Pitino and Iona

[quote="Section3" post=382012][quote="Moose" post=382007]LoHud saying it’s slightly less than Cluess 1.1M salary[/quote]
Tells you his wife was desperate to get back to US. He could have waited for much better opportunities to open up.[/quote]

At 67? This is his last shot at d1
 
[quote="Section3" post=382012][quote="Moose" post=382007]LoHud saying it’s slightly less than Cluess 1.1M salary[/quote]
Tells you his wife was desperate to get back to US. He could have waited for much better opportunities to open up.[/quote]

Are they even still together?
 
[quote="NCJohnnie" post=382016]LJSA wrote: I absolutely say that now. But do I say that during the hiring process? I doubt it, even though I liked Coach Anderson before his hire here. And Pitino vs. Moser vs. Jones?

I didn't want Pitino then and wouldn't want him now. The ultimate glimpse into Pitino is the quote my biggest regret is leaving Providence; anyone want to buy a bridge?[/quote]

And I certainly respect that opinion.

And I know he's slimy, so I'm not running out to the bank to drain my account for any bridge being offered to me.
 
I played golf with Rick last summer. He was extremely forthright about all of his issues as well as his desire to coach St. John’s. Unfortunately he said no one ever contacted him from the University . It surprised me that we did not at least have a conversation with him to perhaps hear his side of his travels and stories and gauge his interest. In my opinion a huge missed opportunity. I am all in for Mike Anderson and will root my heart out but always will wonder if RIck could have restored us to 80’s glory. I guess his success or failure at Iona will help answer my question.
 
I'm not thrilled with this, but it definitely shouldn't be a threat to St. John's.

Iona's student body population is 3.9K, smaller than the smallest Big East school (Providence) of 4.7K. Our is over 21K (over 5X bigger than Iona). Obviously we also play in the Big East, have all our games on TV, are actually in NYC, etc etc.

Iona won't become a power nor should they steal many (any?) of our recruits. If this were a school like Fordham then I'd be much more concerned.

Worst case, if RP does a good job there and CMA fails then offer RP double/triple/quadruple what Iona is paying him.
 
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I find myself thinking of Tim Cluess. He earned himself a strong legacy by building a winning, well respected program. Now, less than a week after he steps down, they turn it into circus time.
 
[quote="thetux1" post=382039]Good let’s play them every year[/quote]

Has SJU ever beaten a Pitino team? He beat us three times in his second year at Providence and I remember his Mashburn Kentucky team beat us at MSG. Don't remember any wins while he was at Louisville. Maybe we beat him in year one at Providence.
 
[quote="Las Vegan" post=382043]I remember his Mashburn Kentucky team beat us at MSG.[/quote]

It was great fun watching him crap his pants that game though. We repeatedly threw long passes right over the top of the press. Held Mash to about 20 below his average and knocked him from the top of the ppg leaderboard.
 
We should really have a big 5 Villanova style tournament with all the progress other northeast schools have been having.

-Rutgers
-Hofstra
-Iona
-Rutgers
-St John’s
 
[quote="Las Vegan" post=382043][quote="thetux1" post=382039]Good let’s play them every year[/quote]

Has SJU ever beaten a Pitino team? He beat us three times in his second year at Providence and I remember his Mashburn Kentucky team beat us at MSG. Don't remember any wins while he was at Louisville. Maybe we beat him in year one at Providence.[/quote]

Four times.

Looie got him twice in 1985-86.... and from the world of Ripley's Believe It Or Not, Norm Roberts whooped him twice, January 17, 2006 (68-56) and February 11, 2010 (74-55), both at the Worlds Most Famous Arena.

https://redstormsports.com/news/200..._No_17_15_Louisville_At_The_Garden_69_55.aspx

https://redstormsports.com/news/201..._As_STJ_Commemorates_1985_Final_Four_Run.aspx
 
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Rick Pitino could go undefeated and win a national championship at Iona and I’d still be glad we didn’t hire him.
 
