Repole

A couple of things on this topic...

As I have said many times, Mike Anderson is a far more accomplished coach than anyone we were talking to at any point in the coaching search - and its not even close. We undoubtedly got the right guy.

That being said, two things:
1. Porter Moser has an excellent reputation in coaching circles as an excellent coach and a great guy. We shouldn't diss him simply because he didn't want to come here.
2. I agree with nearly everything Repole said in his radio rant about how embarrassing the coaching search was.
 
In my mind there is no comparison between Moser and CMA..... CMA by a mile..
 
One of the main things that impressed me about CMA was his commitment to allocating PT based on contribution. He didn’t continue to use guys just because they were upperclassmen if they weren’t playing well or worse playing selfishly. Did it with Heron and LJ. That’s a leader and a key reason why the younger guys developed,
 
[quote="Room112" post=398345][quote="SJUFAN2" post=398327][quote="OLV72" post=398314][quote="Paul Massell" post=398258][quote="panther2" post=398254]Repole was not the biggest contributor to St. Johns Athletics. What he was trying to do was hold the school hostage with the promise of money. I have much respect for the Administration for not caving in to his demands.
[/quote]

I agree with this part but also true that what was going on during the hiring process was a travesty. I don't know that Repole's only goals were to buy a brand or maybe he was just a genuine, long-suffering and at the end of the rope, outraged fan. Maybe both but IMHO some outrage was justified. In the end, there could not have been a better outcome than hiring Mike Anderson. That said if CMA wasn't hired, things would be terribly bleak right now instead of optimistic and I doubt the admin would be getting much support. I also wonder if Cragg did not get a bit of an assist from Repole's rant. He wasn't getting his guy when the hiring was going on. Not until the very end.[/quote]

Was Cragg blocked from going with Anderson before the Mike and Mike rant? I had thought it was reported that it was a call from Capel at right about the same time with the deal going down in 24 hours.[/quote]

I don't know what went on behind the scenes but my recollection of what we were all discussing at the time was that out of the early candidates (after Hurely played us) Cragg wanted Cluess but the other faction in the STJ administration seemed to want anyone but him and pushed for Porter Moser, Jones, Hewitt, etc.

My recollection is that after Moser said "no thanks" (or while he was considering the offer) and blamed it on the fact that he wasn't the AD's choice, Repole went on WFAN and that outburst seemed to force the other faction to back off and let Cragg do his job.

I'd heard that Capel and Coach K both were in his ear about Anderson at that point, but others with more insight behind the scenes can confirm or correct that perception on my part.[/quote]

Moser actually blamed it on not being the AD's choice? I don't remember that if it did happen, but I could have missed that.[/quote]

https://redmen.com/forum/redmentalk/274217-repol...-radio.html?start=50

My bad...wasn't Moser who said that, it was Repole in his interview/rant on WFAN.
 
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[quote="SJUFAN2" post=398327][quote="OLV72" post=398314][quote="Paul Massell" post=398258][quote="panther2" post=398254]Repole was not the biggest contributor to St. Johns Athletics. What he was trying to do was hold the school hostage with the promise of money. I have much respect for the Administration for not caving in to his demands.
[/quote]

I agree with this part but also true that what was going on during the hiring process was a travesty. I don't know that Repole's only goals were to buy a brand or maybe he was just a genuine, long-suffering and at the end of the rope, outraged fan. Maybe both but IMHO some outrage was justified. In the end, there could not have been a better outcome than hiring Mike Anderson. That said if CMA wasn't hired, things would be terribly bleak right now instead of optimistic and I doubt the admin would be getting much support. I also wonder if Cragg did not get a bit of an assist from Repole's rant. He wasn't getting his guy when the hiring was going on. Not until the very end.[/quote]

Was Cragg blocked from going with Anderson before the Mike and Mike rant? I had thought it was reported that it was a call from Capel at right about the same time with the deal going down in 24 hours.[/quote]

I don't know what went on behind the scenes but my recollection of what we were all discussing at the time was that out of the early candidates (after Hurely played us) Cragg wanted Cluess but the other faction in the STJ administration seemed to want anyone but him and pushed for Porter Moser, Jones, Hewitt, etc.

