Mike Vacc on Chris

After reading this whole thread and watching the whole game I have a different question. Which is the better option, putting players in the position of having to play up to their role or in roles where they occasionally have opportunities to play up to their talent? I think our current system is the former, the Don Nelson model from the Warriors where everyone shoots and switches all the time. My favorite team was a team on which Don Nelson played, the Celtics championship teams with Cowens and Silas and Havlicek and Chaney and Jojo White. That was a team where both Silas and Chaney were close to non-shooters and Jojo was a great shooter but supposedly, only going to his right. Nelson came off the bench as the sixth man, trailer shooter on the fast break.

I am much more comfortable, maybe from all my work with rehabilitation, with putting people in to positions where they have the talent and know how to succeed at what they are asked to do and slowly discover what more they can do, than I am at putting people in to situations where their discovering their deficits puts the success of the whole team at risk and maybe impedes their learning what more they can do. Sure I saw Silas make baby hook shots and Chaney hit jumpers and Nelson give up his body on defense but usually they did what they were best at. If a championship NBA team can use that kind of role specialization and win might it make sense for a college team?


For those of you who are Knick fans, imagine what might have happened if in return for Mark Jackson they had gotten a somewhat shorter, hard-nosed deadly catch and release 15 foot jump shooter instead of rhythm shooter Charles Smith?
 
We are making it more complicated than it is. Team relies on the 3, and has shot poorly in all of the losses. They also don't rebound, so you have a team that gets one shot, and gives up, too often, more than one shot, they are on the short end when they don't shoot it well.

What exacerbates the shooting slump is an undisciplined approach. It's, to an extent, Mullin's way. Better a bad shot than a turnover. Not my words, but his..The difference in 3% shooting % is night and day when comparing open to not open, squared away to not, hands up defense to hands down. I see too many rushed and contested threes.

One problem is there are no microwaves waiting on the bench to ignite a team that is having an off night. No second option, like posting, when shots aren't falling. Everything hinges on the ability to hit the 3.
 
ESPN 2 has Nevada at UNLV tonight at 11 ET. You can see the iconic coach Musselman and his Wolfpack. They are 9-10 point favorites, which seems light.
You can also see former SJU recruit, Jonathon Tch. Tch., who is currently starting, only because UNLV is down three big men. He looks like a player, but hasn't done too much with this opportunity.
Nevada is missing their starting point guard, and has a very tall, veteran line-up. It's tough to say how good they are, since the conference competition is so weak.
 
[quote="SJU61982" post=318368][quote="Monte" post=318366]Some random morning thoughts:

1. Yes we are in last place in the big east, but we’re a good run away from 3rd place. It’s not like we’re mired in last place, so maybe we can stop with the hysterics

2. Yes we’re out on the tourney picture at the moment, but again a good run and we’ll be back in the picture. Not saying it’ll happen, but it’s certainly feasible. We’re not as good as we looked early in the year, and we’re not as bad as we’ve looked recently.

3. Like many others, I have serious doubts that Chris will ever turn out to be the coach that many of us hoped he would be, but can’t we at least wait till the end of the regular season to call his hire a failed experiment? Don’t we owe that to one of our own and the greatest player in the history of our program?

4. I don’t find criticism of Chris offensive, but I do find “the next head coach” thread highly offense and this point in the season. Again, complain all you want, but let the season play out before calling for Chris’s ouster.

That’s all folks[/quote]

Re: #2. We're very much in the tournament picture. Every bracketologist has us in the tournament, as of right now.

Re: #4. I want Mullin to succeeded too. However, if a change is made after the year, I'd like for the powers that be to have some idea of where they would like to go with things, and have some names ready. We've been burned before by firing coaches, without having anyone reasonable in mind, to replace them.[/quote]

Haven’t checked bracketology lately, because I’ve been so disgusted. Not doubting your word, but how is it that we’re under .500 and in last place in the league, and we’re still in?
 
Paultzman wrote: Can’t argue much with this;
upstatecourier.com/this-next-stretch-defines-mullins-tenure/

Thanks for posting Paultz. Great article - I agree with virtually every sentence in it.
 
[quote="NCJohnnie" post=318538]Paultzman wrote: Can’t argue much with this;
upstatecourier.com/this-next-stretch-defines-mullins-tenure/

Thanks for posting Paultz. Great article - I agree with virtually every sentence in it.[/quote]

This article is 10 months too late. When we ended the third season it became obvious this staff was all dog and pony shows. As soon as the season ended Mullin and Mitch split town. No urgency to replace Owens. That was Matt's job. They were nowhere to be found for Femi, unlike the Hofstra coach. They made his final four but Femi wanted to play in the Big East. We were the home Big East team and the staff was California dreaming.
A few of us took our share of insulting criticisms by a few. It was obvious in preseason that the bench was short and small and it would define our season. The OOC was a camouflaged attempt at covering up our deficiencies.
It's 23 degrees below zero in Omaha. That may be reason for cold shooting tonight but the heat will be on this staff to make the ponies run and the dogs to shut up.
 
Wow, powerful, well-written and clearly argued article. Very difficult to dispute. It’s time the team showed up for the season—all of the rest of it. Thanks Paultz.
 
It was said in a post that :"as of now", bracketologists have us in it; I doubt that and bet the only two BE teams in it at this point in time are Nova and Marquette, harping back to my view that under .500 in the present Big East Conference is a death knell for the Big Dance.
 
