Lavin's Body Of Work At SJU

[redfan259999888]

Hi guys. Long time reader, first time poster. I've been a fan of SJU basketball since 1982 and have been living and dying with them ever since. My opinion on the coaching issue is this: Should have fired Lavin after last season if you wanted him gone and wanted to get someone worth his salt in to replace him. You would have had a talented roster to tempt a replacement with and given him a year to recruit with that roster in place. Let Lav go after this year and who will want to come? The cupboard will be bare again. My suggestion would be to let Lavin stay another year or 2 and see if he can start to rebuild the roster (after all recruiting is supposed to be his specialty) and if he is still failing let him go then with more of a roster in place (hopefully) so that the new incoming coach is not walking into a complete mess with no players on the roster. Just my .02.

Nah, Anthony, I'm good with starting all over. Don't really need to hear Lavins bs anymore. Oh we're heading in the right direction and all that bs for another two years.
I'm willing to even give the new coach a pass for his first two years.
Next year when having no one, and in two years when hopefully it's a top 10 class but all freshmen.
The sooner he's gone, then sooner the ship could be fixed.

 

[Anthony Mattia]

Hi guys. Long time reader, first time poster. I've been a fan of SJU basketball since 1982 and have been living and dying with them ever since. My opinion on the coaching issue is this: Should have fired Lavin after last season if you wanted him gone and wanted to get someone worth his salt in to replace him. You would have had a talented roster to tempt a replacement with and given him a year to recruit with that roster in place. Let Lav go after this year and who will want to come? The cupboard will be bare again. My suggestion would be to let Lavin stay another year or 2 and see if he can start to rebuild the roster (after all recruiting is supposed to be his specialty) and if he is still failing let him go then with more of a roster in place (hopefully) so that the new incoming coach is not walking into a complete mess with no players on the roster. Just my .02.

Welcome and your suggestion has merit and is a position others on the board share. Kind of a double edged sword because Lavin has brought in one quality recruit (on paper) in the last 3 years and his contributions to the program have been up and down to say the least. So I don't think Lavin has proven to be nearly the recruiter he was purported to be. And I don't see the names being bandied about as very strong SJU possibilities for various reasons. So from an old pool player, I think extending Lavin is nothing more than "poking and hoping" and is just avoiding the inevitable. We waited too long with Roberts (and for those who have a penchant for going back to old posts, I was one of those who supported him way longer than logical) and IMO we should cut ties now with Lavin.

Thank you for replying and welcoming me! I agree he has not shown the results one would expect from someone that is supposed to excel in recruiting, which is why I stated that I really feel he should have been let go at the end of last season, while we still have players from the one big class he did bring in.

 

[Anthony Mattia]

Hi guys. Long time reader, first time poster. I've been a fan of SJU basketball since 1982 and have been living and dying with them ever since. My opinion on the coaching issue is this: Should have fired Lavin after last season if you wanted him gone and wanted to get someone worth his salt in to replace him. You would have had a talented roster to tempt a replacement with and given him a year to recruit with that roster in place. Let Lav go after this year and who will want to come? The cupboard will be bare again. My suggestion would be to let Lavin stay another year or 2 and see if he can start to rebuild the roster (after all recruiting is supposed to be his specialty) and if he is still failing let him go then with more of a roster in place (hopefully) so that the new incoming coach is not walking into a complete mess with no players on the roster. Just my .02.

Nah, Anthony, I'm good with starting all over. Don't really need to hear Lavins bs anymore. Oh we're heading in the right direction and all that bs for another two years.
I'm willing to even give the new coach a pass for his first two years.
Next year when having no one, and in two years when hopefully it's a top 10 class but all freshmen.
The sooner he's gone, then sooner the ship could be fixed.

I hear ya. Just think it will be hard to attract a really good coach with a roster of AA and ADR with CO and Sheed as possibles while knowing their history of issues on and off the court.

 

[redfan259999888]

Hi guys. Long time reader, first time poster. I've been a fan of SJU basketball since 1982 and have been living and dying with them ever since. My opinion on the coaching issue is this: Should have fired Lavin after last season if you wanted him gone and wanted to get someone worth his salt in to replace him. You would have had a talented roster to tempt a replacement with and given him a year to recruit with that roster in place. Let Lav go after this year and who will want to come? The cupboard will be bare again. My suggestion would be to let Lavin stay another year or 2 and see if he can start to rebuild the roster (after all recruiting is supposed to be his specialty) and if he is still failing let him go then with more of a roster in place (hopefully) so that the new incoming coach is not walking into a complete mess with no players on the roster. Just my .02.