My recollection is that after Moser said "no thanks" (or while he was considering the offer) and blamed it on the fact that he wasn't the AD's choice, Repole went on WFAN and that outburst seemed to force the other faction to back off and let Cragg do his job.

I'd heard that Capel and Coach K both were in his ear about Anderson at that point, but others with more insight behind the scenes can confirm or correct that perception on my part.[/quote]

i do not believe your assertion was based on fact whatsoever, and is merely speculation, unless you know otherwise. It has always been speculated that some people at SJU didn't like Cluess, but I've never heard this from anyone who is close to the situation.

I do have very very good information that BEFORE Repole went on his rant, Anderson already had a very productive phone interview, and had plane tickets purchased to come to NY for an in person interview that closed the deal. The fact that Anderson brought his wife with him was evidence that the initial call went extremely well. In fact Anderson's lovely wife celebrated with Mike and SJU leadership on the deal being completed on that trip, which I believe was on the morning after Repole's rant.

The fantasy that somehow Repole's rant influenced SJU to move on Anderson is 100% false to my understanding.

To Panther's comments, a lot of fans have indicated that should Repole be contrite and want to be a supporter of the program he would be welcomed back. I am virtually certain that Repole has made no contact with SJU since his outburst on WFAN. As a person, I don't know that he has retained a single close friendship within the AD or board of trustees if he ever had one. I would agree though that a potential huge donor would likely not be denied if he wanted to make amends, but for the time being Repole and Repole alone burned a lot of bridges that day. The promised $10 million renovation of athletic facilities (we need much for the a CA makeover) would be a good start. $25 million would heal all wounds, but with either donation Repole would want to be coronated.
 
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[quote="Beast of the East" post=398392][quote="SJUFAN2" post=398327]
I don't know what went on behind the scenes but my recollection of what we were all discussing at the time was that out of the early candidates (after Hurely played us) Cragg wanted Cluess but the other faction in the STJ administration seemed to want anyone but him and pushed for Porter Moser, Jones, Hewitt, etc.

My recollection is that after Moser said "no thanks" (or while he was considering the offer) and blamed it on the fact that he wasn't the AD's choice, Repole went on WFAN and that outburst seemed to force the other faction to back off and let Cragg do his job.

I'd heard that Capel and Coach K both were in his ear about Anderson at that point, but others with more insight behind the scenes can confirm or correct that perception on my part.[/quote]

i do not believe your assertion was based on fact whatsoever, and is merely speculation, unless you know otherwise. It has always been speculated that some people at SJU didn't like Cluess, but I've never heard this from anyone who is close to the situation.

.[/quote]

Assertion?
 
[quote="L J S A" post=398272][quote="Jack Williams" post=398270]Here’s my question for people with more connections than me.

Take the Repole radio rant out of the equation.... is mike Anderson the coach of St. John’s right now?[/quote]

No direct connections but wanted to chime in anyway. I think his whole rant was specifically designed to light a fire under certain people, and embarrass others into backing down and letting Cragg do his job. So I personally don't think Anderson is coach without it.

I know at least one poster who knew the rant was coming and that the school was scrambling beforehand waiting for bombs to be lobbed. Maybe he can chime in.[/quote]

Aka Joe O. and Pres. Bobby get the f out of the way, and Mr. Cragg step to the table and start running this embarrassing program like your predecessor operated, or at least get us on that trajectory. It worked.
 
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The Repole Rant 1 1/2 years later

1. Danny Hurley could have been had from Rhode Island when Mullin was hired. Probably correct, though his UCONN salary of $3 million was 50% more of Mullin's. He likely would have left for the UCONN jump had he taken the SJU job for $2 million.

2. Mullin wasn't given propert support. That's true. Chris Monasch left, and his successor had no experience running a big time program.

3. Bobby G., Oliva, and BIll Collins (BOT chairman) are incompetent, clueless leaders, and embarrassing. Way over the top trash. To think of it, Repole has no academic resume of his own, and is not qualified to assess those 3's impact on the university as a whole. If he toned it down and just kept it to the basketball decision, could have been an acceptable criticism.

4. First says that Cragg was a ridiculous hire, then corrects it to say he was a very good hire, but blames administration for getting in Cragg's way. Does mention the $20 million upgrade to facilities which is not just CA. Not sure about that allegation.

