Mr. February
- Thread starter cappy105
- Start date
MBoutchatski
Member
Lavin certainly deserves credit for this turnaround, and i personally did not expect it, but this still does not excuse the first 2.5 months of the season. With this talent, there's no way we should be sweating a bid.
Amazing how a couple of weeks back members on the board wanted Lavin's head. Still have games left on the schedule that scare me. They are winning games that they would have lost in Dec - early Jan. Jordan is playing really well. They did not leave much roof for error with they way they started the season.
NYCRedmen
Well-known member
From today's NY Times
As the losses mounted, criticism of Lavin’s coaching and his ability to develop the team began to simmer. The Red Storm had not been to the N.C.A.A. tournament since 2011, Lavin’s first year, with a team he largely inherited. He had three stellar recruiting classes to put a winning team on the floor.
Of the criticism, Lavin said he had learned well enough as a young coach at U.C.L.A. to handle the hot seat. “I actually liked the fact that the media and the fans were engaged and that we had become relevant enough that there are actually expectations,” Lavin said Sunday. “We wanted to get the program to a level where people wanted us to win and they’d be salty when we didn’t. To me, it was a sign that we were a healthy program, that we had vitality.”
As the losses mounted, criticism of Lavin’s coaching and his ability to develop the team began to simmer. The Red Storm had not been to the N.C.A.A. tournament since 2011, Lavin’s first year, with a team he largely inherited. He had three stellar recruiting classes to put a winning team on the floor.
Of the criticism, Lavin said he had learned well enough as a young coach at U.C.L.A. to handle the hot seat. “I actually liked the fact that the media and the fans were engaged and that we had become relevant enough that there are actually expectations,” Lavin said Sunday. “We wanted to get the program to a level where people wanted us to win and they’d be salty when we didn’t. To me, it was a sign that we were a healthy program, that we had vitality.”
Maybe the 0-5 start, featuring the crazy rotations (in our first G'town game, 13 players saw action in the first half alone) were all part of some diabolical plot by Lavin to keep Jordan, Sampson and Obekpa out of the running for this year's draft. :cheer:
But to give credit where credit is due, he's turned it around in impressive fashion. Not to mention the kids. Onward and upward!
Lavin is either a mad genius or very lucky. I'm going with the former rather than the latter.
Class of 72
Active member
I prefer the Wizard of Lavinwood. Wizard is in honor of his idol John Wooden and Lavinwood for our Jamaica Estates section of Queens which, while not on Westwood's level, is still Louie's neighborhood.
Well,I got pretty salty after the Providence loss and made some uncharasteritic harsh comments about Lav out of frustration. For the most part, I feel they were warranted but if I had a do over, I would have just said nothing. But the feelings were real. Fast forward to last night and that was as an enjoyable butt whipping as I have enjoyed in recent memory (Duke and UConn in '10-11 were pretty amazing). Like the comment above, he is either lucky or super in tuned to the team. I men how can you argue that he looks prophetic right now.
Back to the Thread but there are quite a few Mr. Febs. D Lo... Jordan is right there. His progress is nothin short of amazing. Coach with finally instilling a 7-8 man rotation and sensible subbing.. a gold star to Obie for his new found offensive game. Sampson has been solid not spectular. But he is letting the game come to him and with our other scoring options, he is scoring less. Which is fine.
This will be for naught if they trip up now. Lavin commented that he feels that there best ball is still in front of him. I hope the prophecy continues. I really do. I am enjoying this too much.
Back to the Thread but there are quite a few Mr. Febs. D Lo... Jordan is right there. His progress is nothin short of amazing. Coach with finally instilling a 7-8 man rotation and sensible subbing.. a gold star to Obie for his new found offensive game. Sampson has been solid not spectular. But he is letting the game come to him and with our other scoring options, he is scoring less. Which is fine.
This will be for naught if they trip up now. Lavin commented that he feels that there best ball is still in front of him. I hope the prophecy continues. I really do. I am enjoying this too much.
No team that opened 0-5 in BE has made the Big Dance, let’s be the first.
I thought it must have happened in the “old” BE with those monster teams, but they said on the radio today it’s never been done.
I thought it must have happened in the “old” BE with those monster teams, but they said on the radio today it’s never been done.
The guy was telling us all along it would be February...and he was right. You and others bashed him like crazy, and now you refuse to issue a full apology? He has forgotten more about basketball than you'll ever know. He was at the practices...you weren't...he's had to work in a star freshman PG before, and he knows better than you, me , or anyone this site how to do that without overwhelming the kid or team too soon. His expectations are always high because he recruits well....but he's recruited some very raw players. He could easily look like a genius and recruit ready-made highly skilled high IQ guys with poor to average athleticism. Would we be better off? Probably not. I love Jordan...but the Jordan we see now is not the Jordan we saw even 6-7 weeks ago. That Jordan looked like a deer in headlights.
