SJU AD Mike Cragg / The Athletic

[quote="Sherman, Sheridan & Grant" post=299858][quote="L J S A" post=299825]I didn't hear any kicking and screaming, so maybe the school is being dragged willingly into the 21st century.:lol:[/quote]

Initially I was thrilled with the hire...then upon reflection...
I just hope he can corral CM and staff and make actual improvements with staff, recruiting, fund raising - I am an optimistic type but also realistic and I have some concern because this is NOT DUKE and I wonder how accommodating/flexible/un-stubborn Coach Mullin will be with changes and with sharing authority..
WE shall see. Could be terrific for the school and program or,,,not so terrific.. for sure it is an opportunity for improvement.[/quote]

Great post, General. Thanks.
 
[quote="Frank61" post=299869][quote="Sherman, Sheridan & Grant" post=299858][quote="L J S A" post=299825]I didn't hear any kicking and screaming, so maybe the school is being dragged willingly into the 21st century.:lol:[/quote]

Initially I was thrilled with the hire...then upon reflection...
I just hope he can corral CM and staff and make actual improvements with staff, recruiting, fund raising - I am an optimistic type but also realistic and I have some concern because this is NOT DUKE and I wonder how accommodating/flexible/un-stubborn Coach Mullin will be with changes and with sharing authority..
WE shall see. Could be terrific for the school and program or,,,not so terrific.. for sure it is an opportunity for improvement.[/quote]

I have a feeling the new AD has an image in his mind's eye of what he wants to do. I think before he took the job he mulled over all the differences between SJU and Duke that he could think of. In that image, I think he knew he would have to deal with many obstacles, including working in an environment that did things on a much slower,and smaller scale than he was accustomed to at Duke. I think he also realized as he thought about making the move, he would have to deal with many personalities (coaches) and even some faculty that kind of oversaw the Athletic Department, and in spite of those things he still decided to make the move.
I don't think he is a fragile individual. As I think about him, I see a man who gave up over 30 years of service with Duke, and decided on taking the job here regardless of that. I think that alone says a great deal about the man. He could be the biggest and most important hire St. John's has made in a very long time. I do not think he came here to be pushed around by anyone in his department. I think he is a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish.[/quote]

Well said, Frank. Let's hope he has a very successful career at S. John's. He certainly seems to have a vision.Thanks again.
 
[quote="Sherman, Sheridan & Grant" post=299858][quote="L J S A" post=299825]I didn't hear any kicking and screaming, so maybe the school is being dragged willingly into the 21st century.:lol:[/quote]

Initially I was thrilled with the hire...then upon reflection...
I just hope he can corral CM and staff and make actual improvements with staff, recruiting, fund raising - I am an optimistic type but also realistic and I have some concern because this is NOT DUKE and I wonder how accommodating/flexible/un-stubborn Coach Mullin will be with changes and with sharing authority..
WE shall see. Could be terrific for the school and program or,,,not so terrific.. for sure it is an opportunity for improvement.[/quote] I think he is a great hire. But, I have also been concerned about Mullins perceived stubbornness.
 
[quote="Frank61" post=299869]I have a feeling the new AD has an image in his mind's eye of what he wants to do. I think before he took the job he mulled over all the differences between SJU and Duke that he could think of. In that image, I think he knew he would have to deal with many obstacles, including working in an environment that did things on a much slower,and smaller scale than he was accustomed to at Duke. I think he also realized as he thought about making the move, he would have to deal with many personalities (coaches) and even some faculty that kind of oversaw the Athletic Department, and in spite of those things he still decided to make the move.
I don't think he is a fragile individual. As I think about him, I see a man who gave up over 30 years of service with Duke, and decided on taking the job here regardless of that. I think that alone says a great deal about the man. He could be the biggest and most important hire St. John's has made in a very long time. I do not think he came here to be pushed around by anyone in his department. I think he is a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish.[/quote]
A good friend of mine who has a long professional relationship with Cragg told me that Cragg turned down numerous offers to take the St. John's job, and what drew him to the job was his admiration and appreciation of of our tradition and history, the appeal of working in New York, and the challenge of dealing with the apparent chaos and obstacles in our Athletic Department. He is, in short, how you described him: he's "a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish." (And the fact that his wife has family in the area makes it sound like he's in it for the long haul.)
 