5. Asserts that Cragg won't stay at SJU and will get 10 interviews in 3 months and ten offers. Appears that Cragg loves St. John's and loves NY, so would have to say Repole was wrong.

6. Asserts that we should have hired Hurley at $3 million, 3.5 or 4 million. Crazy talk with no evidence that he either put up or shut up. Went on about Cragg heading up Legacy fund at Duke which raised $100 million, but ante's up only $100K to remake men's and women's locker rooms. again refers to facilities upgrade.

7. Went on about Cluess being a great choice. I agree with that. Also just specualted that Cluess hire was blocked, but as close as he was to Cragg, had no direct knowledge of that happening.

8. Says Board is very weak, but my recollection is that the board showed Harrington the door, which isn't exactly weak.

9. Says culture at St. John's is toxic. I see no evidence of that frankly. Said that we should hire a new President - well 18 months later we are there, but Repole's comments had no impact there.

10. Says basketball is the front porch of the house at SJU. I agree. Says the front porch looks like crap right now (then). I'd say it looks pretty good today with CMA.

11. Says to Francessa after professing his own love for the school, "Me and you Mike can change this University by 6 pm tonight. " That's pretty funny since I don't know if Francessa had been on campus at all over the past 30 years besides maybe a game on campus if he ever was there.

12. Mike F. claimed that Figueroa was going to transfer as a result of the coaching uncertainty and that Figgy was a great player. Figgy stayed, but left anyway this season, and was far from great.

13. REpole asserted that the team next season (the one that just ended) doesn't win a game in the big East. Dead wrong, CMA had them competitive by the end of the season even on an off year.

14. Francessa. "This board, these people, I stepped away from 10 years ago because I just couldn't stand it." Total load of crap. Francessa reneged on a public promise for a scholarship in his mom's memory, and "stepped away" because the school asked Bruce Beck to emcee the President's dinner after several years of Francessa leaving them hanging till the last possible moment to commit. That's the extent of Francessa's support of the school, and he never prepared a lick, and his final year wore a literally crumpled brown sports jacket to emcee a black tie affair.

15. Repole: "Cragg is gone. Situation not fixable with the current leadership. DemandGemeshaw should resign. I'll give him till Friday. I'll pay his severance. I'm here to be an asset, financially and intellectually, but they (SJU admin) is scared of me"

16. Claims Chris Mullin had dinner with him a month before he got the job and asked Repole to help him get the job. Interesting. Said SJU had no plan to help Mullin succeed and instead got Oliva as interim AD, Goff for 6 months, and then a gap till Cragg was hired.

17. Francessa claims that Slice was the #1 or #2 recruiter in the country, and that SJU ran him out. Crappy situation with Slice, but appears Slice had as much to do with his firing as anyone. I'd point to void in AD leadership for that debacle, and agree with Repole there.

18. Repole, "I've done everything to help SJU out for 5 years", but adminsitraiton and board is incompetent and are little boys who are destroying a university they know nothing about running.

19. Repole "We are St. John's. I love this school. We can't pay what Creighton, Xavier, DePAul pay their coaches. We have to pay 3-4 million and get someone in here that will win." Considering that we were well on our way to hiring Anderson at the point of the rant, Repole was correct but his rant didn't help.

Repole could fix this by waiting till a new president comes in, and making it right by apologizing and stepping up with his donation. Listening to the interview, I think the door could be open if he did that.

Bottom line I guess is whether or not you believe Repole influenced the hire of CMA. From what I can gather, no, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
 
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https://redstormsports.com/watch/?Archive=2155&sport=4&type=Archive

Anderson's introductory Press Conference on Friday

11:39 Anderson says and Cragg confirms off camera to getting a call Wednesday
11:44 Anderson says I'm up here right now (Friday) and I'm gonna be the coach of SJU

Repole's rant was in the afternoon on Wednesday. SJU staff heard Wednesday morning it was coming.

I know some people have issues with Repole and how he carries himself and that's fine. But when the coach says the timeline lets respect that and not make revisionist history.
 
