hnkcolumbia
Well-known member
Yes!!!!!!!!
Lavin Contract Extension
- Thread starter redstorm80
- Start date
Although Lavin's in game coaching is very questionable at times, I think this is a very good move by St. John's. Yes, I thought this team would be further along by now. But I can't argue the fact that since he has been here, the team has continually improved and he has brought national attention to the program. And to reiterate what a lot of posters have already said, I'm a big fan of the school bringing stability to a program that has been unstable for a long time.
My hope is that Lavin continues to prove that he's an elite recruiter and that the SJU fan base returns to games. It'd be real nice to see MSG sold out like the old days.
My hope is that Lavin continues to prove that he's an elite recruiter and that the SJU fan base returns to games. It'd be real nice to see MSG sold out like the old days.
Avon Barksdale
Member
I am not really happy about this season, but there is still games left to play before the final judgment. I think the team has enough talent to win the Big East Tourney which I would then consider this season a major success.
This signing is good for SJU. We are not getting any better coach here and i know his in game coaching is questionable, but he is a great representative of the school, and he gets us players....so i think we can always be in the mix. I think with the right staff assembled we can be much better than we are. I really like Lavin a lot and he seems like a genuine human being. I am glad he will be here.
For all of the haters, just remember MJ's last season and the Roberts error. Where the program is with this regime is in another galaxy.
This signing is good for SJU. We are not getting any better coach here and i know his in game coaching is questionable, but he is a great representative of the school, and he gets us players....so i think we can always be in the mix. I think with the right staff assembled we can be much better than we are. I really like Lavin a lot and he seems like a genuine human being. I am glad he will be here.
For all of the haters, just remember MJ's last season and the Roberts error. Where the program is with this regime is in another galaxy.
Lavin is basically getting a $3mil/yr Participation Award. He showed up, and he wasn't Norm. So therefore he gets a raise and extension?
I'm not a hater, and I don't think he should be fired. But having the team going in the right direction, instead of the wrong direction, means you should keep your job - but that's not the same thing as giving him a raise and extension. You should have to accomplish something before you get a raise. And lets face it, Lavin's resume at SJU is thin. Which isn't to say he's done a bad job, it just means you need something to point to when you go into your boss's office to ask for a raise. Except the SJU Athletic Dept apparently.
I think what Moose points out about recruiting is a valid concern though. But locking him up for 4-5 more years to please a 16yr old is a dangerous proposition. If it turns out that Lavin isn't the right guy - we're going to be stuck paying him a lot of money for a long time. There's no salary cap, but in a way there is, and there's a chance this contract could turn into the kind of dead-weight that we're used to seeing from the Knicks and Mets. I don't know enough to say I want Lavin coaching this team through 2020.
I'm not a hater, and I don't think he should be fired. But having the team going in the right direction, instead of the wrong direction, means you should keep your job - but that's not the same thing as giving him a raise and extension. You should have to accomplish something before you get a raise. And lets face it, Lavin's resume at SJU is thin. Which isn't to say he's done a bad job, it just means you need something to point to when you go into your boss's office to ask for a raise. Except the SJU Athletic Dept apparently.
I think what Moose points out about recruiting is a valid concern though. But locking him up for 4-5 more years to please a 16yr old is a dangerous proposition. If it turns out that Lavin isn't the right guy - we're going to be stuck paying him a lot of money for a long time. There's no salary cap, but in a way there is, and there's a chance this contract could turn into the kind of dead-weight that we're used to seeing from the Knicks and Mets. I don't know enough to say I want Lavin coaching this team through 2020.
So, to me, this news is devastating. I like Steve Lavin the person, but have no patience for Steve Lavin the clueless coach.
We can only hope that he is able to recruit kids that are talented enough to win without a coach (just ask Baron Davis). I am saddened that this program will be playing bonehead, senseless basketball for the foreseeable future.
For those of you who are fine with Lavin, did you play organized basketball past middle school? I have a theory that fans who really know basketball strategy (and Xs and Os) suffer the most. I love the game of basketball, which of course makes watching Steve Lavin's teams utterly painful.
I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that we have no 2014 recruits. I just don't get it. Please don't tell me to wait on this. As another poster pointed out, there are no highly touted prospects remaining. He simply dropped the ball for 2014.
Uhg......2015 youngest team in America, here we come (again).
We can only hope that he is able to recruit kids that are talented enough to win without a coach (just ask Baron Davis). I am saddened that this program will be playing bonehead, senseless basketball for the foreseeable future.
For those of you who are fine with Lavin, did you play organized basketball past middle school? I have a theory that fans who really know basketball strategy (and Xs and Os) suffer the most. I love the game of basketball, which of course makes watching Steve Lavin's teams utterly painful.
I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that we have no 2014 recruits. I just don't get it. Please don't tell me to wait on this. As another poster pointed out, there are no highly touted prospects remaining. He simply dropped the ball for 2014.
Uhg......2015 youngest team in America, here we come (again).
Welcome to the dark side.
