queensbridge
Member
Good decision to quit and focus on school, I hear those sports management major classes are gruelling
Stith student assistant
- Thread starter cavalier86
- Start date
I agree wholeheartedly about the amateur evaluation of players on this (or any other for that matter) board. If people really followed scouting reports and not Youtube videos, they would know that Pointer was an athlete who's main strength was his athleticism and his competiveness and his main weakness was his shooting and ball skills; that Harkless had it all talent wise but had a tendency to drift and disappear and had never exhibited the personality to try to put a team on his back; that GG had limited basketball experience and had amassed great stats playing against people that couldn't match him physically therefore raising questions about whether he could do those things in the upper echelons of D1; and so on with the other threee freshman. That is no knock on these guys, IMO, they have had a terrific year in starting to re-establish this program. But anyone who thought 6 new, inexperienced players were going to come in and turn-around this program in a year just doesn't know basketball. The expectations many on this board had/have are just completely unrealistic; these guys are the base Lavin is building from, but far from the end product. As far as Stith, I have to believe it is either academics or personal, if the problem was playing time or some other issue within the program, why stay as an assistant? He knew he was going to be recruited over and chose to stay so I can't believe this is a "Chicken Little" situation for the program at all.
Unless this was due to a serious academic, health or family issue, I think his decision and timing was gutless and selfish. If it was for one of the above reasons (and maybe one or 2 more I have not thought of) it is perfectly acceptable and understandable. Only he and the staff know the facts.
Stith probably quit because he felt it was the responsible thing to do under the circumstances - whatever they may be.
My guess would be academics.
Nevertheless, the timing is unfortunate.
In terms of perception someone who is not an SJU supporter (a competing recruiter?) could make the case that our program is like a ship without a captain being abandoned.That unpleasant analogy is all too fresh in everyone's mind.
Others (myself included) can choose to see this as an heroic effort on the part of an outnumbered and overmatched handful of young men giving it all they've got under such difficult circumstances.
The media have already referred to us in this way and now that we're down to a 6 man rotation we're likely to be compared to the Spartans at Thermopylae.
My guess would be academics.
Nevertheless, the timing is unfortunate.
In terms of perception someone who is not an SJU supporter (a competing recruiter?) could make the case that our program is like a ship without a captain being abandoned.That unpleasant analogy is all too fresh in everyone's mind.
Others (myself included) can choose to see this as an heroic effort on the part of an outnumbered and overmatched handful of young men giving it all they've got under such difficult circumstances.
The media have already referred to us in this way and now that we're down to a 6 man rotation we're likely to be compared to the Spartans at Thermopylae.
Unless I hear otherwise, I am going to assume that Stith did not "quit" on his teamates. Not sure if it was academic, personal, both or something else all together(health issue we're not aware of?), but can't see him leaivng the team for lack of playing time, differances with the staff, etc. I assume that he would not have been moved in to a student asst. position had he "quit" on the team.
MarkRedman
Well-known member
BINGO!!
MarkRedman
Well-known member
Yup, they shure is............... Yawn.................
Class of 72
Active member
Don't believe the hype. The student assistant b.s. is to justify keeping him on a scholarship when, in fact, he should be paying his own way but classes had started and the tuition issue would have been a problem for the school. He was eligible to play at the start of the 2nd semester so even if it was academics, most players and programs can mask the issue well into March Madness when some players just walk away from programs when they are considered draft picks to work with skills trainers. That was not Stith's issue.
This was a sad case of a low D2 prospect being given a full ride by the previous brain dead staff and a player who thought, and still thinks, he is better than he actually is.
I have never been a Stith fan and you will not find one positive reference to his playing abilities from me no matter how far back you go in my postings. Lav put a positive spin on his role but coach Dunlap had absolutely no use for him. His minutes this year came out of necessity and had Lindsey not left and the roster been full, Malik would not have seen the light of day off the bench in the coach's approach to running an offense. He was asked to make a decision last Spring to look at his options but asked the staff for another chance. He got that chance and his stats speak for themselves. Using his ship last Spring on a JC player would have payed dividends now but we cannot change the past.
Of course as a SJ player he will always be part of the family but except for the painfully thin bench situation, his minutes will now go to a deserving walk on who pays his own way and has no delusions of greatness.
To me it was clear after his woefull freshman stats that he would be a role player at best but the kid had an NBA fantasy that is hard to comprehend. Given the minutes he played his FG % should have told him the NBA was out of reach and to focus on classroom work and helping his team in practices. Thinking you should have a bigger role in the offense was delusional.
Career Shooting Stats
Season TEAM G MIN FG FGA FG% FG3 FG3A FG3% FT FTA FT% PTS AVG
2009-10 St. John's 32 352 20 69 29 0 6 0 10 20 50 50 1.6
2010-11 St. John's 26 317 27 75 36 5 22 22.7 26 35 74.3 85 3.3
2011-12 St. John's 23 335 22 57 38.6 3 13 23.1 12 15 80 59 2.6
TOTAL 81 1004 69 201 34.3 8 41 19.5 48 70 68.6 194 2.4
What do people think the chances are of having all 6 current players on the roster next year are, 10 being all back and 1 being at least one of them leaves?
That would really be the kicker. Despite all of the transfers, ineligibles, and players leaving the team, if these 6 are back next year with a year under the belt and the addition of Branch I think we'll be in great shape, not just for next year but the future. But losing even one (no matter who it is) would be a major step back for next year and a big hit to the rebuilding process in general.
I have nothing to base anything on, and think and hope they'll all be back. But given all of the circumstances of the last 6 months, and how close we are to establishing something sustainable here with this core group, it's tough not to be concerned as a fan.
