He’s too thin to sleep on
Rick’s Targets
- Thread starter paultzman
- Start date
Dan V
Well-known member
Not 4 guards but he did have Earl Clark at UL. He was more of a faceup forward/big wing type than a throwback PF.
I heard he bulked up and they are calling him the Shaq of the Big East
A few of our former players have landed . Let’s review . Stanley to Boise State . Ok , is that a better program or more major than Iona ? Cluess and Pitino had Iona in the dance almost every year . Can’t say the same about Boise .
Pinzon didn’t give us much of his play last year . Injuries , troubles with Anderson , etc didn’t help but , he’s going to Bryant . Again , Bryant hasn’t had the tournament record that Iona has in number of appearances.
Storr is going to Wisconsin a BIg 10 school who struggled last season . Is Wisconsin a better program than Villanova , Creighton , Marquette or , even Providence and Seton Hall ? I don’t think the Big 10 is a tougher league than the Big East at the top of the tier . Their tournament results stunk for the most part.
King is going to Tulane . Good school but , not a BB powerhouse . Probably the League they play in , might have some better teams at the top but ,the Tournament this year had 2 Mid Majors,
one to the final game and the other to the Final 4 . At this point , we have no firm idea where Posh, Wusu , Jones are going next year . They have been in the portal a couple of weeks now and haven’t landed yet .
Curbelo ? Who knows if he plays College ball anymore ?
The point is this , a lot of players at Mid Major schools could play and do well in the BE. Example Kolek of Marquette leaves Geo Mason and becomes BE POY . And , a lot of BE players could be at Mid Major schools . It’s a fine line .
The difference comes when a UCONN , DUKE, KANSAS , etc has 5-7 top 150 players . This year their talent was overwhelming .
basketballjones
Well-known member
Nah. I’m not buying it. There has been way too much certainty that this is all wrong, there’s no blue chippers, we’re the Gaels and on and on. Now with the pushback it’s being tempered with medium concern. The only point is you have to wait to see what ends up on the court and how it works in October and beyond. Our coach has a track record that no one can touch. He’s done it without getting the top players every single season.Who is saying “disaster”Why is it so difficult for us to discuss anything with even a semblance of nuance? There is no way you are thrilled or a 10 on scale of 1-10 from how you hoped RP’s first month would have gone the day he was hired.
Conversely, I don’t think any posters are a 1, 2, or even 3. I’m mildly concerned and would probably rate the current roster a 6-7 for meeting my original expectations. That could obviously change if we signed an alpha scorer or two. I honestly don’t think 90% of posters are really that far off from what they are feeling now relative to their expectations.
nah Marillac is definitely right on this one. If you express any slight disappointment over the construction of the roster to this point, you get painted as a Pitino doubter who thinks the team is gonna suck.
I am sure Pitino will turn us into a winner, but if he's gonna try to win in the Big East with a MAAC roster, he (and a lot of others on this forum) might be in for a bit of a rude awakening year one.
The Big East is a very tough conference nowadays and I think Villanova will be much improved over the previous season. I am not trying to be down about our roster, I hope they all play well for us, I just know for us to swim with the sharks.... we might need some more bite to us than I see on the team as of now.
Hoping for some big time additions.
There is a difference between hoping for more additions and being patient than criticizing an incomplete roster.
We do tend to get a bit defensive on both sides. I think for most part fans are happy with Pitino upgrade and maybe immediate expectations were unrealistically through the roof. I’ll give Rick time and judge then, but certainly respect people not going “gaga” over changes so far.
Larry Wright
Well-known member
That coming from a mostly positive poster that is never combative.
And what exactly is both sides?
WHO on this board has claimed to be anti Pitino.
The only issue is if you are going to blow up a roster most expected a clear upgrade. People get invested in the kids and with all being jettisoned, names coming back are upsetting.
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basketballjones
Well-known member
My comment wasn’t absolutely directed at him. It was directed at the revision to medium level concern. It’s ok to be concerned. But the comments are there to look back on. Way over the top. There are a lot of critics and lots of absolute statements of how bad it is. Maybe it is, but you gotta wait to see what happens before being certain this isn’t the right approach. More than 100 of the top 150 players were already signed to LOI’s. What did everyone think was gonna happen?
