Repole

G

GardenCity62

Well-known member
2023 $upporter 2022 $upporter
I have been reading the posts for ten years debating the reason for the failures of SJU basketball. I am a 1962 grad so I have witnessed the good and bad for many years. Winning big games at MSG is the only thing that moves the needle on SJU basketball. Playing in NYC with all the pro teams requires big wins at MSG to get students, alum ,press and the average fan interested in SJU basketball.
To win these games requires high level recruiting which requires money for facility upgrades etc. To obtain some of these money I suggest the new president inform the mysterious board that run SJU basketball that they must embrace any donor who is willing to put up big bucks for a voice in SJU basketball. If the board members can,t come to agreements with these donors ,if there are any they must resign.
After what has become generations of failure rather than years and selections of Mahoney and Roberts as head coaches I feel the board has lost any relevancy and feel that a donor like Mike Repole couldn’t do a worse job.
IMO we have a great combination of coach / AD now but building a program in NYC without big bucks is next to impossible.
 
Totally agree...if I ran the school and Repole came waving millions in my face, I tell him to do whatever he wants. He's a huge fan and literally offered to pay for damn near everything we need so badly. But unfortunately, we just laughed at him and showed him the door. No one else to my knowledge comes close in terms of single donor power. Memphis is mentioned with every 5* recruit alongside Duke, UK, and Kansas. Not because they're anywhere near them, but because of their FedEx money. Money talks.
 
[quote="Mike Zaun" post=398095]Totally agree...if I ran the school and Repole came waving millions in my face, I tell him to do whatever he wants. He's a huge fan and literally offered to pay for damn near everything we need so badly. But unfortunately, we just laughed at him and showed him the door. No one else to my knowledge comes close in terms of single donor power. Memphis is mentioned with every 5* recruit alongside Duke, UK, and Kansas. Not because they're anywhere near them, but because of their FedEx money. Money talks.[/quote]

Agreed 1000% Mike. Yup can’t let a guy like Repole walk with his resources if you really want to compete. Money always talks. If the answer to the question doesn’t concern money rephrase the question.
 
The goal of any athletic department when it comes to high-dollar boosters is to keep them happy and involved without letting them actually control anything substantive. The fact that someone is successful in one thing does not mean that know anything at all about another thing - although those people frequently get confused about that. You might look at, say, Daniel Snyder for one example. Or closer to home, James Dolan.

If a wealthy booster wants "control" to go along with their dollars, then the program has to bite the bullet and decline that offer as politely as possible.

I have no criticism of how SJU handled Repole, and his behavior after that episode (and where the program landed) was about as clear an illustration as you could want that SJU was correct.
 
[quote="lawmanfan" post=398246]The goal of any athletic department when it comes to high-dollar boosters is to keep them happy and involved without letting them actually control anything substantive. The fact that someone is successful in one thing does not mean that know anything at all about another thing - although those people frequently get confused about that. You might look at, say, Daniel Snyder for one example. Or closer to home, James Dolan.

If a wealthy booster wants "control" to go along with their dollars, then the program has to bite the bullet and decline that offer as politely as possible.

I have no criticism of how SJU handled Repole, and his behavior after that episode (and where the program landed) was about as clear an illustration as you could want that SJU was correct.[/quote]

I understand this perspective but I respectfully disagree. At the end of the day, money talks. Our program has been away from the national scene for the better part of 20 yrs. After the Big East lost Cuse, Pitt, etc. we all figured we would be one of the better teams with them out of the way. That did not turn out to be the case. My fear is that down the road maybe in 10 yrs maybe in 30, that the P5 splits from the NCAA and they only take teams like G'Town, UConn, Nova with them leaving the rest of us in the dust. We need to show we have a real pulse again and that involves money. We need to upgrade our facilities that are bottom of conference. We need to upgrade concessions. We need seat backs and a re-do of CA. We need better locker rooms and buildings exclusive to basketball players like Texas has for football (insane facility btw I've been in it). We also need money to boost our game advertisements (LIRR signs were a great idea but went away) and to keep our program up with the top Big East teams to seriously compete. The only fix if you aren't winning big is money. Hire best coaches as well. Not to sound bleak, but if the P5 split from NCAA today, do you really think they'd take us for basketball? We may not have a major program if we don't pump money to save it. Repole may not be in athletics, but he's far from an idiot and would have advisors and other guys to help make decisions...not just him alone. I have more faith in Repole than anyone else in our administration outside of Cragg.
 
