Not popular, but Big Norm Roberts guy here

mjmaherjr you were right. This is a fun topic. I think that things are going to get interesting.


I hope so! Maybe if any SJU Administrators are on this board things can get REALLY interesting and talk about a coaching change/media/kunena/emoticons/smile.png
 
Norm's two high-level mistakes were: 1- in his last year he inexplicably had two of the best players on the team (including the best player on the team- Hardy, the other Brownlee) not starting and limited their minutes. Lavin started them and played them 30+ minutes a game and that alone improved the team, and
2- not having a senior level experienced coach on his staff, preferably someone with prior head coaching experience. 

That said, I really liked Norm and I would have been very happy if he could have had success with St. John's. A classy guy and I do believe he has good basketball knowledge, but after six years with too many mistakes (see 1 above), it wasn't wrong to move on.
 
NORM WAS A DISASTER!!
HE WAS IN OVER HIS HEAD IN EVERY WAY!!
IF YOU CAN'T SEE THAT THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE SAID except thanks for the above-average board trolling that I tip my cap to because it has blown over some heads and has hilariously brought out some classic unironic comments about the glory years that was the Norm tenue... Faith, Friendship and a National Championship every four years! Huzzah!
 
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Ummmmm, don't quite know what to say except........

small religious school in Queens..............is not generally how St. John's University is thought of, yes it is a Catholic college, but with many non-Catholic students, and it is anything but small.

I think that misstatement gives this Post away, no one would confuse St. John's with Abilene Bible College.
 
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I promise not to take this thread too seriously. But I did just want to add:

Norm Roberts record at Queens College was 24-84 (and somehow still got the St. John's job).

His record at St. John's was 81-101, including 32-70 in the Big East.

Under norm, the team never finished higher than 11th in the Big East. His teams finished 13th 4 times, 14th once, and 11th once. 

His final year, the team went 6-12 in the Big East and finished 13th. Shocker why he wasn't brought back for a 7th year. 
 
Not sure if this a troll topic but i will bite.  Norm was an awful coach and his most memorable quote every loss which were many was "give the other team credit" which always bothered me. That said,  the times that I have met him he was very polite and came in a very tough position.  At the end it worked out, he is doing well and by his best friend Bill Self.  Being an assistant at a blueblood program.  Not too shabby for a terrible coach.  some people are just not meant to be head coaches and Norm in a perfect spot right now. 
 
Norm’s greatest attribute as a coach was that he wasn’t Mike Jarvis.
 
My favorite Norm comment was that in high school (and beyond) he claimed he was a far superior player than Anthony Mason.    He felt his size kept him out of the NBA.   

Now he had a nice career at lowly regarded Queens College, but comparing yourself to a guy who was an NBA impact player is over the top self aggrandizing.

I bring this up because throughout his tenure he favored small less talented guards like Lawrence and Boothe, and even favored the reckless Evans over Brownlee.

No one ever clamored for Norm as head coach, before or after Harrington swooned over h iij s interview.  Even Norm knows deep down his success is being Bill Self's executive assistant. 
 
Well, people of good nature can disagree with no ill will. I believe he did play in the NBa though, right? All time scorer in Queens probably got a shot in the pros. Also, the games you watch when you are younger leave a much greater impression so there's probably a bit of that as well. It galled me to see Lavin get the credit for winning with Norm's players because Norm brought those guys from nothing. Anyone one else want to share their favorite Norm stories?
 
Knight post=448992 said:
Norm’s greatest attribute as a coach was that he wasn’t Mike Jarvis.
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Correction, it was his only attribute as a coach.

I remember telling Mrs. Ohiofan many times (when games were lost in the last minutes because of stupid or non-decisions) that he couldn't coach his way out a wet paper bag (and that was an understatement).
 
Aaron Frank post=448999 said:
Well, people of good nature can disagree with no ill will. I believe he did play in the NBa though, right? All time scorer in Queens probably got a shot in the pros. Also, the games you watch when you are younger leave a much greater impression so there's probably a bit of that as well. It galled me to see Lavin get the credit for winning with Norm's players because Norm brought those guys from nothing. Anyone one else want to share their favorite Norm stories?