[quote="NCJohnnie" post=318538]Paultzman wrote: Can’t argue much with this;
upstatecourier.com/this-next-stretch-defines-mullins-tenure/

Thanks for posting Paultz. Great article - I agree with virtually every sentence in it.[/quote]

The guy who wrote this is a legitimate madman. he calls into wfan late at night ("leslie in fort lee"). search him on youtube. He also hates st johns.
 
I agree with Mullin receiving the benefit of the doubt up to this point. I also believe this next stretch of games will solidify his coaching legacy. I have long said my hunch is he does not return next year regardless of how the season turns out, but only time will tell.

I do think the season will remain salvageable if we win just one of the next three, although it would necessitate at least a 5 game winning streak. Good teams can do that.

Bottom line......it's showtime.
 
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[quote="JohnnyFan" post=318549]I agree with Mullin receiving the benefit of the doubt up to this point. I also believe this next stretch of games will solidify his coaching legacy. I have long said my hunch is he does not return next year regardless of how the season turns out, but only time will tell.

I do think the season will remain salvageable if we win just one of the next three, although it would necessitate at least a 5 game winning streak. Good teams can do that.

Bottom line......it's showtime.[/quote]

I too have a hunch he will leave no matter what.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=318527]Can’t argue much with this;
http://upstatecourier.com/this-next-stretch-defines-mullins-tenure/[/quote]

Agree, can't argue with much of it Paultz. But I didn't think we came out flat on Sunday, and this comment makes me feel like this guy may have an agenda/bone to pick:
"This St. John’s head coach has escaped criticism in town mainly because no one cares about St. John’s..."
 
Storm tracker wrote: NCJohnnie wrote: Paultzman wrote: Can’t argue much with this;
upstatecourier.com/this-next-stretch-defines-mullins-tenure/

Thanks for posting Paultz. Great article - I agree with virtually every sentence in it.

The guy who wrote this is a legitimate madman. he calls into wfan late at night ("leslie in fort lee"). search him on youtube. He also hates st johns.

Regardless of author, I still agree with nearly all of it. Most of us on here posted before the year started that this year results were expected - meaning time to dance. Still plenty of time to do that and I am hopeful we will make it. But I am not one who believes going from 16 wins last year to 17 this year would be satisfactory progress. let's go Johnnies! On rereading, the one point I would change is that coach has largely escaped criticism not because no one cares about St. John's but because he is Chris Mullin, SJU legend
 
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[quote="Monte" post=318552][quote="Paultzman" post=318527]Can’t argue much with this;
http://upstatecourier.com/this-next-stretch-defines-mullins-tenure/[/quote]

Agree, can't argue with much of it Paultz. But I didn't think we came out flat on Sunday, and this comment makes me feel like this guy may have an agenda/bone to pick:
"This St. John’s head coach has escaped criticism in town mainly because no one cares about St. John’s..."[/quote]

Knicks, Mets, Giants, Jets, Rangers, Devils all stink. ST John's has to stand in line for NY fan angst
 
[quote="we are sju" post=318554][quote="Monte" post=318552][quote="Paultzman" post=318527]Can’t argue much with this;
http://upstatecourier.com/this-next-stretch-defines-mullins-tenure/[/quote]

Agree, can't argue with much of it Paultz. But I didn't think we came out flat on Sunday, and this comment makes me feel like this guy may have an agenda/bone to pick:
"This St. John’s head coach has escaped criticism in town mainly because no one cares about St. John’s..."[/quote]

Knicks, Mets, Giants, Jets, Rangers, Devils all stink. ST John's has to stand in line for NY fan angst[/quote]

You don't fill the Garden at noon on a Sunday because no one cares about St. Johns. Yes this is a pro sports town, and college sports will always be 2nd. But we have a pretty damn solid fan base, so when this guy says that "nobody cares about St. John's" something don't ring unbiased to me.
 
Well said, ‘72.
Sometimes, you take heat on the Board for being overly-critical of Mullin and the Staff.
Sometimes, your criticism is on point and sometimes it’s off kilter too negative but I know you bleed red and white.
But, the time is now for Mullin to step up and light a fire on his talented team and get the players to play up to their potential for 40 minutes, because that’s what it takes to win in the Big East.
 
[quote="Monte" post=318557][quote="we are sju" post=318554][quote="Monte" post=318552][quote="Paultzman" post=318527]Can’t argue much with this;
http://upstatecourier.com/this-next-stretch-defines-mullins-tenure/[/quote]

Agree, can't argue with much of it Paultz. But I didn't think we came out flat on Sunday, and this comment makes me feel like this guy may have an agenda/bone to pick:
"This St. John’s head coach has escaped criticism in town mainly because no one cares about St. John’s..."[/quote]

Knicks, Mets, Giants, Jets, Rangers, Devils all stink. ST John's has to stand in line for NY fan angst[/quote]

You don't fill the Garden at noon on a Sunday because no one cares about St. Johns. Yes this is a pro sports town, and college sports will always be 2nd. But we have a pretty damn solid fan base, so when this guy says that "nobody cares about St. John's" something don't ring unbiased to me.[/quote]

Agreed. I was at MSG on Sunday and one of the things that stood out to me was that for the first time in quite a while, the number of SJU fans way overwhelmed the number of Hoya fans. NYC is the media capital of the world. When St John's is a serious contender, little old ladies in Idaho know about it.

All the more reason why this latest slump has been such a letdown.

Must. Win. Tonight.
 
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