Can't speak for everyone else, but my immediate expectations were a pair of top-100 recruits in the '23 class and 3-4 high-impact transfers for the upcoming season. Don't think that was/is asking for too much. But hey, maybe I'm greedy.
Larry Wright
Well-known member
Name names of people outright questioning the coach or really even showing medium concern. I am getting a lot of shite and Pitino really is my favorite college coach.
I have concern about next season. And that concern is 17-15 or something. But I have stated that even with that I wouldn’t be shocked if Pitino gets us into tournament based purely on him. Surprised yes, shocked no.
basketballjones
Well-known member
And you may very well have your expectations met. Some are sure that is not and will not happen. I think that’s where we’re headed.
Look, I am extremely happy with Pitino as coach and fully expect him to get the most out of whatever talent he has. On the other hand, I find it a little disconcerting and condescending that every time anyone raises the least concern with the recruiting to date they are jumped on as not understanding how team basketball works, putting too much emphasis on rankings, being Pitino haters etc. We all bring our own perspectives to the forum, but we're all die hard St. John's fans who maybe come at things differently. My view is we are still a couple of starters away from being a top 5 Big East team, but also very hopeful that may change.
MugCostanza
Well-known member
I've said this before but I think before Pitino was hired the hype train for the immediate turnaround was started by guys like Brandon Tierney who on the radio said "he'd make them a top 15 team overnight" and "just look at what he'll do in the portal in his first 5 hours on the job". Then he was hired and talk of Repole throwing his $upport behind the program elevated that hype even more. I bought into that immediate hype as did pretty much everyone. Not badmouthing a guy like Tierney on that as I do think he expected an immediate boost even if he was being a bit hyperbolic.
The reality is other programs at this level have some pretty damn good coaches themselves along with equal if not significantly more NIL money to distribute. They also tell the kids exactly what they want to hear regarding playing time and role even if it isn't true, something it seems clear that Pitino isn't going to do. Pitino isn't going to just be able to pick the kids he wants and it'll be a foregone conclusion that they'll come.
Right now he's going to go after attainable kids that fit his system and who he thinks will provide the effort he requires from him players. Barring a couple major splashes to fill out the roster it's likely we're going to enter the season 8th, 9th or 10th in the Big East in terms of on paper talent. Then it's on to the 2024 class where he's lining up all of his forces for a major push. Maybe he'll strike gold there and maybe he won't.
The reality is other programs at this level have some pretty damn good coaches themselves along with equal if not significantly more NIL money to distribute. They also tell the kids exactly what they want to hear regarding playing time and role even if it isn't true, something it seems clear that Pitino isn't going to do. Pitino isn't going to just be able to pick the kids he wants and it'll be a foregone conclusion that they'll come.
Right now he's going to go after attainable kids that fit his system and who he thinks will provide the effort he requires from him players. Barring a couple major splashes to fill out the roster it's likely we're going to enter the season 8th, 9th or 10th in the Big East in terms of on paper talent. Then it's on to the 2024 class where he's lining up all of his forces for a major push. Maybe he'll strike gold there and maybe he won't.
I'd be surprised if Rick were at all 'surprised' about what he'll face in the BEC, and shocked if he hasn't prepared for it at the BEC Tip-Off.
There really is a lot of complainers in here. three weeks ago oh no Rick has no signees. Now we have what 4/5? then its oh its St. John's Gaels. Ummm Jones last year came from Depaul who is worse then us. Ever hear of soriano 4 years ago no. And one of our new commits originally was slated for louisville, NOT Iona. Uconn is depaul? come on gang lets get our heads together. Rick is creating HIS TEAM OUR TEAM. Dont care where they are coming from. For the record if you compare what we lost to what we gained? I think we are definitely in the plus column. Is it an all star team? NO But whose to say that a kid cant be coached up? We sure know what happens when they arent coached (aka posh regress). So lets start bickering like old ladies here. Let Pitino do his job Support the players on the court and IM 1000% positive its going to be better then what we saw this year!
umm we all know rick did coach in Big East right? Plus he is basically building a team at the Last Minute right? 96% was jettisoned or left on their own (aka posh and store). So its like coming into a race that started 2 days ago. Playing catch up quick and getting the best possible players he can to start the building.