Sure, happy to.  I was at the Garden watching SJU primed for a huge upset over Nova.  SJU was up double digits in the first half and Dwight Hardy (who came off the bench) was unconscious.  

Coach Roberts inexplicably sat Hardy to start the second half (at least six or seven minutes) by which time the momentum of the game changed entirely.  I believe we lost the game by double digits.  

That was the moment when I became  convinced beyond a certainty that we needed a new coach.  It took me longer than most!
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Aaron Frank post=448950 said:
Hello, I haven't posted here since I was a teenager but I feel in love with SJU during the Norm Roberts era, and to me he will always be Coach. He inherited a program full of cheats and sins and got the right sort of players in here. He coached them up, and took a bunch of unheralded players to the cusp of national prominence. Sadly, he never got that chance, and instead of letting him coach his players to a national championship run, they took the team away and gave to Lavin. Of course Lavin won right away! Coach Norm did all the hard work! For all of those that said Norm isn't a winning coach,  how many elite eights and final fours has he been part of since he left? If St. Johns really wanted to win, and win the right way, they would do well to consider this championship Coach again. Don't flame me, Y'all. It's just how I feel.


 
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Welcome to the board, Norm's son
 
Beast of the East post=449003 said:
I can tell you for a fact that some well known coaches confided in those close to them that Roberts was a horrible game coach.
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But if I remember correctly, they used to state the opposite in interviews, which we all knew was blowing smoke.
 
Aaron Frank post=448999 said:
Well, people of good nature can disagree with no ill will. I believe he did play in the NBa though, right? All time scorer in Queens probably got a shot in the pros. Also, the games you watch when you are younger leave a much greater impression so there's probably a bit of that as well. It galled me to see Lavin get the credit for winning with Norm's players because Norm brought those guys from nothing. Anyone one else want to share their favorite Norm stories?
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Here's a favorite Norm story. Don't know why I remember this, but I believe I went to a game with MKras back in like 2005 at Carnesecca Arena. We saw Corey Fisher walk by on his way out, and greet Mrs. Roberts. Someone else mentioned it was like he had season tickets because he came to all the games. It wasn't too much longer before he committed to Villanova.
 
Room112 post=449009 said:
Aaron Frank post=448999 said:
Well, people of good nature can disagree with no ill will. I believe he did play in the NBa though, right? All time scorer in Queens probably got a shot in the pros. Also, the games you watch when you are younger leave a much greater impression so there's probably a bit of that as well. It galled me to see Lavin get the credit for winning with Norm's players because Norm brought those guys from nothing. Anyone one else want to share their favorite Norm stories?
Click to expand...

Here's a favorite Norm story. Don't know why I remember this, but I believe I went to a game with MKras back in like 2005 at Carnesecca Arena. We saw Corey Fisher walk by on his way out, and greet Mrs. Roberts. Someone else mentioned it was like he had season tickets because he came to all the games. It wasn't too much longer before he committed to Villanova.
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Where would you have gone to school? No comment necessary.
 
Didn’t Lance Stephenson make some comment about the fact that he chose Cincinnati over us for the coaching?  Btwn Stephenson and Lansberg, Norm’s top targets always seemed to spurn us.
 
To be fair, Norm didn't have much to sell when he took over the program. Who's next in resurrecting stories about past coaches, Jarvis or Fran? 
Actual games can't come back fast enough lol. 
 
NCJohnnie post=449027 said:
To be fair, Norm didn't have much to sell when he took over the program. Who's next in resurrecting stories about past coaches, Jarvis or Fran? 
Actual games can't come back fast enough lol. 
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I say bring back Mahoney. Another great guy, and at  least he did really well recruiting. 
 
Norm was so horrible and to be fair if anyone remembers I was a huge supporter of him for the first 4 years and half of the 5th before I couldn't take the pain anymore. I'm not even ashamed to admit the last season midway through the season I was rooting for us to lose because we needed to get rid of him for the sake of the program and no way did I want us making the post season. That's how bad it was when I actually had to root for us to not win. I never rooted for the other team in person but I wasn't unhappy when we lost
 
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