That would really be the kicker. Despite all of the transfers, ineligibles, and players leaving the team, if these 6 are back next year with a year under the belt and the addition of Branch I think we'll be in great shape, not just for next year but the future. But losing even one (no matter who it is) would be a major step back for next year and a big hit to the rebuilding process in general.
I have nothing to base anything on, and think and hope they'll all be back. But given all of the circumstances of the last 6 months, and how close we are to establishing something sustainable here with this core group, it's tough not to be concerned as a fan.
IMHO if Stith left because of PT Lavin wouldn't have offered to let him stay around as an assistant/team manager or whatever. Given the short bench how could Lavin condone Stith leaving ala Nuri and then giving him a way to stay close to the team-if Stith were a malcontent there is no way Lavin would want him around. I have to go with Stith's statement that it was for personal reasons and it has nothing to do with PT or as someone suggested-a problem with Dunlap-if that were the case why would Dunlap want Stith around at all or Stith want to be around Dunlap at all. The idea that it was Dunlap seems ludicrous given Stith will still be with the team.
Glass half empty folks will aways be that-in some cases some "fans" that post here are thimble half full, forget glass half full. I'm not really knocking the thimble folks-kind of feel sorry for them as life is too short and too full of wonderful things to walk around predisposed to being sad.
To all of you-Have a great day!
Glass half empty folks will aways be that-in some cases some "fans" that post here are thimble half full, forget glass half full. I'm not really knocking the thimble folks-kind of feel sorry for them as life is too short and too full of wonderful things to walk around predisposed to being sad.
To all of you-Have a great day!
What exactly is a "Student Assistant"??
Let's face it the ship has been made even more unsteady as a result of Stith's disappearance. If Coach Lavin can return to the bench without suffering debilitating consequences now is the time to do so. It would be reassuring to players, recruits and fans alike to see the captain at the helm.
I understand what you are saying and basically agree. If he were bed-ridden or otherwise incapacitated I would never even entertain such a question. However, since he has been recruiting so intensely on such a rigorous itinerary I can't help but think that he might be able to sit on the bench even if assuming a secondary role in the coaching.
You must admit that seeing him up in a booth watching the game at the Garden was one of the oddest images of the season.
If - and only if - he were able to be there on the bench without incurring undue risk it would mean a tremendous boost in morale for all parties concerned.
boo haarvey
Active member
To me it was clear after his woefull freshman stats that he would be a role player at best but the kid had an NBA fantasy that is hard to comprehend. Given the minutes he played his FG % should have told him the NBA was out of reach and to focus on classroom work and helping his team in practices. Thinking you should have a bigger role in the offense was delusional.
You guys on the Board crack me up. What "NBA fantasy" did Malik Stith have? Do you know Malik? Have you spoken to him about his hopes and aspirations? Have you read a single quote suggesting that Malik believed that he was going to the NBA?
All of you so-called fans with nothing better to do than ripping a kid who you nothing about -- it's simply pathetic. I don't pretend to know more about the inner-workings of the program than any of you fellas who post on here 500 times a week. But here are the facts -- (1) Polee transferred out; (2) Three of our star prospects were declared ineligible after the staff enrolled them in summer school classes at a program that clearly provided them with bogus grades; (3) Lavin has been MIA the entire season under mysterious circumstances (Coaches Calhoun and Boheim who are both much older than Lav returned to the bench from prostate surgery in a matter of weeks); (4) Recruits are decomitting in droves; (5) Nurideen Lindsey quit the team; (6) Malik Stith quit the team; (7) we have six scholarship players and one of them is Jamal White; and (8) the team played their worst most uninspired game of the season against Cinci.
If you don't think that this program is facing serious problems than you are either naive or purposely deceiving yourself. But hey, if it makes you feel better, celebrate the fact we now have six scholarships to fill instead of five.
P.S.
What must Jamal Branch be thinking. He could have been starting for A&M right now.
You guys on the Board crack me up. What "NBA fantasy" did Malik Stith have? Do you know Malik? Have you spoken to him about his hopes and aspirations? Have you read a single quote suggesting that Malik believed that he was going to the NBA?
All of you so-called fans with nothing better to do than ripping a kid who you nothing about -- it's simply pathetic. I don't pretend to know more about the inner-workings of the program than any of you fellas who post on here 500 times a week. But here are the facts -- (1) Polee transferred out; (2) Three of our star prospects were declared ineligible after the staff enrolled them in summer school classes at a program that clearly provided them with bogus grades; (3) Lavin has been MIA the entire season under mysterious circumstances (Coaches Calhoun and Boheim who are both much older than Lav returned to the bench from prostate surgery in a matter of weeks); (4) Recruits are decomitting in droves; (5) Nurideen Lindsey quit the team; (6) Malik Stith quit the team; (7) we have six scholarship players and one of them is Jamal White; and (8) the team played their worst most uninspired game of the season against Cinci.
If you don't think that this program is facing serious problems than you are either naive or purposely deceiving yourself. But hey, if it makes you feel better, celebrate the fact we now have six scholarships to fill instead of five.
P.S.
What must Jamal Branch be thinking. He could have been starting for A&M right now.
boo haarvey
Active member
Absolutely agree -- if he does not, I fear that he won't be coming back. And if I, a loyal SJU fan of 30 years am saying that, you can imagine what recruits are thinking. Irrespective of how valuable Stith was to the team (forgetting about his value as a human being), Stith's transfer coupled with everything else is going to have a detrimental effect on recuriting