Obekpa Suspended

[shamsman2]

I'm not scanning through 32 pages, he got suspended for weed?

I'm not a Lavin apologist, but how is this his fault? If this is true, this bozo goes out and gets high before his (probable) only NCAA Tournament?? What the eff was/is he thinking?

Was the Pittsburgh strip club incident at least partly Jarvis' fault?

This is what it's come to? It's not Obekpa's fault? He smoked the weed. It was an instant gratification move on his part. I'm assuming there was no gun to his head and considering he's the only one suspended, he didn't puff it with anyone else on the team.

I wouldn't miss Lavin one bit, but blaming him for this is a mistake. CO made a stupid decision, one he'll have to live with the rest of his life.

People are pissed and some one has to be blamed. So Lavin, who has suspended players, now doesn't have their respect according to some. Before this he was too strict, for sitting out Jordan. Apparently Mitch McGary lost respect for Beilein if that is the case. Apparently my kids don't have respect for me for the same reason and I didn't have for my parents.

Unless they have pictures of Lavin lighting up O's joint, stop with this. Keep the blame where it belongs.

 

[Class of 72]

This has put me over the edge regarding Lavin. I can't take this anymore. I am so done.

and exactly why is this lavins fault?

because he's lost control of the team. his players don't care. i don't care if obekpa robbed a string of banks, he did it because he doesn't care. this team is in the same position it was in when jarvis was here. ok, i'll say it..bring in bobby hurley.

So let me get this straight, one player Rysheed Jordan, who has obviously had personal problems and who was granted a few days leave when his grandmother dies, is one player who you obviously allude to and Chris Obekpa, another troubled player, lets down his team, his coach and the fans, and you equate that to players arrested for drugs, players charged with assaulting females, players hiring a prostitute, players funneled illegal payments and God knows more under Mike Jarvis with losing control over an entire team?
If you were a fair and compassionate fan you would empathize with CO's teammates who are being deprived of a level playing field because of his, not Lavin's, poor judgment. Even this fan board's leading Jarvis apologist, Avon, would not make such a comparative misstatement. At least we know his agenda and he doesn't waffle from it but surely an erudite writer like yourself can tell the difference between one player losing control versus tar and feathering all the kids on the team.
As for the team rule Chris broke, I don't recall anyone mentioning weed other than the opininated on our "fan" forums. And if it were weed folks get a grip! It is as common a crime as under age coeds getting shit faced on Friday nights. At Syracuse it is has been part of their training diet for 3 decades. When Tony Red Bruin was at Syracuse he spent summers at Riise Park smoking weed every day with fellow ballers. Momo Jones smoked every weekend while at Iona and groped girls when high.
To compare Lavin to Jarvis in terms of player misconduct makes you look like a yellow journalist. Get over yourself Newsie.
If losing control is doing the right thing then some here need a morality check. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone. None of us here should be lifting any stones any time doon.

 

[tom in salem]

5 years to be finalized in April per the #1 guru lol

Gad you're such a fan.
scary.

 

[guinness77]

I'm not scanning through 32 pages, he got suspended for weed?

I'm not a Lavin apologist, but how is this his fault? If this is true, this bozo goes out and gets high before his (probable) only NCAA Tournament?? What the eff was/is he thinking?

Was the Pittsburgh strip club incident at least partly Jarvis' fault?

This is what it's come to? It's not Obekpa's fault? He smoked the weed. It was an instant gratification move on his part. I'm assuming there was no gun to his head and considering he's the only one suspended, he didn't puff it with anyone else on the team.

I wouldn't miss Lavin one bit, but blaming him for this is a mistake. CO made a stupid decision, one he'll have to live with the rest of his life.

I blame him more for the culture then for the actual act. There's been a pattern.

I don't even know what to say to this. Unless Lavin rolled it and shotgunned into his mouth or packed the bowl and said "smoke this ish or else," I'm not blaming him.

I'm sorry. People have to still be accountable for their own actions. I know society always needs a scapegoat, and God knows Lavin can be blamed for other things (or his inability to coach properly) but this is ALL Obekpa's fault.

He smoked (allegedly, I guess), he knew what was at stake, and he had his greatest game ahead of him and HE STILL DID IT. Not Lavin, OBEKPA did it. He cost himself and, probably, cost the entire team. Selfish. Point blank

 

[monte]

This has put me over the edge regarding Lavin. I can't take this anymore. I am so done.

and exactly why is this lavins fault?

because he's lost control of the team. his players don't care. i don't care if obekpa robbed a string of banks, he did it because he doesn't care. this team is in the same position it was in when jarvis was here. ok, i'll say it..bring in bobby hurley.

