Lupica on Mullin hire

great article.

I love how they highlight how his brains and his shooting touch made him the success he is.

Mullin was not the fastest, the strongest or most explosive player in SJU history yet he has the highest FG% of any SJU player who did not play in the paint.
He has the most points scored, still today, despite not having a three point line (which would have made his record unreachable IMHO).
Not the fastest guy he is still 3rd all time on the steals list because he played with his brain...he observed, he anticipated and he was in the right spot to intercept.
He leads all-time in FT%.
He was never the PG but he is 5th all time in assists.
He used his basketball IQ to get the most out of what he personally had to offer and I have every belief that he will pass this same thing on to the young athletes he coaches - getting them to get everything out of what they have to offer.
 
A workaholic like Mullin will show players what's needed to play at the next level. He won't put up with guys smoking weed when they should be in the gym.
 
Everyone is lining up for Mullin. Think of the positive press we will get when this program gets going. The entire city will feel a part of this thing - again and finally.
 
Holy sh-t, I am reading this article and the hair on the back of my neck stood up! I am not ashamed to say I had a tear in my eye! It felt like Mullins first return game at MSG when he was with Golden State and everybody in the arena was wearing their SJU jackets! When his name was announced the place went crazy! Jesus, I cried then also!
 
Holy sh-t, I am reading this article and the hair on the back of my neck stood up! I am not ashamed to say I had a tear in my eye! It felt like Mullins first return game at MSG when he was with Golden State and everybody in the arena was wearing their SJU jackets! When his name was announced the place went crazy! Jesus, I cried then also!
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The first home game next year should truly be electric.
 
Holy sh-t, I am reading this article and the hair on the back of my neck stood up! I am not ashamed to say I had a tear in my eye! It felt like Mullins first return game at MSG when he was with Golden State and everybody in the arena was wearing their SJU jackets! When his name was announced the place went crazy! Jesus, I cried then also!
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The first home game next year should truly be electric.
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The fans will bring the house down when Coach Mullin strolls onto the court
 
Lupica has always loved Chris, great article and brings back a lot of nostalgia for me.

Go Redmen Go.
 
Last week, Lupica wrote that SJU was a dinosaur and it will never reach elite status again. As fans, we should just deal with it.

Fast forward, and now Lupica is singing our praises over Mullin's hiring.

Look for more and more good, free publicity (which would otherwise be out of the University's budget) to come.
 
A workaholic like Mullin will show players what's needed to play at the next level. He won't put up with guys smoking weed when they should be in the gym.
Click to expand...

I could see his work ethic potentially causing some problems with the players. Let's remember, these are still 18-22yr old kids (unless you are Orlando Sanchez, in which case he was like in his early 30's when he played in college). They are going to want to live the college lifestyle at some point. They are going to want to drink, and go to parties, have fun, and do everything else that a typical college student does. And like you and everyone else has said, Mullin was a gym rat....he practically lived in the gym. All he ever did was work on his game. I could see him going in with the mindset that, "well I was able to put in the work, so why can't you?" I don't know if that kind of thinking will work with today's college players. Is he going to be able to accept that some of his players are not going to be like that. When he would have spent 6hrs in the gym, some players may only spend 2. When he would have shot 1,000 free throws a day, some may only shoot 500.

Will he be able to accept that?
 
A workaholic like Mullin will show players what's needed to play at the next level. He won't put up with guys smoking weed when they should be in the gym.
Click to expand...

I could see his work ethic potentially causing some problems with the players. Let's remember, these are still 18-22yr old kids (unless you are Orlando Sanchez, in which case he was like in his early 30's when he played in college). They are going to want to live the college lifestyle at some point. They are going to want to drink, and go to parties, have fun, and do everything else that a typical college student does. And like you and everyone else has said, Mullin was a gym rat....he practically lived in the gym. All he ever did was work on his game. I could see him going in with the mindset that, "well I was able to put in the work, so why can't you?" I don't know if that kind of thinking will work with today's college players. Is he going to be able to accept that some of his players are not going to be like that. When he would have spent 6hrs in the gym, some players may only spend 2. When he would have shot 1,000 free throws a day, some may only shoot 500.

