N.Y. Daily News / Support For Lavin

As somebody who wants Lavin gone the one problem I foresee is that he's leaving us in way worse shape than even Norm did. Recruits don't commit to schools, they commit to coaches. We may have 4 players on our roster come April if we make a change... Even so I think it's worth it to just rip the band aid off.
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Not so sure about that. Didn't Lavin inherit 9 or 10 seniors?

I'm not a big fan of Lavin's, but Norm showed a level of ineptitude that I've never seen before.
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100%!!

I am by no means a fan of Lavin but lets be honest, Norm was 24-84 at QC and completely unqualified to coach SJU, especially with the situation it was in facing sanctions and a depleted roster.

He was completely in over his head in every aspect of the job other than being politically correct, which is where he excelled.

Lavin is a good recruiter (when he puts the effort in) but he is a bad game coach, which i think can be hiden with a good X's and O's guy on his side which we do not have. Lavin as a recruiter destroys Norm, and if Lavin coached during the Norm era i believe we may have been able to get the Born Ready's and Danny Greens that Norm had no chance of landing.

At the end of the day when you talk about Lavin at SJU i think it can be characterized as underachieving - especially the last four seasons, where we should have been in the NCAAs twice, and from the looks of it, we will have ZERO appearances.

I think that you also have to consider tha the expectations between Norm and Lavin are different too. Norm "cleaned up the program" but at the end of the day he was fired because he couldnt succeed on the court. Lavin has had a better record but overall he has not met expectations (and the last two years the Big East is not as good as it was the previous 8).

Lavins salary is also double what Norms was, so he should be expected to deliver results, which we havent seen, and with an NIT appearance this season plus a complete rebuild starting next year, he doesnt deserve to be brought back.

Also, can anyone answer me this - a bunch of people on twitter have said Lavin has "made SJU relevant" again....how are we relevant? That is an utterly outrageous statement to me, considering what we have seen from him.....i would love to understand the rationale
 
I don't read anything in the article that quotes anyone other than Lavin, and his own perception that his job is safe.

I'm glad he wants to be here, and that any failures recruiting due to a desire to leave Dodge.

I can't help but think that some of his failures are in part due to his success in bringing two NBA players here over 4 seasons and having both leave early. We could only imagine a roster that included Sampson, Harkless, and a valuable reserve in Thomas. But hey, that's the dilemma at the highest levels of college basketball - recruit NBA talent, and expect they will be gone as soon as possible.
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That's exactly why you keep recruiting top notch hs blue chippers, to replace the ballers that leave to the nba. He recruiting nobody last year. In April he had to get some body's, so he gets Adonis and Thomas, but them two are no where to be seen. This what happens when you relax, then get desperate in the last miknutes.
You never stop recruiting, if you're to lazy to recruit then get out of coaching, it's a 365 day job
 
This is a wake up call for all Redmen posters. Forget your nonsense.
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What the school decides and my opinion of Lavin as a coach are two entirely different things. If the administration is OK with a less than honest effort for the money they are paying him that is their business. Mine is hoping to see SJU with a viable PROGRAM again before the Good Lord calls for me.
 
I don't read anything in the article that quotes anyone other than Lavin, and his own perception that his job is safe.

I'm glad he wants to be here, and that any failures recruiting due to a desire to leave Dodge.

I can't help but think that some of his failures are in part due to his success in bringing two NBA players here over 4 seasons and having both leave early. We could only imagine a roster that included Sampson, Harkless, and a valuable reserve in Thomas. But hey, that's the dilemma at the highest levels of college basketball - recruit NBA talent, and expect they will be gone as soon as possible.
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I can't help but think that some of his failures are in part due to his laziness and ego. You said it all in the last sentence. He is the classic Man Without a Plan.
 
If it's up to the administration alone, I think he stays. (Unless I guess the buyout is cheap? Is there even one?) But I think if a few big-money donors want him gone (and I'm pretty sure they do), it'll happen.

I really think it'll be that simple.
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I'm sure the Donors know that we'll never win with lavin, I believe if they care enough then he's gone, if not then whatever.
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The reason big donors from SJU are big donors, is that they came here from working class families and starting at the bottom, have had a ton of success in their careers. They all know the value of money, and I think they will see absolutely little harm in wait and see for LAvin to complete his contract. If need be, they will extend him with a very small guarantee so that he can recruit. Bu they won't eat $1 million or more, because hey, the program has stunk for the better part of 20 years. One more year to see how it goes won't hurt very much.
 
If it's up to the administration alone, I think he stays. (Unless I guess the buyout is cheap? Is there even one?) But I think if a few big-money donors want him gone (and I'm pretty sure they do), it'll happen.