So let me get this straight, one player Rysheed Jordan, who has obviously had personal problems and who was granted a few days leave when his grandmother dies, is one player who you obviously allude to and Chris Obekpa, another troubled player, lets down his team, his coach and the fans, and you equate that to players arrested for drugs, players charged with assaulting females, players hiring a prostitute, players funneled illegal payments and God knows more under Mike Jarvis with losing control over an entire team?
If you were a fair and compassionate fan you would empathize with CO's teammates who are being deprived of a level playing field because of his, not Lavin's, poor judgment. Even this fan board's leading Jarvis apologist, Avon, would not make such a comparative misstatement. At least we know his agenda and he doesn't waffle from it but surely an erudite writer like yourself can tell the difference between one player losing control versus tar and feathering all the kids on the team.
As for the team rule Chris broke, I don't recall anyone mentioning weed other than the opininated on our "fan" forums. And if it were weed folks get a grip! It is as common a crime as under age coeds getting shit faced on Friday nights. At Syracuse it is has been part of their training diet for 3 decades. When Tony Red Bruin was at Syracuse he spent summers at Riise Park smoking weed every day with fellow ballers. Momo Jones smoked every weekend while at Iona and groped girls when high.
To compare Lavin to Jarvis in terms of player misconduct makes you look like a yellow journalist. Get over yourself Newsie.
If losing control is doing the right thing then some here need a morality check. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone. None of us here should be lifting any stones any time doon.

Frankly I could care less what these kids do on their own time, within reason. Lord knows I've probably done far worse. But rules are rules, and consequences are consequences. But he sure as hell picked an awfully bad time to break a rule and get his ass suspended.

 

[beast of the east]

I'll start:

High jumper

 

[mjmaherjr]

Obongpa

 

[monte]

I'm not scanning through 32 pages, he got suspended for weed?

I'm not a Lavin apologist, but how is this his fault? If this is true, this bozo goes out and gets high before his (probable) only NCAA Tournament?? What the eff was/is he thinking?

Was the Pittsburgh strip club incident at least partly Jarvis' fault?

This is what it's come to? It's not Obekpa's fault? He smoked the weed. It was an instant gratification move on his part. I'm assuming there was no gun to his head and considering he's the only one suspended, he didn't puff it with anyone else on the team.

I wouldn't miss Lavin one bit, but blaming him for this is a mistake. CO made a stupid decision, one he'll have to live with the rest of his life.

I blame him more for the culture then for the actual act. There's been a pattern.

I don't even know what to say to this. Unless Lavin rolled it and shotgunned into his mouth or packed the bowl and said "smoke this ish or else," I'm not blaming him.

I'm sorry. People have to still be accountable for their own actions. I know society always needs a scapegoat, and God knows Lavin can be blamed for other things (or his inability to coach properly) but this is ALL Obekpa's fault.

He smoked (allegedly, I guess), he knew what was at stake, and he had his greatest game ahead of him and HE STILL DID IT. Not Lavin, OBEKPA did it. He cost himself and, probably, cost the entire team. Selfish. Point blank

Agree with everything you're saying other than to give Lavin a complete pass on this. When my kids-20 and 16 years old-do something stupid I blame them, but I also take partial blame as the parent. So maybe its just my perspective on things.

 

[beast of the east]

smoked a lot of shots

 

[Class of 72]

I'm not scanning through 32 pages, he got suspended for weed?

I'm not a Lavin apologist, but how is this his fault? If this is true, this bozo goes out and gets high before his (probable) only NCAA Tournament?? What the eff was/is he thinking?

Was the Pittsburgh strip club incident at least partly Jarvis' fault?

I don't see how since he wasn't the coach at the time.

Well Mr. Journalist, who recruited those malcreants?
Other than players not qualifying by NCAA standards, what crimes have these kids committed under Steve Lavin?
We are all pissed that they didn't qualify as players for our selfish fan reasons, me included, but some of you guys wait-listed by Harvard before attending St. John's, should realize one thing about all these kids, with the exception of Keith Thomas, and that is they, like you, all were admitted to St. John's as students. College students do stupid things. Coaches have their hands full since athletes are in a self serving world of their own.