Nah, Anthony, I'm good with starting all over. Don't really need to hear Lavins bs anymore. Oh we're heading in the right direction and all that bs for another two years.
I'm willing to even give the new coach a pass for his first two years.
Next year when having no one, and in two years when hopefully it's a top 10 class but all freshmen.
The sooner he's gone, then sooner the ship could be fixed.

I hear ya. Just think it will be hard to attract a really good coach with a roster of AA and ADR with CO and Sheed as possibles while knowing their history of issues on and off the court.

Money talks, bs walks.
Give him a 5 contract and tell him not to worry about if the record isn't good in the short term future. We understand that it will take time to build a good team.

 

[Class of 72]

Oh please! You blame the inability to find a decent coach on the fact that fans are angry with how the team is playing? I have been following St John's Basketball since I was 10 years old. Never have I witnessed this kind of inept recruiting and coaching than I have in recent years. Have the coaches forgotten that basketball is a team sport? You just can't grab any athletes off a playground and expect them to play like a team. Norm couldn't coach-neither can Lavin. Players need to be developed and molded into a system. St John's doesn't have a system any more. How can you blame fans for their anger?

Forget 3, 4 or 5 star players, you need coachable players that can shoot and have something between the ears. As our luck would have it, we just have not gotten those players. Butler had two non athletic white kids who schooled our rated kids with fundamental basketball. They have a first year coach who inherited the team. Yet, they play smarter ball and have a deeper bench. Much has been made of our having seniors but they are not very good players. They were overrated by the scouting services and we wanted ranked recruits. Every one of them has serious flaws in their game and unless they are all clicking on all cylinders at the same time, they will lose to most decent teams. Like Norm Roberts, Lavin has failed to sign a point guard that can make a difference on the floor. Non of the players have any leadership qualities so it is pointless to debate which one can turn it around in the next few weeks. Because of these flaws I feared an implosion and it arrived sooner than I expected. It will be a true test to see whether this staff can motivate these players in the few games remaining.

 

[SJU14]

After 5 years, what you see is what you get with a coach. He isn't going to miraculously become a good in game coach. He isn't going to out of nowhere become a good player developer. It just isn't going to happen. So for all of the posters that want to give Lavin another chance, is this how you would like to see the program for the near future? Because I sure as hell know that isn't how I want to view this program. It has been a disaster.

Get me a mid major coach that can make local ties at the HS level and that can coach X's and O's. These high level athletes aren't working for us. We need BASKETBALL players. Guys that can shoot the basketball and play some defense with high IQ's. Kinda like Butler. Actually, exactly like Butler.

 

[ManhattAn1]

I suggest calling the ticket office and letting them know you are not happy with the behavvior and will not be renewing season tickets.

 

[bobo]

I'm sorry but the basketball IQ levels of Lavin's recruits for the most part, are so void of on court brain power it's as if they belong in a special ed class for BB players.

 

[beast of the east]

Who would want to coach for the angriest fan base in the country?

If you are not angry about tonight or a lot of similar nights the last, oh, I don't know, 11 years, then you shouldn't call yourself a fan.

If you want an easy team to root for, then follow Kentucky. Rooting for St. John's is never going to be easy again regardless of what happens to Lavin. The same posters were angry about Norm, about Jarvis, about Fraschilla, about Mahoney...it never ends. How long until the next coach starts getting his "brain bashed in" as Keady put it?

We blame the refs nearly every game, we criticize the f*cking announcers routinely...what coaches wear on the sidelines. We even knock walkons here.

This is a terrible job. Nobody shows up to games, but nobody misses an opportunity to criticize on the message boards.

Want people to show up, then gotta get a winning product, then people will spend their money on them. You can say what you want about them not being real fans then, but that's just how it is.

What you say is true for the casual fan, the people who show up only when the team is winning. The Mets have about 4 million of them, the Yankees even more. At this point I'm a casual Mets fan, not a diehard. I don't take every loss and losing season painfully. When they become good again, I'll show up.

You guys who claim to be diehard, and then don't show up are part of the problem, not the solution. In college basketball, fans are the 6th man. Show up, and be loud, and a good home team becomes almost unbeatable on their own floor. Stay home and rant at your TV when you could have contributed to the win by creating that home court advantage, and you are a pretender, a casual fan.