I really think it'll be that simple.
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I'm sure the Donors know that we'll never win with lavin, I believe if they care enough then he's gone, if not then whatever.
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The reason big donors from SJU are big donors, is that they came here from working class families and starting at the bottom, have had a ton of success in their careers. They all know the value of money, and I think they will see absolutely little harm in wait and see for LAvin to complete his contract. If need be, they will extend him with a very small guarantee so that he can recruit. Bu they won't eat $1 million or more, because hey, the program has stunk for the better part of 20 years. One more year to see how it goes won't hurt very much.
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Realistically speaking, this is probably the approach they'll go with. My guess is they'll just kick the can down the road for another season.
 
Beast you are incorrect about Orange (Monasch) he didn't hire Lavin. He actually had zero to say regarding the hire. Lavin was hired by Father Harrington. Monasch first encounter with Lavin happened when Lavin was already given the job. Monasch was to show the facilities and introduce everyone around.
As per no extension last year. There was no one to make the executive decision to give him an extension. One more thing, you would be surprised how many big donors support Lavin. I will also tell you that Repole is not one of the supporters
 
If it's up to the administration alone, I think he stays. (Unless I guess the buyout is cheap? Is there even one?) But I think if a few big-money donors want him gone (and I'm pretty sure they do), it'll happen.

I really think it'll be that simple.
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I'm sure the Donors know that we'll never win with lavin, I believe if they care enough then he's gone, if not then whatever.
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The reason big donors from SJU are big donors, is that they came here from working class families and starting at the bottom, have had a ton of success in their careers. They all know the value of money, and I think they will see absolutely little harm in wait and see for LAvin to complete his contract. If need be, they will extend him with a very small guarantee so that he can recruit. Bu they won't eat $1 million or more, because hey, the program has stunk for the better part of 20 years. One more year to see how it goes won't hurt very much.
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To me it's not 100% about losing, the reason why I can't stand him is because he tried to BS people. The rebounding statistic isn't important, and we're heading in the right direction.
Are you crapping me? Rebounding is huge, and if anything we're going in the wrong direction. Not everyone buys into his bs.

Rather him be straight up. Say: " I have failed as a head coach, and it's my job to correct my mistakes I made the first 5 years here. I'll do my best to get this school back to where it belongs.

I know I'd respect him alot more then him trying to bs people, like they don't know what is going on.
 
Beast you are incorrect about Orange (Monasch) he didn't hire Lavin. He actually had zero to say regarding the hire. Lavin was hired by Father Harrington. Monasch first encounter with Lavin happened when Lavin was already given the job. Monasch was to show the facilities and introduce everyone around.
As per no extension last year. There was no one to make the executive decision to give him an extension. One more thing, you would be surprised how many big donors support Lavin. I will also tell you that Repole is not one of the supporters
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Repole put up good money to win, but got nothing since lavin coached norms seniors, I'd be really pissed too. As for those other donors, they didn't put up the money so no reason to be pissed.
 
People say Norm left us in bad shape because of 10 seniors, it was those ten seniors who were on Lavin's only team that made the NCAA tournament so far. Now I know he didn't have much time to recruit when he got the job, but he did bring in one recruit that year after releasing one who was recruited by Norm. Lavin's recruit lasted one year here and transferred for personal reason back to Cali where he has been a nice complimentary player off the bench while the one we released had a very nice career at St. Joe's.

Now those ten seniors allowed Lavin to bring in a roster full of his own players and resulted in a top rated recruiting class in his first full year of recruiting here. Yes they struggled their first year but with that class, we thought NCAA tourny's would be the norm (no pun intended) after that. Well that hasn't panned out. And as far as getting the Danny Greenes and Stephenson (I refuse to call him by his Nickname) if he was here instead of Norm, outside of Harkless and Obekpa, his track record over the last couple of years of landing local recruits from NY like Govan, Whitehead, Williams, Carrington, Lawrence, McBrayer (prep outside of New York but is from Queens). has not been exactly stellar.. And while I like what Mo Hicks did with Rice, hiring him as the Direct of Basketball Operations cost us any chance of landing Kadeem Jack and MoMo Jones (when he transferred from Arizona)., both of whom we had a short at.

What every St. John's decides, they need to do it quickly after the season ends. If they keep him, they have to extend him so it doesn't appear he is a lame duck and if the decision is to get rid of him, then do it quickly and start you due diligence and search.
 
I don't read anything in the article that quotes anyone other than Lavin, and his own perception that his job is safe.

I'm glad he wants to be here, and that any failures recruiting due to a desire to leave Dodge.

I can't help but think that some of his failures are in part due to his success in bringing two NBA players here over 4 seasons and having both leave early. We could only imagine a roster that included Sampson, Harkless, and a valuable reserve in Thomas. But hey, that's the dilemma at the highest levels of college basketball - recruit NBA talent, and expect they will be gone as soon as possible.
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A roster including Harkless and Sampson would be much stronger-yes. However, ,as pointed out a by so many posters including yourself Beast, the overall coaching that he has displayed is not stellar. Shouldn't we expect a coach to also recruit good role players? I'm sorry, I guess I keep expecting the kind of teams Joe Lapchick was able to put together year after year. I know, times have changed.
 