money, sadly is the root of all evil.

i'm all for donations. but no way do you relinquish control. and there's no guarantee of winning. how big time schools with huge boosters still suck? UCLA comes to mind...

yeah we'd get new facilities, but what is happening behind the scenes? are players now also getting extra benefits? families? aau coaches? agents? it's a slippery slope.
 
[quote="lawmanfan" post=398246]The goal of any athletic department when it comes to high-dollar boosters is to keep them happy and involved without letting them actually control anything substantive. The fact that someone is successful in one thing does not mean that know anything at all about another thing - although those people frequently get confused about that. You might look at, say, Daniel Snyder for one example. Or closer to home, James Dolan.

If a wealthy booster wants "control" to go along with their dollars, then the program has to bite the bullet and decline that offer as politely as possible.

I have no criticism of how SJU handled Repole, and his behavior after that episode (and where the program landed) was about as clear an illustration as you could want that SJU was correct.[/quote] In fairness to Repole ,our search for a head coach after Mullin was embarrassing.
 
[quote="Mike Zaun" post=398252]UCLA does not suck. They have a great coach in Cronin and they've been to Sweet 16 3x since 2013.[/quote]

since 2003, they've had 4 coaches.

their attendance has been brutal.

all that UA and donor money hasn't translated to consistent success....
 
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.

He was trying to buy a basketball team brand for a few million dollars. When he did not get his way, he went on the radio crying like a little girl. Who does that? Only someone who thinks money entitles them to have their way.

I have a positive feeling about the direction in which the program is headed under Mike Cragg and Coach Anderson. We have two commitments for the Class of '21 already and hopefully one or two more.

Looking forward to seeing this year's team.
 
The evidence of what happens when people who know the price of everything but the value of nothing get too much power or influence is all around us every day.
 
[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.
 
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[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 then 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]

Well said. I'm not so sure that "Mike Repole" is done, nor should Cragg and co. close the door on him. It was a tumultuous time that seemed like this program was headed for the toilet. I believe he was coming from an overly passionate standpoint and just wants the school to return to basketball greatness. Cooler heads will prevail. The program would benefit a great deal from his support.
 
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="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]

Jim Reilly? ;)
 
[quote="Chris7" post=398259][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 then 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]

Well said. I'm not so sure that "Mike Repole" is done, nor should Cragg and co. close the door on him. It was a tumultuous time that seemed like this program was headed for the toilet. I believe he was coming from an overly passionate standpoint and just wants the school to return to basketball greatness. Cooler heads will prevail. The program would benefit a great deal from his support.[/quote]

I hope he's not done. Not at a time when the school needs as many big(and small) donors as it can get. Plus he's a die hard fan and alum.
 
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="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="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]

Great question. I have zero inside information, but I'd say its very unlikely. The rant pushed everything out into the light.

I think if it was allowed to play out behind the scenes we'd have either thrown more money at Porter Moses. If he still said no, then it would have been James Jones from Yale or a retread like Paul Hewitt.

Man, did we get lucky.
 
[quote="redmen4life" post=398253][quote="Mike Zaun" post=398252]UCLA does not suck. They have a great coach in Cronin and they've been to Sweet 16 3x since 2013.[/quote]

since 2003, they've had 4 coaches.

their attendance has been brutal.

all that UA and donor money hasn't translated to consistent success....[/quote]

I understand you are holding UCLA to a far different standard than you would St Johns, but they've only missed 4 dances since Howland's 2nd year. Both Alford and Howland made the Sweet 16 or further 3 times.

Their lack of consistent success is exactly the kind of consistent success that most STJ fans would love to see.

PS only 3 coaches since 2003. 10 years with Howland, 6 years with Alford and now Cronin entering his 2nd.
 
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