Rick’s Targets

I think introduction of NIL to recruitment gives kids the idea that they are worth a lot more than they are. Coach can only offer so much.
 
Redmen88 said:
I have no idea, but speculate that the feedback he received in regard to existing players was poor. In my opinion that is why he cleaned house. It is only an opinion as I have no knowledge of why he cut them all loose. That is why he only mentioned Soriano and Traore at his press conference. I am not blindly following him but trust he will get us in a position to compete and get the program stronger than it has been in the last 30 years.
Click to expand...
Thank you 88!
We either trust HC Rick Pitino or
“ fore gedd aboud ditt”.
I trust this HOF coach, possibly the GOAT
and his decision to clean house is fine with me! After all he not me - not you - know what the real story is with the team he inherited.
Formula of:
Portal and HS kids plus Coach Pitino’s talent and experience = imo decent first year roster and success.
Then his second season will be that much better.
So why after 3 weeks are some agonizing?

Whether raising kids, handling a large home repair, or a serious health issue or building a new college basketball team AND program…well…like the inspirational sign in my kitchen:
Be positive, patient, persistent. We haven’t even had time to implement these virtues.
Blessings
 
Rocket said:
Today's coaches? Do you mean coaches like 73 year old Jim Larranaga or the young Houston coach Kelvin Sampson or Brian Dutcher of SD State?
Those are over age 60 coaches whose teams were in the Sweet 16.

Don't join the few malcontents here who, after 3 weeks, are already questioning Rick Pitino's judgment without knowing what has, or is, going on with players.

The University of Florida saw 8 players depart with 5 entering the portal. Did Todd Golden jettison those 5 players? Who cares? Kids look out for themselves and the NIL has nothing to do with kissing ass but negotiating a salary to play for a college.

What makes it so hard to accept that Van Macon, who recruited these kids, may have had an influence in the departure of players?

If Rick Pitino had never mentioned the "need to replace 6-8 players" and Pinzon, Curbelo, Posh, Wusu, Jones and King entered the portal, as did the 5 at Florida,
what would your opinion be on those players???
Do you think the hundreds of players should be held harmless if they transfer from a school that gave them a scholarship, an NIL, and an educational opportunity?
According to the current modus operandi, the answer is YES.
But in St. John's case we seem to be conditioned to have to kiss ass to retain "average" college players, almost none of whom, will ever play for an NBA team.
How ironic that some who demanded radical change are now back peddling to try to convince themselves that just because Rick Pitino was hired that Posh, Jones, Wusu, Curbelo would miraculously meld into a sweet 16 team.
It was all Mike Anderson!
Hogwash!
Click to expand...
You lost me at "...join the few malcontents.."
 
Why the F are some of you trying to turn this in to an either/or situation? We can question and be disappointed in what's going on at the moment, and still have complete faith in Rick over the long haul. No one is "passing judgement" right now. You know who needs to chill out right now? Those of you who are trying to call out those of us who are having a reasonable discussion about the state of the roster and recruiting at the moment. Don't like the conversation? Then STFU and ignore it.
 
monte said:
Why the F are some of you trying to turn this in to an either/or situation? We can question and be disappointed in what's going on at the moment, and still have complete faith in Rick over the long haul. No one is "passing judgement" right now. You know who needs to chill out right now? Those of you who are trying to call out those of us who are having a reasonable discussion about the state of the roster and recruiting at the moment. Don't like the conversation? Then STFU and ignore it.
Click to expand...
You are 100% right monte but what bothers me is the way some people say stuff. Go ahead and question stuff. Yes we lost out on a kid who should have followed him to sju. That is concerning. But to then say nobody ever is coming. The facilities suck so bad nobody will ever come. Pitino didn’t know what he was getting into etc. That’s my issue. He’s barely been here. Now if the final product is a bunch of 2 stars and mid level players sure. But I’d like to see a roster before we say the sky is falling. Not before it’s been made up.
 
Eric said:
You are 100% right monte but what bothers me is the way some people say stuff. Go ahead and question stuff. Yes we lost out on a kid who should have followed him to sju. That is concerning. But to then say nobody ever is coming. The facilities suck so bad nobody will ever come. Pitino didn’t know what he was getting into etc. That’s my issue. He’s barely been here. Now if the final product is a bunch of 2 stars and mid level players sure. But I’d like to see a roster before we say the sky is falling. Not before it’s been made up.
Click to expand...
Agreed Eric. There a certain few posters-"malcontents"as Rocket called them- who didn't want Rick here and who have an agenda either against Rick, the school or both. The rest of us who are questioning things, are all 100% behind Rick and still expect big things from him.
 
Yeah it's totally fair to believe that Pitino will be successful here while also admitting that the first few weeks (post press conference) have gone worse than anyone could've expected. I assumed he gutted the roster because he had a few players like Clayton locked up, but obviously that's not the case. It's also not encouraging to see news outlets lowering expectations.

Fortunately no games have been played yet, so nothing truly has been lost. Clayton for instance, while I did want him, is only ranked #46 on 247. Yeah they're probably undervaluing him, but it's not like we missed out on Hunter Dickinson. I'm certain Rick can recover and field a solid team next year, and then hopefully lock down some big 2024 guys this Fall. The NIL money is apparantely there, which is the most important thing.
 