Even when we win, some guys bitch about a $60 ticket for good seats, which is standard in big conference college basketball even away from NY, in lower income places like Syracuse, Lawrence, Tallahassee. In NYC a MOVIE TICKET costs $15, on LI $12. Throw in popcorn and a soda, and that's another $14.

So, the reason it is so easy to disregard and be disdainful of loudmouths who think they are diehards but don't show up.

I'm not talking about guys who live more than 50 miles away and remain loyal to the program. I'm also not talking about guys with financial hardships or disabilities who can't get to games. I'm also definitely not talking about guys who have been extremely critical of the program, who I disagree with a lot, but who show up frequently or hold season tickets.

But for you to think you are somehow a big fan of this program, a team that has had 4 of the top six players at points during this season as being potential NBA players, and not show up until they win, is pure BS. You are fans of winning, casual fans, and nothing more.

Hey, call me what you want, but I'm not wasting my money on shit ball. Go to MSG, and troop it home on the subway feeling miserable, wishing the damn train would hurry so I could get off.
I won't go see a shitty Lavin team.
Want me to go spend money on a bad SJU team? Then lets get a new coach, I'll go to a few games next year, even though I know they will be horrible next year, why? For no other reason then to show him support.
I refuse to spend my money ever again on a Lavin coached SJU team.

To me last night felt like a Norm Roberts type of game.

I'll tall you a few things and not to razz you:

1) The Providence win was thoroughly enjoyable
2) As was the St. Mary's win.
3) As was the Marquette win.
4) The Butler loss at home was competitive and well played.
5) Even the Villanova game was a good game for 3/4 of it till we folded.

So you can bitch and kick and moan, but really the team has definitely had some home games where they played well and were worth seeing. If it's worth your time to watch at home and post here with any frequency, it's worth a cheap seat at least to watch and cheer in person. Just my opinion.

 

[logen]

Oh please! You blame the inability to find a decent coach on the fact that fans are angry with how the team is playing? I have been following St John's Basketball since I was 10 years old. Never have I witnessed this kind of inept recruiting and coaching than I have in recent years. Have the coaches forgotten that basketball is a team sport? You just can't grab any athletes off a playground and expect them to play like a team. Norm couldn't coach-neither can Lavin. Players need to be developed and molded into a system. St John's doesn't have a system any more. How can you blame fans for their anger?

Forget 3, 4 or 5 star players, you need coachable players that can shoot and have something between the ears. As our luck would have it, we just have not gotten those players. Butler had two non athletic white kids who schooled our rated kids with fundamental basketball. They have a first year coach who inherited the team. Yet, they play smarter ball and have a deeper bench. Much has been made of our having seniors but they are not very good players. They were overrated by the scouting services and we wanted ranked recruits. Every one of them has serious flaws in their game and unless they are all clicking on all cylinders at the same time, they will lose to most decent teams. Like Norm Roberts, Lavin has failed to sign a point guard that can make a difference on the floor. Non of the players have any leadership qualities so it is pointless to debate which one can turn it around in the next few weeks. Because of these flaws I feared an implosion and it arrived sooner than I expected. It will be a true test to see whether this staff can motivate these players in the few games remaining.

Boy do I hate stereotypes; Dunham and Barlow are not non athletic at all. In fact the most unathletic guy on their team is probably Roosevelt Jones, who ate us up and who happens to be black. What all 3 are are excellent basketball players.

 

[lawmanfan]

Boy do I hate stereotypes; Dunham and Barlow are not non athletic at all. In fact the most unathletic guy on their team is probably Roosevelt Jones, who ate us up and who happens to be black. What all 3 are are excellent basketball players.

The problem is that there is a diminishing number of fans who are able to distinguish between a "basketball player" and an "athlete".

 

[beast of the east]

Boy do I hate stereotypes; Dunham and Barlow are not non athletic at all. In fact the most unathletic guy on their team is probably Roosevelt Jones, who ate us up and who happens to be black. What all 3 are are excellent basketball players.

The problem is that there is a diminishing number of fans who are able to distinguish between a "basketball player" and an "athlete".

Roosevelt Jones is by all means an athlete AND a basketball player. He's just very unorthodox

 

[TX Redman]

"Redmen.com was angry that day, my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli"

With this level of frustration, if we pool together we will get a very good discount on pitchforks and torches.