 

[redken]

As head coach, Steve Lavin is the CEO of the St John's basketball program
He is ultimately responsible for everything that happens on and off the court
If he recruits kids that get into trouble, cause problems, etc, it's on him
He's had several documented problems with D'Lo, Jordan and Obekpa
He gave scholarships to kids who did not qualify to play (Thomas, ADR, etc)
Assuming we get in tonight, he has 2 NCAA appearances in 5 years
The first appearance was with kids that he did not recruit
We have done poorly in the B.E. tournament and he jokes about it
The team did not show up for the NIT game last year and was embarrassed
These kids were all highly rated and have underachieved at St John's
Would you give this guy an extension?
Not me. In the real world, most companies would fire someone with this track record
I never liked the hire but, regardless, it's time to move on and rebuild AGAIN!!

Is a CEO responsible for what his employees do outside of work?

If a manager hires a bunch of pot heads who get arrested, and therefore the project runs behind schedule or fails...then yes. That manager will be held responsible.

Only if he knows he's hiring a bunch of potheads.

 

[guinness77]

Monte, I don't blame you one bit for that perspective (my kids are still so young) but Obekpa is a 20 year old young man. I would think a player in his shoes would do anything in his power just to play in one NCAA game. Certainly not risk failing a drug test, when you have the entire offseason to smoke.

I can identify with this a little. Without getting into things, I did things in high school that make this look like tiddily winks and I was lightly recruited by UNC-Greensboro. I was a big partier and they started talking about red shirts and GPAs and tutors, and I, basically, checked out. What was my freshman year, I didn't make any team, let alone a D1 school, they made it to the Tourney and got smoked by Duke. Whatever though, they all played a NCAA game and I was high in my dorm room watching.

Whatever now, but this is a young man who is a much better player than I ever was and he knew exactly what the ramifications of smoking weed were. He didn't need Lavin to remind him. Now, that decision will haunt him for a while, maybe years.

 

[JohnnyFan]

Selfish

 

[Class of 72]

I have posted more than once (shocker) that this program is a train wreck. I didn't and don't say it lightly or without some insight. For many who don't remember I was one of the last to jump off Norm's bandwagon because he did all things the right way but in the end he just couldn't get the job done. Mt point is I am not a bomb thrower or one to not wait for ample evidence before making a decision or forming an opinion.
Take any incident out of context and blame the subordinates, take multiple incidents in total and blame the leader. The atmosphere around this program is obvious with all the well documented and public incidents; IMO it is a testimony to Lavin's PR ability and personality that the state of the program hs not brought him down yet. But all the apologists answer this; for all the problems gone public do you really believe there are none that have seen the light of day. There have been plenty, a train wreck's worth!!

Entertain us. What multiple public incidents are you alluding to? Please note that meeting St. John's admissions standards and not the NCAA is not an "incudent". If you are referring to head coach holding players accountable and letting us know, as he did with our 2,000 point scorer or suspending Obekpa, count as "incidents" our definition of incidents differs radically.
So, go at it.

 

[jr49]

Honor student? Did I hear right?

 

[beast of the east]

I'm not scanning through 32 pages, he got suspended for weed?

I'm not a Lavin apologist, but how is this his fault? If this is true, this bozo goes out and gets high before his (probable) only NCAA Tournament?? What the eff was/is he thinking?

Was the Pittsburgh strip club incident at least partly Jarvis' fault?

This is what it's come to? It's not Obekpa's fault? He smoked the weed. It was an instant gratification move on his part. I'm assuming there was no gun to his head and considering he's the only one suspended, he didn't puff it with anyone else on the team.

I wouldn't miss Lavin one bit, but blaming him for this is a mistake. CO made a stupid decision, one he'll have to live with the rest of his life.

I blame him more for the culture then for the actual act. There's been a pattern.

I don't even know what to say to this. Unless Lavin rolled it and shotgunned into his mouth or packed the bowl and said "smoke this ish or else," I'm not blaming him.

I'm sorry. People have to still be accountable for their own actions. I know society always needs a scapegoat, and God knows Lavin can be blamed for other things (or his inability to coach properly) but this is ALL Obekpa's fault.

He smoked (allegedly, I guess), he knew what was at stake, and he had his greatest game ahead of him and HE STILL DID IT. Not Lavin, OBEKPA did it. He cost himself and, probably, cost the entire team. Selfish. Point blank

Agree with everything you're saying other than to give Lavin a complete pass on this. When my kids-20 and 16 years old-do something stupid I blame them, but I also take partial blame as the parent. So maybe its just my perspective on things.