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[quote="richard A Steinfeld" post=299906] I think he is a great hire. But, I have also been concerned about Mullin's perceived stubbornness.[/quote]

If he wins, he'll be easier to get along with. If he keeps losing, it becomes easier to make a change, even when the coach is a legend.
 
[quote="redken" post=299921][quote="Frank61" post=299869]I have a feeling the new AD has an image in his mind's eye of what he wants to do. I think before he took the job he mulled over all the differences between SJU and Duke that he could think of. In that image, I think he knew he would have to deal with many obstacles, including working in an environment that did things on a much slower,and smaller scale than he was accustomed to at Duke. I think he also realized as he thought about making the move, he would have to deal with many personalities (coaches) and even some faculty that kind of oversaw the Athletic Department, and in spite of those things he still decided to make the move.
I don't think he is a fragile individual. As I think about him, I see a man who gave up over 30 years of service with Duke, and decided on taking the job here regardless of that. I think that alone says a great deal about the man. He could be the biggest and most important hire St. John's has made in a very long time. I do not think he came here to be pushed around by anyone in his department. I think he is a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish.[/quote]
A good friend of mine who has a long professional relationship with Cragg told me that Cragg turned down numerous offers to take the St. John's job, and what drew him to the job was his admiration and appreciation of of our tradition and history, the appeal of working in New York, and the challenge of dealing with the apparent chaos and obstacles in our Athletic Department. He is, in short, how you described him: he's "a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish." (And the fact that his wife has family in the area makes it sound like he's in it for the long haul.)[/quote] If he likes chaos and obstacles, he picked the right place:)
 
[quote="richard A Steinfeld" post=299998][quote="redken" post=299921][quote="Frank61" post=299869]I have a feeling the new AD has an image in his mind's eye of what he wants to do. I think before he took the job he mulled over all the differences between SJU and Duke that he could think of. In that image, I think he knew he would have to deal with many obstacles, including working in an environment that did things on a much slower,and smaller scale than he was accustomed to at Duke. I think he also realized as he thought about making the move, he would have to deal with many personalities (coaches) and even some faculty that kind of oversaw the Athletic Department, and in spite of those things he still decided to make the move.
I don't think he is a fragile individual. As I think about him, I see a man who gave up over 30 years of service with Duke, and decided on taking the job here regardless of that. I think that alone says a great deal about the man. He could be the biggest and most important hire St. John's has made in a very long time. I do not think he came here to be pushed around by anyone in his department. I think he is a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish.[/quote]
A good friend of mine who has a long professional relationship with Cragg told me that Cragg turned down numerous offers to take the St. John's job, and what drew him to the job was his admiration and appreciation of of our tradition and history, the appeal of working in New York, and the challenge of dealing with the apparent chaos and obstacles in our Athletic Department. He is, in short, how you described him: he's "a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish." (And the fact that his wife has family in the area makes it sound like he's in it for the long haul.)[/quote] If he likes chaos and obstacles, he picked the right place:)[/quote]
All I'll say is this, "chaos and obstacles" is a nice way of putting it. :)
 
Lots of presumptions here, many simply incorrect.

At face value, the most qualified AD we've had here at least since Kaiser, and not even fair to compare considering that today D1 sports are a multi billion dollar enterprise. Executing as an AD instead of a ranking department executive is a step up, and I believe this is a good hire who will have to prove out.
 
[quote="Chicago Days" post=299903][quote="Sherman, Sheridan & Grant" post=299858][quote="L J S A" post=299825]I didn't hear any kicking and screaming, so maybe the school is being dragged willingly into the 21st century.:lol:[/quote]

Initially I was thrilled with the hire...then upon reflection...
I just hope he can corral CM and staff and make actual improvements with staff, recruiting, fund raising - I am an optimistic type but also realistic and I have some concern because this is NOT DUKE and I wonder how accommodating/flexible/un-stubborn Coach Mullin will be with changes and with sharing authority..
WE shall see. Could be terrific for the school and program or,,,not so terrific.. for sure it is an opportunity for improvement.[/quote]
If not say Adios to CM and staff!

Great post, General. Thanks.[/quote]
 
General, a very realistic, unbiased post. You echo the feelings of many on the board.
 