The one thing I just don't understand is how Coach kept these kids from folding after they were 0-5 in year three. That had to be crushing. 2 1/2 years of losing...it was part of their culture. They didn't know how to close out games. They talked a good game, but they didn't really expect to win. Whatever he has done to keep these kids engaged and to get them to buy in...wow. How many transfer rumors have we heard? And on top of everything, on top of working in three first year players, on top of changing roles of guys who have been playing 30 mpg for two years, on top of working in a freshman POINT GUARD to a lineup of two sophs, we changed up the x's and o's chief and brought in a new system. Obekpa has been great lately...he was suspended earlier this season and was in the doghouse and a transfer rumor four weeks ago. Harrison is playing like an All-American lately...he was suspended for the end of the season last year. Jordan was rumored set to leave over the winter break and Lavin let him go home to his family to take a few days off. He's been crucified for all of that, but I guess the guy knows how to handle players better than we've thought? The board went off when Lavin started a walkon against Gtown b/c the guys weren't working that week in practice...I mean, this place went crazy.
The very next week, we took a top ten Nova team to the wire...lost two close heart-breakers by a combined three points and then went on a 8-1 run. Hmmm. Obviously it wasn't the best way to win Gtown--but let's be serious, we were losing that game by double-digit regardless--but maybe it was the perfect move in the long run?
There have been a lot of games since 1957 when I got interested in SJU but , it is clear, SJU is back. The '85 team would have endured the Seton Hall game
last week with more poise and less drama but they could not have delivered overwhelming offensive efforts as this team is delivering in the games against big opponents. Beating anyone by 20 points is ridiculous, but beating a good G'town team like that is unusual. This is finally a team that no one wants to play . Our young men deserve to go as far as the
game will let them; I am glad I am not rooting for one of their opponents. It's not the old days again; it's the new days.
I wish them luck with Creighton in the BE. Fellows, good things can really happen this year.
last week with more poise and less drama but they could not have delivered overwhelming offensive efforts as this team is delivering in the games against big opponents. Beating anyone by 20 points is ridiculous, but beating a good G'town team like that is unusual. This is finally a team that no one wants to play . Our young men deserve to go as far as the
game will let them; I am glad I am not rooting for one of their opponents. It's not the old days again; it's the new days.
I wish them luck with Creighton in the BE. Fellows, good things can really happen this year.
beast of the east
Active member
Do you mean the 1985 team that lost to Niagara?
Not ragging on you, because you were loyal even when this team was losing. Even at 0-5, there were very few of us who were defending Lavin, maybe wrongly, but you were among them. We knew this wasn't your mother's (or Norm Robert's) 0-5 Johnnies. More than a few wondered if there was no difference between Roberts and Lavin, and in fact gave credit to Roberts for assembling Lavin's initial squad, and as such superior.
Marillac pointed out a lot of good reasons why this team took a while to get its bearings straight. there are probably half a dozen more. We've been competitive the entire season, but now are winning. Why? Harrison's stat line has improved vastly in league play. Jordan emerging. Sampson's resurgence. Obekpa's return form the doghouse. Greene - the maligned contributor. GG, Sanchez, Pointer, Branch - all having their moments.
Lavin was accused of virtually everything while the losses piled up - from not caring on the bench, to not recruiting at all. Incredibly recruits are showing up at the Garden, so if Lavin had stopped recruiting, why the hell are they showing up?
I'll tell you one thing I've noticed, even during the losing streak. We call timeout, and everyone is attentive in the huddle. Hooper, who lost all of his minutes, is the first to hop off the bench during timeouts to encourage his teammates. For a guy who can't coach, when Lavin speaks, he has the kid's attention. I can tell you over recent years, that wasn't unilaterally true about Jarvis, or Roberts. But this isn't about Roberts or Jarvis. It's about Lavin, who has rebuilt SJU basketball.
We've accomplished nothing yet, but we've accomplished everything we didn't think possible - the resurgence of SJU basketball.
I don't want to trivialize Sunday's exciting win over Georgetown but please understand that this year's Georgetown is not the Georgetown of old.
This season Georgetown has a losing Big East record and has already lost 10 games. Georgetown will likely be the underdog in 4 of its 5 remaining regular season games with losses
I am hoping and cheering for StJohns to qualify for this year's NCAAs but let's hold proclamations of success and greatness until the season is over.
beast of the east
Active member
Otis, respectfully, you're among the most negative guys on this board. You've shown no such restraint in proclaiming this season, and the coach a disaster from early on. Now you are urging restraint in not celebrating recent successes? You justify this by proclaiming a Georgetown team that had pasted us, came in with a winning streak, and had they won, been on a path to an at large bid, as 'not the Georgetown of old?'. Some of us, in our subjective judgment, are enjoying the resurgence, and can see the success in reversing what looked like a disastrous season into one where a strong finish will result in a bid. Just 9 games ago (8 conference plus d'mouth) an NIT bid even appeared out of the question.
So, if you are always so quick to express strong negativity, why can't others here enjoy the run to the dance? Already in this run we've paid back Providence, Creighton, and Georgetown. The odds are still against us making the NCAA's, but these kids have already proved a lot.