 

[ccnobz]

George the Marine Biologist

 

[logen]

Boy do I hate stereotypes; Dunham and Barlow are not non athletic at all. In fact the most unathletic guy on their team is probably Roosevelt Jones, who ate us up and who happens to be black. What all 3 are are excellent basketball players.

The problem is that there is a diminishing number of fans who are able to distinguish between a "basketball player" and an "athlete".

Roosevelt Jones is by all means an athlete AND a basketball player. He's just very unorthodox

Once again I suggest a reading comprehension course. I never said he was not an athlete, I said he was "probably" their most "unathletic guy" which is a completely and totally relative term. You are so quick to want to argue with me, you don't read the posts for understanding, you read for what you think you can ding me on. Kind of like a person who doesn't listen for understanding but only to see when the person stops talking so they can jump in.

 

[Class of 72]

Oh please! You blame the inability to find a decent coach on the fact that fans are angry with how the team is playing? I have been following St John's Basketball since I was 10 years old. Never have I witnessed this kind of inept recruiting and coaching than I have in recent years. Have the coaches forgotten that basketball is a team sport? You just can't grab any athletes off a playground and expect them to play like a team. Norm couldn't coach-neither can Lavin. Players need to be developed and molded into a system. St John's doesn't have a system any more. How can you blame fans for their anger?

Forget 3, 4 or 5 star players, you need coachable players that can shoot and have something between the ears. As our luck would have it, we just have not gotten those players. Butler had two non athletic white kids who schooled our rated kids with fundamental basketball. They have a first year coach who inherited the team. Yet, they play smarter ball and have a deeper bench. Much has been made of our having seniors but they are not very good players. They were overrated by the scouting services and we wanted ranked recruits. Every one of them has serious flaws in their game and unless they are all clicking on all cylinders at the same time, they will lose to most decent teams. Like Norm Roberts, Lavin has failed to sign a point guard that can make a difference on the floor. Non of the players have any leadership qualities so it is pointless to debate which one can turn it around in the next few weeks. Because of these flaws I feared an implosion and it arrived sooner than I expected. It will be a true test to see whether this staff can motivate these players in the few games remaining.

Boy do I hate stereotypes; Dunham and Barlow are not non athletic at all. In fact the most unathletic guy on their team is probably Roosevelt Jones, who ate us up and who happens to be black. What all 3 are are excellent basketball players.

For a second there I thought you were offended by my calling them white. While both are great high percentage shooters neither has ever been described as athletic in the sense of a player who has exceptional speed, jumping ability or physically gifted. You obviously missed my comparative analysis between our players and them! No surprise there. While Kellen Dunham was Butler's highest rated recruit in 2012, he was only 17th at his position as a shooting guard. By comparison, Rasheed Sulaiman was rated 3rd. He was known as a dead eye shooter and he knows how to free himself up for shoots, which is basically all he does and does it better than any guard we have. Barlow was a 5'10 walk on guard who got no D1 offers out of high school. Athletic is the last thing one would describe him to be; an incredibly hard working shooter is his game. None of our guards, including our 2,000 point scorer D'angelo Harrison, have the gifted shooting ability of these two kids. You defend them with superior athletes which we were rumored to have but discipline and composure are not part of our DNA. Hope this clarified my stereotypical missive for you.

 

[redfan259999888]

Who would want to coach for the angriest fan base in the country?

If you are not angry about tonight or a lot of similar nights the last, oh, I don't know, 11 years, then you shouldn't call yourself a fan.

If you want an easy team to root for, then follow Kentucky. Rooting for St. John's is never going to be easy again regardless of what happens to Lavin. The same posters were angry about Norm, about Jarvis, about Fraschilla, about Mahoney...it never ends. How long until the next coach starts getting his "brain bashed in" as Keady put it?

We blame the refs nearly every game, we criticize the f*cking announcers routinely...what coaches wear on the sidelines. We even knock walkons here.

This is a terrible job. Nobody shows up to games, but nobody misses an opportunity to criticize on the message boards.

Want people to show up, then gotta get a winning product, then people will spend their money on them. You can say what you want about them not being real fans then, but that's just how it is.

What you say is true for the casual fan, the people who show up only when the team is winning. The Mets have about 4 million of them, the Yankees even more. At this point I'm a casual Mets fan, not a diehard. I don't take every loss and losing season painfully. When they become good again, I'll show up.