"9. Says culture at St. John's is toxic. I see no evidence of that frankly. "

I mean the evidence is the same as the examples of Mets, Knicks, and Jets. Incompetence makes you a consistently poor program which we were up until last yr with a few glimmers of hope but still nothing great. Look at our record the last 5 yrs. We've been a bottomfeeder overall. If it came to Repole vs. anyone other than Cragg, I side with Repole. He's saying what we were all thinking or assuming was happening behind scenes. The only way PC and SHU pass us by is if our admin sucks. And they have passed us by. They do suck. We have a bigger brand, way more $, more resources, much bigger student body, much more history...but the reason they rose from the ashes is because they have guys who know what they're doing behind the scenes. The Knicks and Mets have terrible ownership and front offices. That's why they are so bad so consistently. It's not natural to consistently be bad. It takes incompetence IMO.
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]

Bottom line I guess is whether or not you believe Repole influenced the hire of CMA. From what I can gather, no, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.[/quote]

I don't think that is the question. I think the question at the heart of this, or the "bottom line", is whether or not Repole's rant caused people to get out or Cragg's way and let him do his job.

Haven't seen anyone but you tie the Anderson hire to Repole, even to disabuse the notion.

I think its pretty clear that the Anderson hire's roots lie in Cragg's Duke connections.
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]The Repole Rant 1 1/2 years later

1. Danny Hurley could have been had from Rhode Island when Mullin was hired. Probably correct, though his UCONN salary of $3 million was 50% more of Mullin's. He likely would have left for the UCONN jump had he taken the SJU job for $2 million.[/quote]Or perhaps some booster would have coughed up some more dough to keep him??

Unless your point is that we should never hire an up and coming coach because we'll only lose him to a program with deeper pockets eventually, I'm not sure what your point is.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]3. Bobby G., Oliva, and BIll Collins (BOT chairman) are incompetent, clueless leaders, and embarrassing. Way over the top trash. To think of it, Repole has no academic resume of his own, and is not qualified to assess those 3's impact on the university as a whole. If he toned it down and just kept it to the basketball decision, could have been an acceptable criticism.[/quote]
So you agree with him that they were "incompetent, clueless leaders, and embarrassing" when it came to overseeing the basketball program...just not the rest of the university?


[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]4. First says that Cragg was a ridiculous hire, then corrects it to say he was a very good hire, but blames administration for getting in Cragg's way. Does mention the $20 million upgrade to facilities which is not just CA. Not sure about that allegation.[/quote]

He said he thought the Cragg hire was a "mistake" before he met with him. "Ridiculous" is your word.
A lot of people were wondering why we hired an older guy with no AD experience from Duke. And I'd imagine a lot of them have changed their minds about him after seeing how he has handled himself in the role.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]5. Asserts that Cragg won't stay at SJU and will get 10 interviews in 3 months and ten offers. Appears that Cragg loves St. John's and loves NY, so would have to say Repole was wrong.[/quote]

Context. He was talking about Cragg leaving IF he wasn't allowed to do his job, which at the time he wasn't, or else we never would have made that absurd offer to Porter Moser.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]7. Went on about Cluess being a great choice. I agree with that. Also just specualted that Cluess hire was blocked, but as close as he was to Cragg, had no direct knowledge of that happening.[/quote]

I've been in favor of us hiring Cluess since he was at CW Post. He's a terrific coach and would have been a great hire. He went to school here and played hoops here. Yet he's never had an interview for any of the numerous head coaching searches we've had in the past 20 years. That can't be Cragg's fault. He's been here for one coaching search. Who's been in charge of the others, and why wouldn't they interview the best local coach even once?

Also...where did Repole say he was close to Cragg? He'd just met him a few months earlier.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]9. Says culture at St. John's is toxic. I see no evidence of that frankly. Said that we should hire a new President - well 18 months later we are there, but Repole's comments had no impact there.[/quote]I guess that all depends on what he meant by "toxic". If he was referring to a culture that handcuffs an AD so they can't do their job, or a basketball program that was in the toilet most of the last 20-30 years, has sub par facilities and a 'mom and pop commuter school' image, then there is plenty of evidence over that time that he could very well be correct in that assessment.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]10. Says basketball is the front porch of the house at SJU. I agree. Says the front porch looks like crap right now (then). I'd say it looks pretty good today with CMA.[/quote] How would it look today with James Jones here and whatever new AD we'd hired to replace Cragg after he left?


