ellison will be spectators next year.
The French and Italian connection was a failure. Along with Ron M, Mussini and Alibegovic were major disappointments. By the end of the season Mussini looked totally lost on both ends of the court. Even when used off the ball as in today's Friars game, he was insignificant while on the court. A six foot nothing wandering the perimeter aimlessly, his teammates not even looking to get him the ball. My gut tells me he may not renew his student visa.
As I have been saying all year, this team needs new blood as there is little to build on next year with four freshmen and only two who are Big East worthy. The future should be bright because the most important pieces have already been recruited in Ponds, Lovett and Ahmed. Now a 5th year transfer and another stud are imperative. Options on scholarship renewal are on the table and should be taken advantage of in the next few weeks. A whole new starting five next year but it will be talented going 8-9 deep. Not enough to be top 5 in the conference but good enough for 6th in my view.
Case has been made that we need talented lead guards like Ponds and Lovett because Mussini and Ellison will be spectators next year.
The French and Italian connection was a failure. Along with Ron M, Mussini and Alibegovic were major disappointments. By the end of the season Mussini looked totally lost on both ends of the court. Even when used off the ball as in today's Friars game, he was insignificant while on the court. A six foot nothing wandering the perimeter aimlessly, his teammates not even looking to get him the ball. My gut tells me he may not renew his student visa.
As I have been saying all year, this team needs new blood as there is little to build on next year with four freshmen and only two who are Big East worthy. The future should be bright because the most important pieces have already been recruited in Ponds, Lovett and Ahmed. Now a 5th year transfer and another stud are imperative. Options on scholarship renewal are on the table and should be taken advantage of in the next few weeks. A whole new starting five next year but it will be talented going 8-9 deep. Not enough to be top 5 in the conference but good enough for 6th in my view.