Eric said:
You are 100% right monte but what bothers me is the way some people say stuff. Go ahead and question stuff. Yes we lost out on a kid who should have followed him to sju. That is concerning. But to then say nobody ever is coming. The facilities suck so bad nobody will ever come. Pitino didn’t know what he was getting into etc. That’s my issue. He’s barely been here. Now if the final product is a bunch of 2 stars and mid level players sure. But I’d like to see a roster before we say the sky is falling. Not before it’s been made up.
Click to expand...
Exactly! You have every right to question player losses and acquisitions.
Yes, acquisitions! Because this is no longer your daddy's college basketball. What we now have are tiers of schools and players who want to move up the totem pole.
Money and minutes are numero uno.
The facilities and won-loss history is a distraction from the reality.
Players are leaving school without degrees to play for Yen in China and Euros in France to play in arenas smaller than Carnesecca arena in front of sparse crowds.
The reason? $$$.
Stop feeling sorry for the players and start resenting you have to forgo lobster rolls for baloney sandwiches to pay to see these kids put half efforts when the coach pulls them for selfish play and then they transfer and you think of them as poor kids that need our love and attention.
Posh and Storr didn't see enough love and attention from Pitino?
GTFOH!
 
Eric said:
You are 100% right monte but what bothers me is the way some people say stuff. Go ahead and question stuff. Yes we lost out on a kid who should have followed him to sju. That is concerning. But to then say nobody ever is coming. The facilities suck so bad nobody will ever come. Pitino didn’t know what he was getting into etc. That’s my issue. He’s barely been here. Now if the final product is a bunch of 2 stars and mid level players sure. But I’d like to see a roster before we say the sky is falling. Not before it’s been made up.
Click to expand...
Who said that stuff?
 
Boo Harvey said:
Who said that stuff?
Click to expand...
You think I can remember who? I don’t have the memory of Maher or Dinkins lol. I know I’ve read stuff like that too often. Hey I get it. It’s frustrating. No doubt. Especially to lose his kid from Iona. I didn’t expect that.
 
I am in the Monte camp. That is.....I was hoping to hang on to a few more kids and thought RP (given his status and Repole connection) would have an easier time pulling in transfers. That said, I am confident he will (at very least) match the level of talent other coaches have brought to SJU and be a better coach.

There was no better available option than Pitino. I plan to be patient.
 
Boo Harvey said:
That’s where you and I differ. As a general matter I think scholarship athletes should be given the option to come back unless there are significant disciplinary issues or some material change in circumstances. The idea that an entire group of players can be disposed of in favor of “upgrades” strikes me as unseemly and antithetical to college sports.

By all appearances Pitino made it clear that he wasn’t prioritizing any of the returnees with the exception of Soriano and Traore. While he may have given Posh and Storr the opportunity to return, indications are that he did not leave them with the “warm and fuzzies.”

There is still time for Pitino to bring in a strong class but there are a fair amount of indications to date that he may have overplayed his hand. That combined with the fact that likeable Johnnies such as Posh and Storr appear to have been given short shrift relative to targets that have spurned us is concerning to some of us.
Click to expand...
Except these are no longer "scholarship athletes". These are paid professionals. If they want to be able to jump ship at the end of each season for more $, then they should be expected to be thrown off the ship by the coach at his own discretion. Can't have it both ways.
 
Rocket said:
You are definitely in the top 5 of Pitino haters here!
A couple of morally superior fans no longer post here because RP was hired. Get a freaking grip on reality Newsie!

On March 20, 2023, Pitino was named the head coach. That's THREE weeks ago.

Reality is most of the mean girls here on A list of posters weren't going to be happy with a Walt Clayton and Daniss Jenkins (Iona) backcourt. They still wanted a backcourt of Posh and Wusu, if they had a choice. The fact that our backcourt sucked and was near the bottom of the Big East meant nothing. So much for the expert observers here.


Personally, I always thought Walt would jump at the chance to go back and play for Florida, who incidentally, didn't see him as a starting basketball player, and bypassed him under the previous coach. He had the benefit of two years of Rick Pitino's tutelage and the new coach at Florida will have to be as good a tutor as Pitino was with him or all the warm weather will turn frosty. Heck, some fan who just crawled out of his closet wondered why Clayton would play in his own home state given the "political" atmosphere...... whatever the hell that means. Apologies to our many redmen fans who now call Florida home. BTW, Florida has also lost 8 players.

St. John's lost two players to the portal (Storr and Posh) who didn't have to leave but are gambling that they can do better elsewhere. All the other players that departed will be replaced. None were game changers and I couldn't care less where they end up.

Every back seat coach here is going to second guess Pitino for as long as he is at St. John's. I'm going to mute those guys for my own enjoyment of the game.
Click to expand...
The incoherency of your your posts never ceases to amaze me. I guess since you are unable to Dazzle us with your Brillance, you resort to attempting to Baffle us with your Bullshit!!!
 
Knight said:
I think introduction of NIL to recruitment gives kids the idea that they are worth a lot more than they are. Coach can only offer so much.
Click to expand...
But since it's free agency, there will always be a coach/school willing to overpay for the services of a kid who fills a need. 360 D1 schools. All a kid needs is 1 school who desperately needs his services.
 
The fact anyone thinks SJU can just bring in 4 and 5-star recruits immediately is mind boggling to me.

You do realize we’re a joke around this country right? Kids are like, St. John’s? There still around? Like, we need a massive facelift. A brand new coach comes in, regardless of who it is, and we should be dancing already? Have of us forget we’re playing half the time, you think high school kids are clamoring around the TV or phone and being like “can’t wait to see St John’s play tonight!”

I want what some of you are drinking or smoking. Anyone wants to wax poetic about Lavin coaching Norm’s guys…yeah, that team didn’t win anything either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top