You guys who claim to be diehard, and then don't show up are part of the problem, not the solution. In college basketball, fans are the 6th man. Show up, and be loud, and a good home team becomes almost unbeatable on their own floor. Stay home and rant at your TV when you could have contributed to the win by creating that home court advantage, and you are a pretender, a casual fan.

Even when we win, some guys bitch about a $60 ticket for good seats, which is standard in big conference college basketball even away from NY, in lower income places like Syracuse, Lawrence, Tallahassee. In NYC a MOVIE TICKET costs $15, on LI $12. Throw in popcorn and a soda, and that's another $14.

So, the reason it is so easy to disregard and be disdainful of loudmouths who think they are diehards but don't show up.

I'm not talking about guys who live more than 50 miles away and remain loyal to the program. I'm also not talking about guys with financial hardships or disabilities who can't get to games. I'm also definitely not talking about guys who have been extremely critical of the program, who I disagree with a lot, but who show up frequently or hold season tickets.

But for you to think you are somehow a big fan of this program, a team that has had 4 of the top six players at points during this season as being potential NBA players, and not show up until they win, is pure BS. You are fans of winning, casual fans, and nothing more.

Hey, call me what you want, but I'm not wasting my money on shit ball. Go to MSG, and troop it home on the subway feeling miserable, wishing the damn train would hurry so I could get off.
I won't go see a shitty Lavin team.
Want me to go spend money on a bad SJU team? Then lets get a new coach, I'll go to a few games next year, even though I know they will be horrible next year, why? For no other reason then to show him support.
I refuse to spend my money ever again on a Lavin coached SJU team.

To me last night felt like a Norm Roberts type of game.

I'll tall you a few things and not to razz you:

1) The Providence win was thoroughly enjoyable
2) As was the St. Mary's win.
3) As was the Marquette win.
4) The Butler loss at home was competitive and well played.
5) Even the Villanova game was a good game for 3/4 of it till we folded.

So you can bitch and kick and moan, but really the team has definitely had some home games where they played well and were worth seeing. If it's worth your time to watch at home and post here with any frequency, it's worth a cheap seat at least to watch and cheer in person. Just my opinion.

Yeah, we had some enjoyable wins in the year that Dunlap coach them as fresmen, as they did in the last two nit years and this year. Again though, they will fail to make the NCAA tournament.
As I said, as long as Lavin is head coach, I won't waste my money going to a game.
Just how I feel, am I telling you how to spend your money?

 

[logen]

Oh please! You blame the inability to find a decent coach on the fact that fans are angry with how the team is playing? I have been following St John's Basketball since I was 10 years old. Never have I witnessed this kind of inept recruiting and coaching than I have in recent years. Have the coaches forgotten that basketball is a team sport? You just can't grab any athletes off a playground and expect them to play like a team. Norm couldn't coach-neither can Lavin. Players need to be developed and molded into a system. St John's doesn't have a system any more. How can you blame fans for their anger?

Forget 3, 4 or 5 star players, you need coachable players that can shoot and have something between the ears. As our luck would have it, we just have not gotten those players. Butler had two non athletic white kids who schooled our rated kids with fundamental basketball. They have a first year coach who inherited the team. Yet, they play smarter ball and have a deeper bench. Much has been made of our having seniors but they are not very good players. They were overrated by the scouting services and we wanted ranked recruits. Every one of them has serious flaws in their game and unless they are all clicking on all cylinders at the same time, they will lose to most decent teams. Like Norm Roberts, Lavin has failed to sign a point guard that can make a difference on the floor. Non of the players have any leadership qualities so it is pointless to debate which one can turn it around in the next few weeks. Because of these flaws I feared an implosion and it arrived sooner than I expected. It will be a true test to see whether this staff can motivate these players in the few games remaining.

Boy do I hate stereotypes; Dunham and Barlow are not non athletic at all. In fact the most unathletic guy on their team is probably Roosevelt Jones, who ate us up and who happens to be black. What all 3 are are excellent basketball players.