[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]12. Mike F. claimed that Figueroa was going to transfer as a result of the coaching uncertainty and that Figgy was a great player. Figgy stayed, but left anyway this season, and was far from great.[/quote] Figgy WAS going to transfer. He was in the portal. CMA did a great job getting him to stay. I agree he wasn't a "Great" player, but he was darn good.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]13. REpole asserted that the team next season (the one that just ended) doesn't win a game in the big East. Dead wrong, CMA had them competitive by the end of the season even on an off year.[/quote]Really?

When he made those comments our roster was down to something like:
Caraher (RS)
Steere
Keita
Eli Wright
And the 3 freshman (Earlington, Roberts, Williams) who had lots of whispers around them about transferring.

Clark, Simon, Ponds, Figgy, Heron, Lovett, Dixon, Trimble were all gone and Mack, Manuel, etc had decommitted).

You roll that team out there with none of the additions CMA would eventually get (including Figgy & Heron) along with a lesser coach and Repole might have been overestimating our win total.

"Dead wrong"? Try : "dead right"



[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]15. Repole: "Cragg is gone. Situation not fixable with the current leadership. DemandGemeshaw should resign. I'll give him till Friday. I'll pay his severance. I'm here to be an asset, financially and intellectually, but they (SJU admin) is scared of me"[/quote]He was definitely wrong on this one...thank god.


[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]19. Repole "We are St. John's. I love this school. We can't pay what Creighton, Xavier, DePAul pay their coaches. We have to pay 3-4 million and get someone in here that will win." Considering that we were well on our way to hiring Anderson at the point of the rant, Repole was correct but his rant didn't help.
[/quote]
See moose's post about the timing of our recruitment of Anderson.

I don't have a horse in this race (repole or the administration), but it seems to me there is only one question here:
Did Repole's rant force others in the admin to get out of Cragg's way and let him do his job, his way? Assuming, of course that they were in his way to begin with. I doubt that was his intent when he went on the radio, but if that was the outcome then his rant could go down as one of the pivotal moments in this programs history.

If everything was as rosy as you seem to make it out to be between the administration and Cragg, then Repole's rant was much ado about nothing.
 
Would hope that even with broader, long term differences with leadership, that if Repole is a true fan of team itself, he would still support the current kids/coach like other alums/donors/fans even at modest level - even if not at longer term, higher $ infrastructure needs level he noted previous willingness to support.
 
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My view on this topic
1. The coaching search was a debacle by any standard.
2. The better candidates (perhaps the Cragg wish list) declined the job.
3. The fallback candidates (perhaps the admin list after Cragg's wish list fell through) were not impressive.
4. Repole wanted control to go with his money, and IMHO the school was right to turn that down - regardless of result.
5. It's very possible that the Repole Rant contributed to the admin backing off of their backup list and gave Cragg more time/room to find a better option.
6. After which Cragg's Duke connections led him to Anderson, who happened to be available.
7. That was a really fortunate outcome, in which the Repole Rant played a role but was not determinative.
 
[quote="Enright" post=398263]My criticism of the SJU administration is not based on the Repole incident but goes back almost twenty years when a neighbor donated almost ten million dollars to the basketball program and subsequently pulled it back when he felt the board won’t listen to his choice of new coach. How much say he wanted I don’t know but the boards job is to cultivate these donors and make them feel they are part of the decision making.
One advantage SJU has is the number of grads who are sports minded and who have hit it big on Wall St. Mike Repole is not the only successful grad. Bringing money into the program is the most important part of the boards job. CA is now over sixty years old with backs on a few hundred seats and a new scoreboard the big improvements.
I posted that I hope the whole board would be replaced because their work in selecting coaches and providing facilities to impress recruits have been total failures and I realize the landscape of college basketball has changed over the years and SJU will never compete with the state schools nor with the Dukes, Gonzaga or Villanovas but watching Seton Hsll and Providence pass us with the program consistently falling demands a change, Cragg spoke about expanding and modernizing CA when he was hired. I suppose by now he is learning how SJU operates.[/quote]

Clarification regarding the large donor you referenced. The Tafner Center was going to have the name of the donor's family. When he felt that Harrington embarrassed him over the Norm hire, his reaction was different than Repole's. I'm not certain about the size of the donation (at least $5 million), but it was still made to the university, but directed towards Campus ministry. At the same time, he quietly set up internships at Goldman Sachs, his former employer, and also made donations to build the room in Tobin where Bloomberg terminals were installed due to his generosity.
 