[quote="JohnnyFan" post=382041]I find myself thinking of Tim Cluess. He earned himself a strong legacy by building a winning, well respected program. Now, less than a week after he steps down, they turn it into circus time.[/quote]

Less than a day. This had to be in the works before Cluess stepped down yesterday.

I don't think Pitino matches his success. It's a one bid league and a crap shoot tournament. I don't think Cooley won it in his five years in the league. What Cluess did was remarkable. He made it look easy.
 
[quote="Monte" post=382019]Not sure if question has been raised, but anyone think that the plan may be for Iona to try and get in to Big East in a year or 2?[/quote]

The A10 would make much more sense. Dump Fordham and insert Iona.
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=382026][quote="Section3" post=382012][quote="Moose" post=382007]LoHud saying it’s slightly less than Cluess 1.1M salary[/quote]
Tells you his wife was desperate to get back to US. He could have waited for much better opportunities to open up.[/quote]

At 67? This is his last shot at d1[/quote]
His profile is still big enough for a bigger program than Iona
 
[quote="jetstorm" post=382054][quote="Monte" post=382019]Not sure if question has been raised, but anyone think that the plan may be for Iona to try and get in to Big East in a year or 2?[/quote]

The A10 would make much more sense. Dump Fordham and insert Iona.[/quote]

Fordham basketball would be better fit for Patriot League
 
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[quote="otis" post=381995]Given the choice between Pitino and CMA then I would take CMA.[/quote]

I get what you are saying and I honestly think Mike Anderson is a good choice but bottom line is Rick Pitino is arguably to me the best coach of his generation. Coach K has more accomplishments and obviously is great but one game to win I'm taking Pitino. I always say he could take 4 ball boys and a cheerleader and win 20 games. So I honestly get the baggage part as reason not to hire no doubt. But let's not act like it would be an easy choice. Pitino is a once in a generation coach who under normal circumstances would not be available to SJU so passing on him even with baggage is tough.
 
[quote="fordham96" post=382057][quote="otis" post=381995]Given the choice between Pitino and CMA then I would take CMA.[/quote]

Coach K has more accomplishments and obviously is great but one game to win I'm taking Pitino. I always say he could take 4 ball boys and a cheerleader and win 20 games. So I honestly get the baggage part as reason not to hire no doubt. But let's not act like it would be an easy choice. Pitino is a once in a generation coach . . .[/quote]

I'm wondering if he took this job to make it more palatable for a big program to bring him in in a year or two. He needed some distance between him and the Louisville job, but Greece was too big of a distance.
 
[quote="L J S A" post=382059][quote="fordham96" post=382057][quote="otis" post=381995]Given the choice between Pitino and CMA then I would take CMA.[/quote]

Coach K has more accomplishments and obviously is great but one game to win I'm taking Pitino. I always say he could take 4 ball boys and a cheerleader and win 20 games. So I honestly get the baggage part as reason not to hire no doubt. But let's not act like it would be an easy choice. Pitino is a once in a generation coach . . .[/quote]

I'm wondering if he took this job to make it more palatable for a big program to bring him in in a year or two. He needed some distance between him and the Louisville job, but Greece was too big of a distance.[/quote]

He may. I mean think about what if Bill Self leaves Kansas in a couple of years let's say and Kansas calls Pitino. He would obviously be nuts not to leave Iona for Kansas. But short of that I can see him finishing up at Iona.

BTW-I wrote about this last year in terms of what SJU should do if they are interested in Pitino. Call the NCAA and see what the likelihood he would have a show cause penalty attached to him. Sounds like from this interview Iona did their homework:

[URL]https://www.espn.com/mens-coll.../qa-rick-pitino-iona-hiring-issues-louisville[/URL]

ESPN: If the NCAA comes down in a few months and hands Pitino a "show-cause" penalty, how would that be handled? And has that been discussed?

Glovaski: We have no reason to believe that would happen. Because we've had such a thorough interview process. For us, it's about focusing on great research. Focusing on making sure we were on the same team, we were building moving forward. Rick's values aligned with the goals and values for the college. He was the right leader at the right time in his life for this job.
 
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