For a second there I thought you were offended by my calling them white. While both are great high percentage shooters neither has ever been described as athletic in the sense of a player who has exceptional speed, jumping ability or physically gifted. You obviously missed my comparative analysis between our players and them! No surprise there. While Kellen Dunham was Butler's highest rated recruit in 2012, he was only 17th at his position as a shooting guard. By comparison, Rasheed Sulaiman was rated 3rd. He was known as a dead eye shooter and he knows how to free himself up for shoots, which is basically all he does and does it better than any guard we have. Barlow was a 5'10 walk on guard who got no D1 offers out of high school. Athletic is the last thing one would describe him to be; an incredibly hard working shooter is his game. None of our guards, including our 2,000 point scorer D'angelo Harrison, have the gifted shooting ability of these two kids. You defend them with superior athletes which we were rumored to have but discipline and composure are not part of our DNA. Hope this clarified my stereotypical missive for you.

No not at all. IMO, they are not athletic in your mind because they are white; from my perspective neither are "non athletic". Dunham can create his own shot and can go to the hole which makes him plenty "athletic" in my mind. That he picks his spots to do either is because he plays within the team game. Barlow had no problem in both games breaking down and running by our "athletic" guards and taking the ball where he needed to whenever he wanted to which makes him plenty "athletic" in my mind. That he picked his spots to do so is because he plays within that same structure. Hope this clarifies my reply for you. Had you said they were not as highly rated or better basketball players than us I would not have replied. It was the use of the very easy and stereotypical they're "white" so they're "non athletic" that prompted my reply.

 

[jr49]

Who would want to coach for the angriest fan base in the country?

If you are not angry about tonight or a lot of similar nights the last, oh, I don't know, 11 years, then you shouldn't call yourself a fan.

If you want an easy team to root for, then follow Kentucky. Rooting for St. John's is never going to be easy again regardless of what happens to Lavin. The same posters were angry about Norm, about Jarvis, about Fraschilla, about Mahoney...it never ends. How long until the next coach starts getting his "brain bashed in" as Keady put it?

We blame the refs nearly every game, we criticize the f*cking announcers routinely...what coaches wear on the sidelines. We even knock walkons here.

This is a terrible job. Nobody shows up to games, but nobody misses an opportunity to criticize on the message boards.

Coach was hired to bring in players and get people in the seats. He didn't get it done. You could almost start to feel that fans would be back if the winning would happen, but it did not. If everything you say is true, Lav's lack of recruiting ran the team into the ground.

 

[Marillac]

The biggest thing is that fans need to know and understand what they want from this program. For the most part, it seems to change every 5 minutes. And that is the reason they will never be happy.


About 10yrs ago, they wanted a coach who had local ties, who would recruit the city and local areas, who could clean this program up. So they hired Norm, and we all know how that worked out.

So then the fans said, we want a coach that can be the face of the program, a face that people will recognize. We need to have a coach that has that 'NYC swagger'. So they got Lavin, and he has been exactly what we wanted as a coach.

Our last two coaches have been exactly what the fans have wanted...so what's next?

Now look at the players themselves. Everyone said that we needed local players, and so we got them. But all of a sudden those local players weren't good enough and weren't winning enough. Then the fans started to say that we needed good players, regardless of where they are from. So Lavin started recruiting kids from all over the country, and now all over the world. And now our fans are upset again for him not being able to seal the deal with local talent.

People on here claim that NYC is the greatest city in the world (which it may be), and everyone has that NYC swagger/attitude/cockiness.....but then we get pissed if the players act that way on the court.


So what do people want and expect from this program? Because in the end, you can't have it both ways.....

What is it you want?

To be a contrarian and argue for argument's sake.

Separately, I find it funny that marillac, who was probably the most entitled/nastiest poster during the Norm era, is chastising others for doing the same. Marillac, be honest, Lavin has pictures of you in a compromising position, right?

I was a kid during the Norm years. I've grown up quite a bit since then and I've learned the proper place and purpose for sports in my life.

I will also never forget the despair I felt during those dark times. It was worse than any season as a Mets fan. We never had a chance at an elite recruit. Guys like Landesburg and Stephenson listed us as a mere courtesy because Norm was a great guy. They never had any intention to come here and Stephenson proved that by adding schools every time one of his finalists moved and left just us.

The worst part was that Norm was just as bad--if not worse--at coaching than Lavin . His appalling QC record (combined with the success they achieved a few years after he left) was a constant reminder that there was no realistic chance that he would ever become a good coach.

This is not the job it was even during the time when Roberts was interviewing. Coaches aren't going up against Boeheim, Pitino, Dixon, and Calhoun anymore. Whoever comes in to replace Lavin--whenever that may be--is going to be a flawed coach in some aspect.