Will he be able to accept that?
Click to expand...

If Mullin only recruits players like himself, I will be one very happy fan!
 
A workaholic like Mullin will show players what's needed to play at the next level. He won't put up with guys smoking weed when they should be in the gym.
Click to expand...

I could see his work ethic potentially causing some problems with the players. Let's remember, these are still 18-22yr old kids (unless you are Orlando Sanchez, in which case he was like in his early 30's when he played in college). They are going to want to live the college lifestyle at some point. They are going to want to drink, and go to parties, have fun, and do everything else that a typical college student does. And like you and everyone else has said, Mullin was a gym rat....he practically lived in the gym. All he ever did was work on his game. I could see him going in with the mindset that, "well I was able to put in the work, so why can't you?" I don't know if that kind of thinking will work with today's college players. Is he going to be able to accept that some of his players are not going to be like that. When he would have spent 6hrs in the gym, some players may only spend 2. When he would have shot 1,000 free throws a day, some may only shoot 500.

Will he be able to accept that?
Click to expand...

If Mullin only recruits players like himself, I will be one very happy fan!
Click to expand...

I agree. Recruit kids who already display that work ethic. There are plenty of them who are willing to put in the work in order to achieve success.
 
A workaholic like Mullin will show players what's needed to play at the next level. He won't put up with guys smoking weed when they should be in the gym.
Click to expand...

I could see his work ethic potentially causing some problems with the players. Let's remember, these are still 18-22yr old kids (unless you are Orlando Sanchez, in which case he was like in his early 30's when he played in college). They are going to want to live the college lifestyle at some point. They are going to want to drink, and go to parties, have fun, and do everything else that a typical college student does. And like you and everyone else has said, Mullin was a gym rat....he practically lived in the gym. All he ever did was work on his game. I could see him going in with the mindset that, "well I was able to put in the work, so why can't you?" I don't know if that kind of thinking will work with today's college players. Is he going to be able to accept that some of his players are not going to be like that. When he would have spent 6hrs in the gym, some players may only spend 2. When he would have shot 1,000 free throws a day, some may only shoot 500.

Will he be able to accept that?
Click to expand...

Yes, he was a gym rat who spent a ton of time working on his game but back in the day nobody could party like him either so I think he understands.
 
Alcoholism is a progressive chronic relapsing illness. The fact that Chris was able to address it and keep it in check is all to his credit and not an insignificant asset for a coach, given the prevalence of that disease and related others in our society.
 
I was in Denver at McNichols arena when St. John's beat Kentucky and NC State to get into the final four. After the game I was standing next to Lou C. at an open phone booth when he excitedly told his wife that the team "was going". Lupica was all over St. John's back then. He was on the flight back to NY with the team as they partied in the aisles. My wife and I were on that flight as well. The players were great and were willingly posing for photos with other passengers. I have a photo of Willie Glass and Mark Jackson with their arms around each other grinning ear to ear. Chris Mullin was posing for photos with fans also and couldn't have been more gracious. Lupica, on the other hand, was not so pleasant. He just seemed like the kind of guy that would rudely push you out of the way to grab a piece of the limelight. Maybe that's the job of a reporter, but I just didn't get a good feeling about the guy. He's a talented writer. I have enjoyed his columns over the years, but still have that lingering impression of this toady sycophant wanting to not just cover the story, but be part of it.
 
Hiring Chris was what I was worried about when the Yankees were talking about hiring Don Mattingly. He is your childhood idol and the guy you root for the most, but if he starts to coach your favorite team and does a bad job, watching him get dumped on is a PAINFUL experience.

Hoping Mullin does an incredible job. I am rooting for him. I really think Danny Hurley was the way to go though.
 
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