[quote="redken" post=299921][quote="Frank61" post=299869]I have a feeling the new AD has an image in his mind's eye of what he wants to do. I think before he took the job he mulled over all the differences between SJU and Duke that he could think of. In that image, I think he knew he would have to deal with many obstacles, including working in an environment that did things on a much slower,and smaller scale than he was accustomed to at Duke. I think he also realized as he thought about making the move, he would have to deal with many personalities (coaches) and even some faculty that kind of oversaw the Athletic Department, and in spite of those things he still decided to make the move.
I don't think he is a fragile individual. As I think about him, I see a man who gave up over 30 years of service with Duke, and decided on taking the job here regardless of that. I think that alone says a great deal about the man. He could be the biggest and most important hire St. John's has made in a very long time. I do not think he came here to be pushed around by anyone in his department. I think he is a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish.[/quote]
A good friend of mine who has a long professional relationship with Cragg told me that Cragg turned down numerous offers to take the St. John's job, and what drew him to the job was his admiration and appreciation of of our tradition and history, the appeal of working in New York, and the challenge of dealing with the apparent chaos and obstacles in our Athletic Department. He is, in short, how you described him: he's "a man with a vision of what he wants to accomplish." (And the fact that his wife has family in the area makes it sound like he's in it for the long haul.)[/quote]

I’ll add that in addition to landing Cragg, some other candidates weren’t interested in the AD job because of the “setup” that our last AD was handed, so I’m guessing Cragg will be in control here. I’ve heard from good people that the Big East Conference higher-ups were extremely unhappy with having a figurehead AD/no AD and the shenanigans between the people making decisions at SJU ie. administration/head coach bypassing an AD and there was a LOT of pressure to have a real AD for SJU. I hope Cragg has full control of all of our sports and not the monkey business of our recent “old guard” decision making. This mom and pop stuff has to go, and a professional AD needs to be making all the sports decisions.
 
Feedback from someone I know, who met with Cragg recently, confirmed notion he has a keen interest in improving the OOC conference schedules & expanding utilization of MSG in the process. Having winning squads obviously is key to meeting that aspiration & selling tickets, but such thinking is reflective of MG’s big picture mentality imo.

I’m so pleased that powers to be at SJU got this one right. Kudos to them as well!
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=309703]Feedback from someone I know, who met with Cragg recently, confirmed notion he has a keen interest in improving the OOC conference schedules & expanding utilization of MSG in the process. Having winning squads obviously is key to meeting that aspiration & selling tickets, but such thinking is reflective of MG’s big picture mentality imo.

I’m so pleased that powers to be at SJU got this one right. Kudos to them as well![/quote]

Have a winning team playing vs. a top 25 teams and fans will come.
 
[quote="Paultzman" post=309703]Feedback from someone I know, who met with Cragg recently, confirmed notion he has a keen interest in improving the OOC conference schedules & expanding utilization of MSG in the process. Having winning squads obviously is key to meeting that aspiration & selling tickets, but such thinking is reflective of MG’s big picture mentality imo.

I’m so pleased that powers to be at SJU got this one right. Kudos to them as well![/quote]

Probably safe to assume the duke series stays alive with him?

I would add just one more high major HnH, then we have the big12 and big10. Other than that I’d like to see some mixup between solid mid majors. Get us someone like a middle Tennessee or southern Illinois or more local like st joes. If we took our two worst games this year and exchanged them for 2 of those it would make a huge difference.

Also have to remember if UConn were to be added that probably means two less ooc games a year with a 20 game round robin.
 
There was no reason that we couldn't have played a solid major program right before Christmas in the Garden. I think we would have a good holiday crowd. Think something like SJU/Cuse or SJU/Yukon. That instead of SJU/Sacred Heart is a much better game.
 
I think a guy like Cragg coming here speaks volumes about the future of the entire Athletic Program going forward . His resume is such that he likely could have gone anywhere but, took this job . I don’t see this as a possible Cragg vs Mullin conflict at all . Rather a realization by Mike that he and Chris could build the St John’s Brand with the BB program being the Crown Jewel . Let’s hope we get a good start with Seton Hall and Marquette . Tough games for sure but, winnable .
 
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