Staff Addition

[Moose]

We dodged a bullet there

It’s true. But he was picking from a different list. Now we picking from a much better list. So if he’s pulling the strings for better players it’s ok. However if he wants to start talent ID’ing we might end up with Cam Mack and cross dressers.

God I hate saying positive things about him.

 

[logen]

Glad Matt is back, but the "...loves St. John's..." claims ring kinda hollow to me. Others know better.

“Kinda” is a huge understatement!

 

[classof2010]

A lot the kids he recruited and again he was only one recruiting ( I will give him that) all seem to have issues not involving basketball. I feel like Rick recruits a better kid.

 

[Section9]

I am so giddy right now that I read your entire post and never complained once about paragraphs.

Slacker

 

[monte]

“Kinda” is a huge understatement!

I was being kind(a) lol

 

[MainMan]

Say what you want about ego, but Matt seemed like he was the only guy working his tail off during the Mullin regime.
Like literally the only guy to do a lick of recruiting on the laziest staff in D1 with a celebrity HC, celebrity AC and (sorry if this offends) a nepotism hire AC with little experience.
And yes I know about Slice...

 

[Sjugrad13]

I understand Matt is great at his job but man I can’t get over how his tenure ended with Mullin. Dude was actively recruiting for another school while still getting paid by us. Then the leaks to Zach which ended up having Zach put the blame on everyone but him that was a grimey way to end his tenure.

That being said I trust Pitno more than I loathe Matt so it’s whatever

 

[MCNPA]

Say what you want about ego, but Matt seemed like he was the only guy working his tail off during the Mullin regime.
Like literally the only guy to do a lick of recruiting on the laziest staff in D1 with a celebrity HC, celebrity AC and (sorry if this offends) a nepotism hire AC with little experience.
And yes I know about Slice...

Agree.

 

[MCNPA]

I understand Matt is great at his job but man I can’t get over how his tenure ended with Mullin. Dude was actively recruiting for another school while still getting paid by us. Then the leaks to Zach which ended up having Zach put the blame on everyone but him that was a grimey way to end his tenure.

That being said I trust Pitno more than I loathe Matt so it’s whatever

To tell the truth I don’t know enough of the facts in the story to even comment about it. Is all that the truth or just behind the scenes hearsay? Everything was blowing up at the end of Mullin’s tenure, I don’t recall exactly what happened.

 

[SLYFOXX1968]

I am so giddy right now that I read your entire post and never complained once about paragraphs.

Everyone is entitled to a “ off day,”.

 

[IDRAFT]

I think that’s why this is the perfect role for him. He likely won’t be ruffling feathers and staying out of the bench stuff. He can be a facilitator at what he does best. I have no doubt he loves SJU. He’s already been instrumental. I think it will be a good fit honestly.

Whatever else was said about Matt, there would be no worries about him infringing on bench stuff. I attended almost every game he “coached” and Richmond was super hands on in comparison.

 

[kranmars]

I understand Matt is great at his job but man I can’t get over how his tenure ended with Mullin. Dude was actively recruiting for another school while still getting paid by us. Then the leaks to Zach which ended up having Zach put the blame on everyone but him that was a grimey way to end his tenure.

That being said I trust Pitno more than I loathe Matt so it’s whatever

That does leave a bitter taste. And I still believe that leaking to Zach was unprofessional.

But like most everyone else, I am fairly certain that if Pitino wanted to create this position, then he must have received assurances from Matt. So far everything Pitino has touched around SJU has turned to gold.

 

[mjmaherjr]

If it is Matt, I think it’s a very bad hire.

I’ve worked at agencies (like Octagon) for 20 years. No way can someone with 1 or 2 years experience lead something like this. This is uncharted territory for many (even big companies like Octagon). I wish they would’ve hired someone with 10 years under their belt. Other than being a basketball coach, SJU grad, and the 1/2 years experience, hard to see his qualifications to lead something that is still ambiguous to many.

This is like the Mullin hiring….

Respectfully you are wrong

 

[smalley]

The role is to fill bags and drop them where told. I expect Matt with thrive. He keeps his ear to the ground and can effectively back channel quietly

 

[mjmaherjr]

Lets leave ir at this. Matt worked for us and specialized in transfers hw brought names to Mullin. He dicided

Matt flat out admitted he worked harder than anyone else because coaches ( our own staff too ) never gave him respect.That's why he outworked everyone ( his one downfall was zach but with Pitino its water under the bridge . He literally would run through a wall for pitino right now ro work with him

All my past grudges are gone

 

[room112]

Just out of curiosity, if Pitino already has a full staff, why does he need yet another coach to help with recruiting? Is what's in place already not enough?

 

[MugCostanza]

Matt's only weakness in recruiting was/is talent recognition both on and off the court. With Mullin in charge and him being flat out lazy in the job, Matt was basically leaned on to find talent especially after Slice left. With Pitino in charge and the rest of the staff also having a keen eye for talent, Matt won't have to find the players himself.

Basically, Matt choosing Zach Brown the tranny over Hasahn French is never going to happen under Pitino's watch.

And let's be real here, Matt is not unfamiliar with filling and delivering bags to players but at least now it's legal.

 

[MJDinkins]

Just out of curiosity, if Pitino already has a full staff, why does he need yet another coach to help with recruiting? Is what's in place already not enough?

It's more of a GM than an actual coach. You'll eventually see coaching staffs bring in GM types/personnel to handle NIL duties.

 

[mjmaherjr]

Lets leave ir at this. Matt worked for us and specialized in transfers hw brought names to Mullin. He dicided

Matt flat out admitted he worked harder than anyone else because coaches ( our own staff too ) never gave him respect.That's why he outworked everyone ( his one downfall was zach but with Pitino its water under the bridge . He literally would run through a wall for pitino right now ro work with him

All my past grudges are gone

Respectfully you are wrong

I totally understand you experience and absolutely respect it. But in regards to Matt it's wrong

 

[hardytime]

Everyone knows he’s not exactly on my Christmas card list. This can go one of two ways. It could be a complete disaster. Or Pitino can control him and mold him into a juggernaut. He will never ever ever be confused with a game coach. But he feeds off this other part of the ‘game’. So long as he knows his place in line this could be really interesting

Yup - I land exactly where you do on this. Why I think it can work is Pitino. He doesn't buy in, Pitino will show him the door. And I think having been around the block a few times now he will fall in line, do what Pitino asks and be good in the role. With many head coaches I'd see red flags everywhere, but Pitino doesn't F-around.