News flash. Don't buy the myth that Repole brought in/paid for Lavin. That is not true. Repole's last donation to Athletics was 4-5 years ago. There is few big time donors that you can catch at the Red/White club who top Repoles previous donations.
 
Beast you are incorrect about Orange (Monasch) he didn't hire Lavin. He actually had zero to say regarding the hire. Lavin was hired by Father Harrington. Monasch first encounter with Lavin happened when Lavin was already given the job. Monasch was to show the facilities and introduce everyone around.
As per no extension last year. There was no one to make the executive decision to give him an extension. One more thing, you would be surprised how many big donors support Lavin. I will also tell you that Repole is not one of the supporters
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Monasch has been AD since 2005. If you think he had nothing to say, or if that is true, then Harrington was much more of a meddler than we know. You said Repole had nothing to do with it, also. Where then did Lavin come from?

I know some of the big donors. I haven't heard a lot of support, but I'm not a BOT member, nor BOG.

Since you are making statements that are revelations, who then interviewed Lavin? Who were the other candidates that were finalists (please don't say Calipari and Donovan because that's bs)? We know FH put a rubber stamp and made final decisions on all major hires, but who if not Monasch were Lavin protagonists?

Thanks!
 
News flash. Don't buy the myth that Repole brought in/paid for Lavin. That is not true. Repole's last donation to Athletics was 4-5 years ago. There is few big time donors that you can catch at the Red/White club who top Repoles previous donations.
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Lavin has been coach for 5 seasons. By your own assertion that would be at the time, or after Lavin's hire. I do not believe Repole paid for it either. I do believe that anyone who unloaded big $$ on SJU had FH's full attention. FH went after silver dollars, not nickels and dimes.
 
It is funny people are defending Lavin for kind of the same reason people defended Norm. Norm's defense was he was not Jarvis. Lavin's defense is he is not Norm. Lavin is light years better than Norm but that does not mean he has done a good job here. He simply did a better job than the most underqualified D 1 coach in history.

Personally I would like to see someone else come in becuase I do not think Lavin can recruit well enough here to get us over the hump. I do not have delusions of grandeur about the program. I simply want us to make the tourney once every couple years. I like seeing ST John's on selection Sunday. Think about this, that has happened ONCE in the last what 13 years?

I keep saying this but I would love to see a good solid mid major type that runs an actual offense and recruits accordingly. I would like to embrace the three pointer and also start recruiting local kids. We might not ever be linked to some of the bigger recruits again, but for the long run we will be better for it.

One final thought. I thought the Lavin hire was a really good one. They took their best shot. He just could not out recruit his coaching deficiencies. Time to change direction and go with a solid coach.
 
I keep saying this but I would love to see a good solid mid major type that runs an actual offense and recruits accordingly. I would like to embrace the three pointer and also start recruiting local kids. We might not ever be linked to some of the bigger recruits again, but for the long run we will be better for it.

One final thought. I thought the Lavin hire was a really good one. They took their best shot. He just could not out recruit his coaching deficiencies. Time to change direction and go with a solid coach.
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M aybe that would be the way to go, the mid major type. Hell, if you do good then maybe asfter 6 years give it a shot and shot going after the elite recruits. They'd see sju is ranked in the top 25 and gets to the ncaa tourny, so maybe, just maybe some would come ala Gonzaga.
Then you could possibly become big time, that won't happen over night.

Yeah, I know I dream big, but I'll always dream big. I can't ever settle for avg.
 
Also, can anyone answer me this - a bunch of people on twitter have said Lavin has "made SJU relevant" again....how are we relevant? That is an utterly outrageous statement to me, considering what we have seen from him.....i would love to understand the rationale
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It's all relative, Hit. First 20 win team since Hatten, first ranked teams since 00/01 (and that team ended up 14-15 as I'm sure you recall), first tourney appearance since 01/02. Increasing win totals every year since he started with his own players (and yes I still believe that is likely to be true after this season). To hoops junkies that would all be relevant, to the layman fan probably not so much. Other thing is, and yes I live in LA so take this with a grain of salt, Lavin is the biggest name recognition coach STJ has had nationally since Louie per those I run into, not just in LA but in my frequent travels, like it or not.
 
Also, can anyone answer me this - a bunch of people on twitter have said Lavin has "made SJU relevant" again....how are we relevant? That is an utterly outrageous statement to me, considering what we have seen from him.....i would love to understand the rationale
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It's all relative, Hit. First 20 wine team since Hatten, first ranked teams since 00/01 (and that team ended up 14-15 as I'm sure you recall), first tourney appearance since 01/02. Increasing win totals every year since he started with his own players (and yes I still believe that is likely to be true after this season). To hoops junkies that would all be relevant, to the layman fan probably not so much. Other thing is, and yes I live in LA so take this with a grain of salt, Lavin is the biggest name recognition coach STJ has had nationally since Louie per those I run into, not just in LA but in my frequent travels, like it or not.
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The most "relevant" NIT team in the history of basketball. Should be the SJU marketing slogan for next year
 
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