We talk about venues and crowds, that was probably the biggest SJU-heavy crowd at the Garden since Lavin's first year. Critical game after 8 days off where we opened almost double-digit favorites and lose by double digits. Could have regained so much momentum with a W while building equity with fan base with quality performance in first Garden conference game. Instead it was a dud almost from the start and at 3-5 having lost 4 of 5 in light of expectations it's one of the lower points in the Mullin era.
Unfortunately, all of the positive work this staff has done to raise profile and pedigree of program is being undermined by their inexperience and flat out inability to consistently get to the winner's circle. Period. This season was about as set up as it could possibly be after the 2OT win in DC, and a mere 3 weeks later it's flirting with being lost.
The risks associated with this staff are currently outweighing the rewards which at the end of the day is a results-driven analysis. I don't care if this staff hasn't coached a day in their life (which they've looked a lot like recently) if they are 6-2 right now. But they are 3-5 and, arguably, 3 of the worst games of the season have occurred in the last 4 games. This isn't a matter of catching a series of bad breaks, much as Mullin typically spends the first 30 seconds of any break in the action yelling at the officials demonstratively which really comes into focus more at games live.
It's year 4, we have arguably best player in the conference, and we are just trying to scrape by. That's where this team is and that is concerning. Currently team isn't even winning it's fair share, let alone really impressing as it did at times earlier in the year. And that's one of biggest problems from my perspective. An incredibly talented first five is, at best, not getting better as the season progresses. And it might be getting worse.
Maybe they turn it around and claw into NCAA with February run. Obviously rooting for that, but even then something will probably be on the table that I previously thought was mutually exclusive: this team could make NCAA this year and I don't know that I'll be totally convinced program is on the right trajectory towards sustainable winning with this staff. There's just too much uncertainty in terms of program management - including 3 of 4 staff members somehow having their first collegiate coaching experience in the Big East, and this persisting into year 4 despite mixed results - but perhaps more importantly (and objectively) their ability to just win games. The latter of which is becoming more of a question mark with each passing game it seems.
Would a highly experienced assistant have prevented Patrick Ewing from running circles around us or Mac McClung from looking like the best player on the court? No idea and maybe not. But unless the results start to become more reflective of meaningful progress, perhaps it's time for SJU to remove some of those questions by taking course it hasn't seemed to with last 3 coaches - hiring an up and coming experienced head coach.
Not a high major assistant, not a semi-retired TV announcer, and not a former player - valiant as all of their efforts were and are in different ways. Hire whoever the next Danny Hurley is so that, at the absolute minimum, we have a better sense what the baseline for this program is with someone who has built a winner with less. Maybe that's good news and maybe it's not for the program. But at least we'd know. Right now it just seems like yesterday was another in a long line of being all over the map.