It's not only what he did, but when he did it. He gets caught doing this in June after school is over, it doesn't bother me so much. Even in April or May after the season is over. But now he has affected the outcome of their season, and that's not forgivable. If any of my kids at that age do something like that, I'm not to blame, and I certainly would hold them fully accountable - not their roommates, friends, teachers, or coaches. Put the blame where blame belongs, and you're a better parent. Take some of the blame, and you're giving them a crutch.

 

[redken]

This program manages to ruin my favorite day of the year. Unreal. Gut the team and get rid of this God awful coach.

We will suck next year with or without Lavin time to rip the band aid and start the rebuild. Lavin will leave SJU in worse shape than norm Roberts did when all is said and done and that is sad

Just go steve

Honestly, I think this is the right approach. Just think about something for a minute. Of the starting 5, 3 players have been suspended at some point in their St. John's careers. Pretty pathetic in my eyes.

Yet Lavin gets praised for recruiting "good kids", and its constantly mentioned how much respect they have for him. Ridiculous.

Monte, I understand your frustration; I feel it too. But if smoking pot means you're not a "good kid," then I guess I wasn't a good kid when I was in college (or thereafter). CO may have done something stupid -- really, really stupid -- but it doesn't mean he's a "bad" kid.

 

[bamafan]

This program manages to ruin my favorite day of the year. Unreal. Gut the team and get rid of this God awful coach.

We will suck next year with or without Lavin time to rip the band aid and start the rebuild. Lavin will leave SJU in worse shape than norm Roberts did when all is said and done and that is sad

Just go steve

Honestly, I think this is the right approach. Just think about something for a minute. Of the starting 5, 3 players have been suspended at some point in their St. John's careers. Pretty pathetic in my eyes.

Yet Lavin gets praised for recruiting "good kids", and its constantly mentioned how much respect they have for him. Ridiculous.

Monte, I understand your frustration; I feel it too. But if smoking pot means you're not a "good kid," then I guess I wasn't a good kid when I was in college (or thereafter). CO may have done something stupid -- really, really stupid -- but it doesn't mean he's a "bad" kid.

But did your use negatively impact teammates, coaches, a university and its fanbase?

 

[Class of 72]

As head coach, Steve Lavin is the CEO of the St John's basketball program
He is ultimately responsible for everything that happens on and off the court
If he recruits kids that get into trouble, cause problems, etc, it's on him
He's had several documented problems with D'Lo, Jordan and Obekpa
He gave scholarships to kids who did not qualify to play (Thomas, ADR, etc)
Assuming we get in tonight, he has 2 NCAA appearances in 5 years
The first appearance was with kids that he did not recruit
We have done poorly in the B.E. tournament and he jokes about it
The team did not show up for the NIT game last year and was embarrassed
These kids were all highly rated and have underachieved at St John's
Would you give this guy an extension?
Not me. In the real world, most companies would fire someone with this track record
I never liked the hire but, regardless, it's time to move on and rebuild AGAIN!!

Is a CEO responsible for what his employees do outside of work?

If a manager hires a bunch of pot heads who get arrested, and therefore the project runs behind schedule or fails...then yes. That manager will be held responsible.

Only if he knows he's hiring a bunch of potheads.

Are you excluding every CEO in Silicon Valley, the music industry and the fashion industry? What about hiring a bunch of closet alcoholics on Wall Street? No wonder the stock market crashed!
You guys spend an inordinate amount of your time trying to out do one another in how far you can throw Lavin.

[/quote]

 

[Class of 72]

This program manages to ruin my favorite day of the year. Unreal. Gut the team and get rid of this God awful coach.

We will suck next year with or without Lavin time to rip the band aid and start the rebuild. Lavin will leave SJU in worse shape than norm Roberts did when all is said and done and that is sad

Just go steve

Honestly, I think this is the right approach. Just think about something for a minute. Of the starting 5, 3 players have been suspended at some point in their St. John's careers. Pretty pathetic in my eyes.

Yet Lavin gets praised for recruiting "good kids", and its constantly mentioned how much respect they have for him. Ridiculous.

Monte, I understand your frustration; I feel it too. But if smoking pot means you're not a "good kid," then I guess I wasn't a good kid when I was in college (or thereafter). CO may have done something stupid -- really, really stupid -- but it doesn't mean he's a "bad" kid.

But did your use negatively impact teammates, coaches, a university and its fanbase?

So this transgression is only serious if affects sports teams ?
I don't think any of us that toked gave a crap about anything other than ordering 12 burgers at McDonald's at 2 a.m.