Everything you said is true. For what it's worth though I think things could still work out with Lavin over time. I think the guy is smart enough to see what's wrong, even if he can't fix it himself - he knows to take it to a mechanic.
I think there will be turnover on the staff this summer. He knows poor game planning cost the team crucial games and put the team in a big hole.
I think he thought the team was in better shape than it was, and that's why he didn't make some obvious additions to his staff. He didn't think it was necessary.
My guess is he'll learn from that.
2014 recruiting was mind boggling though. Someone needs to have beers with tony chiles and ask him what the hell was going on.
I feel the same way. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. But, being better than Norm is not a reason. I hope it works out and we get our elite recruits for 15 and become a perennial top 25 team. I'm not convinced SJBB has accomplished enough to warrant the extension so far.
redmen2014champs
Member
Why would you ask Baron Davis anything, isn't he bat crazy?
So SJU can`t wait until the end of the year to extend him?
This is his third year with his recruits, and there`s still no guarantee that we`ll make the ncaa tournament this year.
If they don`t make it then in all three years with his recruits with 0 ncaa appearances.
Yeah Lavin will probably get 2 players in April, but what if he doesn`t? Then it`s one recruit in last two years.
So possibly 0 ncaa appearances with his recruits in 3 years, plus possibly 1 recruit in last last two years, but lets extend the coach.
Excellent idea SJU.
This is his third year with his recruits, and there`s still no guarantee that we`ll make the ncaa tournament this year.
If they don`t make it then in all three years with his recruits with 0 ncaa appearances.
Yeah Lavin will probably get 2 players in April, but what if he doesn`t? Then it`s one recruit in last two years.
So possibly 0 ncaa appearances with his recruits in 3 years, plus possibly 1 recruit in last last two years, but lets extend the coach.
Excellent idea SJU.
I don't get the timing of this. Lav's detractors will say he should be focusing on Marquette not his contract.
My problem is what if we fail to make NCAA's this year? This season will be dubbed a failure. I would give him one more crack at it next season just because of the way the team rallied this winter but I'm not ready to commit past that. Not sure why the administration is.
My problem is what if we fail to make NCAA's this year? This season will be dubbed a failure. I would give him one more crack at it next season just because of the way the team rallied this winter but I'm not ready to commit past that. Not sure why the administration is.
beast of the east
Active member
Does it say every dollar of the extension is guaranteed? Roberts was given a 4 year extension the year before he was fired, and it wasn't guaranteed.
You mean the same Baron Davis who hangs around Lavin and the program frequently? Davis at one time said that, but Davis also claimed he was abducted by aliens.
I am not here to be Lavin's defender. We all know his limitations, but connecting with others is not one them. Current and former players all love him. Dont start making things up, just to fit into some "cool" Lavin dark side club.
Avon Barksdale
Member
While many SJU fans were on the Norm Roberts bandwagon for a long time, I was a a doubter from day one, and I always referenced his QC record, lack of good recruits at SJU and losses to inferior programs as a reason to get rid of him. So I can identify with Desco's & JohnnyFan's thinking here. The "participation" comment is a little rough, but I get what you are saying and its time to see results on the court. An NCAA appearance this year is a must and next year we need to be playing in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
I just think that big time coaches are not knocking down doors to come here if Lavin was to be fired or he left on his own.
An established coach who is at a winning program would not leave that program to come to SJU. The SJU job is not the Kentucky job or the Kansas job or the UNC job.
I think SJU has a good basketball tradition, but not a great basketball tradition (2 Final Fours in 62 Years, Zero National Titles) and many people are delusional thinking this is a premiere program.
There are no candidates out there that are m ore attractive than Lavin. I think we dont go the route of an assistant from a big program because that experiment already failed.
The one coach i would love to see at SJU who we would never entertain is Bruce Pearl. I think we would rule the Big East with Coach Pearl, but the admin would not touch him with his past, even though to me he is a no brainer hire.
The immediate priorities for Lavin though should be improving the staff with a X & O tactician plus get blue chip players signed and eligible.
The contract extension seems like a lot but i dont think the program will ever sink to a laughing stock how it was from 2004-2011. Lavin will always keep it respectable and we will be competitive. Sadly, the Big East is not what it was, so he does not have as tough a job as he had when he came in here.....
As a fan of many years, I have no expectations of national championships. Just give me a program that is relevant and competitive most years. Contending for BE title, even in its diluted form, & being a "dangerous" team occasionally in the NCAA T is good enough for me. Anything above that is gravy. Rooting for the Johnnies in recent years has helped me master the art of disappointment. No need to refine that further. Lol Go Johnnies!
That's where I'm at too. I'm willing to concede that the program might not be where many have hoped, and there's been some disappointment. However, we're at 19 wins right now, and in position to win a few more. Excluding Lavin's first year (not his players?) and the NIT Title year (we were 16-13 during regular season), when was the last time we were in this position? Over a decade ago, the 01-02 season where we made it to the tournament with a smoke and mirrors team led by Hatten.