[quote="Moose" post=398402]https://redstormsports.com/watch/?Archive=2155&sport=4&type=Archive

Anderson's introductory Press Conference on Friday

11:39 Anderson says and Cragg confirms off camera to getting a call Wednesday
11:44 Anderson says I'm up here right now (Friday) and I'm gonna be the coach of SJU

Repole's rant was in the afternoon on Wednesday. SJU staff heard Wednesday morning it was coming.

I know some people have issues with Repole and how he carries himself and that's fine. But when the coach says the timeline lets respect that and not make revisionist history.[/quote]

I know that you are pointing to speculation about SJU knowing the content of a rant by Repole and you are presuming that they were so embarrassed they immediately changed course towards a higher profile hire.

Your timeline fits perfectly to what I've been told by some very important people, but not for the reasons you are projecting.

Sometimes earlier that week, Mike Cragg reached out to Duke contacts (he has said this publicly) about suggestions for a new coach. They suggested Anderson. The call did occur before the Repole WFAN blast, and went so well that Anderson flew out the very next morning with his wife to meet with Cragg and SJU administration presumably. Anderson was announced Friday.

I was told by people as close as can be to the situation that the story of Repole influencing the university is pure fantasy. I am confident that I would have been told otherwise if that was the case, and either way, until now I have not disclosed this.

Just to be certain, perhaps if Repole went to SJU and said he would cover a good chunk of Hurley's salary, they would have upped his ante. I'm certain he didn't do that. For all of his bluster, when Repole blasted Bill Colllins as incompetent and clueless, and that Repole is all about loving the university, let's compare the love for a second. Repole is a billionaire who has donated about $1 million to the university. Collins I am told (I don't know him) is brilliant and his love for the university has been shown by $20 million in donations, with no strings attached. If Repole wants to show his love, let him pony up $20 million, or about 1/5th of his love for horses (by his account he spent $100 million on stables)
 
[quote="SJUFAN2" post=398416][quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]The Repole Rant 1 1/2 years later

1. Danny Hurley could have been had from Rhode Island when Mullin was hired. Probably correct, though his UCONN salary of $3 million was 50% more of Mullin's. He likely would have left for the UCONN jump had he taken the SJU job for $2 million.[/quote]Or perhaps some booster would have coughed up some more dough to keep him??

Unless your point is that we should never hire an up and coming coach because we'll only lose him to a program with deeper pockets eventually, I'm not sure what your point is.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]3. Bobby G., Oliva, and BIll Collins (BOT chairman) are incompetent, clueless leaders, and embarrassing. Way over the top trash. To think of it, Repole has no academic resume of his own, and is not qualified to assess those 3's impact on the university as a whole. If he toned it down and just kept it to the basketball decision, could have been an acceptable criticism.[/quote]
So you agree with him that they were "incompetent, clueless leaders, and embarrassing" when it came to overseeing the basketball program...just not the rest of the university?


[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]4. First says that Cragg was a ridiculous hire, then corrects it to say he was a very good hire, but blames administration for getting in Cragg's way. Does mention the $20 million upgrade to facilities which is not just CA. Not sure about that allegation.[/quote]

He said he thought the Cragg hire was a "mistake" before he met with him. "Ridiculous" is your word.
A lot of people were wondering why we hired an older guy with no AD experience from Duke. And I'd imagine a lot of them have changed their minds about him after seeing how he has handled himself in the role.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]5. Asserts that Cragg won't stay at SJU and will get 10 interviews in 3 months and ten offers. Appears that Cragg loves St. John's and loves NY, so would have to say Repole was wrong.[/quote]

Context. He was talking about Cragg leaving IF he wasn't allowed to do his job, which at the time he wasn't, or else we never would have made that absurd offer to Porter Moser.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]7. Went on about Cluess being a great choice. I agree with that. Also just specualted that Cluess hire was blocked, but as close as he was to Cragg, had no direct knowledge of that happening.[/quote]

I've been in favor of us hiring Cluess since he was at CW Post. He's a terrific coach and would have been a great hire. He went to school here and played hoops here. Yet he's never had an interview for any of the numerous head coaching searches we've had in the past 20 years. That can't be Cragg's fault. He's been here for one coaching search. Who's been in charge of the others, and why wouldn't they interview the best local coach even once?

Also...where did Repole say he was close to Cragg? He'd just met him a few months earlier.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]9. Says culture at St. John's is toxic. I see no evidence of that frankly. Said that we should hire a new President - well 18 months later we are there, but Repole's comments had no impact there.[/quote]I guess that all depends on what he meant by "toxic". If he was referring to a culture that handcuffs an AD so they can't do their job, or a basketball program that was in the toilet most of the last 20-30 years, has sub par facilities and a 'mom and pop commuter school' image, then there is plenty of evidence over that time that he could very well be correct in that assessment.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]10. Says basketball is the front porch of the house at SJU. I agree. Says the front porch looks like crap right now (then). I'd say it looks pretty good today with CMA.[/quote] How would it look today with James Jones here and whatever new AD we'd hired to replace Cragg after he left?


[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]12. Mike F. claimed that Figueroa was going to transfer as a result of the coaching uncertainty and that Figgy was a great player. Figgy stayed, but left anyway this season, and was far from great.[/quote] Figgy WAS going to transfer. He was in the portal. CMA did a great job getting him to stay. I agree he wasn't a "Great" player, but he was darn good.

[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]13. REpole asserted that the team next season (the one that just ended) doesn't win a game in the big East. Dead wrong, CMA had them competitive by the end of the season even on an off year.[/quote]Really?

When he made those comments our roster was down to something like:
Caraher (RS)
Steere
Keita
Eli Wright
And the 3 freshman (Earlington, Roberts, Williams) who had lots of whispers around them about transferring.

Clark, Simon, Ponds, Figgy, Heron, Lovett, Dixon, Trimble were all gone and Mack, Manuel, etc had decommitted).

You roll that team out there with none of the additions CMA would eventually get (including Figgy & Heron) along with a lesser coach and Repole might have been overestimating our win total.

"Dead wrong"? Try : "dead right"



[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]15. Repole: "Cragg is gone. Situation not fixable with the current leadership. DemandGemeshaw should resign. I'll give him till Friday. I'll pay his severance. I'm here to be an asset, financially and intellectually, but they (SJU admin) is scared of me"[/quote]He was definitely wrong on this one...thank god.


[quote="Beast of the East" post=398397]19. Repole "We are St. John's. I love this school. We can't pay what Creighton, Xavier, DePAul pay their coaches. We have to pay 3-4 million and get someone in here that will win." Considering that we were well on our way to hiring Anderson at the point of the rant, Repole was correct but his rant didn't help.
[/quote]
See moose's post about the timing of our recruitment of Anderson.

I don't have a horse in this race (repole or the administration), but it seems to me there is only one question here:
Did Repole's rant force others in the admin to get out of Cragg's way and let him do his job, his way? Assuming, of course that they were in his way to begin with. I doubt that was his intent when he went on the radio, but if that was the outcome then his rant could go down as one of the pivotal moments in this programs history.

If everything was as rosy as you seem to make it out to be between the administration and Cragg, then Repole's rant was much ado about nothing.[/quote]

Too much to comment on, but I will tell you that while I also advocated on Redmen.com for SJU to hire CLuess from CW Post, in conversation with Cluess at the time, Cluess told me the people saying that (not knowing it was me) are idiots. He said there is no way should he be considered for the SJU job. Like you, I have confidence in his ability, but honestly, we still don't know if he would have had the same success here as in a weaker mid major.

I'm not going to debate you. Repole, if he had a shred of integrity, just like the guys who pledged the Tafner center donation, would have simply diverted his $10 million offer to Cragg to somewhere else. The point is, while guys like Collins, Riley, and a bunch of other Board members, like JSJ, really love St. John's, Repole loves SJU basketball and that's it. Like Panther said, he thought he was going to dangle a carrot, and honestly a relatively small carrot when you consider he advocated SJU hire Hurley at maybe 6 years at 3.5-4 million per ($20 million deal). If he really cared so much, hed have contacted SJU immediately upon the Anderson hire at 2.5 or whatever it is, and said, "Here's $10 million to cover part of his contract. You did your part, now here's mine"
 
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