Top 25 Jobs in College Basketball
- Thread starter Moose
- Start date
Don't agree with his list at all. We have the history. We are in the media capital. We have the conference play. MSG. NYC. Unless you are looking at one of the Blue Blood programs, St. John's is one of the best jobs out there. If you win here, not even championships just win consistently ( Lou, Ewing, Bernard King, Mullin, David Wright) you will for ever be a hero.
jumbo_peanuts
Active member
Sorry, but I don't agree with your post at all....
We have the history, yes. But this is a 'what have you done for me lately' world. And our answer is.....not much. Recruits now were not even alive during our great history, and do you think they really care that we were good 30yrs ago anyways? The University of San Fransisco has a great history, probably even better than ours, and you don't see coaches lining up to take over that program.
I would agree that we are in the media capital. But outside of NYC, St. Johns is barely covered. And, with all the social media today, the media capital isn't what it is used to be. In some instances, the media coverage can be a bad thing. The coach is in an environment where every little move or decision he makes is recorded, evaluated, and critiqued by everyone.
As far as conference play? We are in the first year of a new conference, and one that just lost some of its best members. We did replace them with some decent teams, but they aren't on the same level as the ones we lost.
MSG and NYC?? What's the advantage of MSG when there are always other teams (outside of NYC) getting to play there? Nowadays, any coach at any decent program can get a game at MSG if they really want one.
I agree with most of your post except the last part. It's not really just about "getting a game at MSG". It's about playing at MSG for most of your home games, and using that very fact as a recruiting tool with the lure of playing the "World's Most Famous Arena"
Sure, Duke played what three games at MSG? Coach K can't use that as a lure to recruits. Us on the other hand can say we play 8+ games at MSG every year come play at the worlds most famous arena. Playing at MSG is a great recruiting tool IMO
redstorm80
Well-known member
"Philadelphia is a wonderful college basketball city, and the Owls will always rule here."
Is that true? I've always thought of Philly as a Nova town and would of thought that Nova would be a way better job. I have a hard time thinking Temple is a top 25 job
Is that true? I've always thought of Philly as a Nova town and would of thought that Nova would be a way better job. I have a hard time thinking Temple is a top 25 job
You def made some valid points. Also I am a homer so take all my posts with a grain of salt because I blindly believe St Johns is the best thing since sliced bread. With that said.... I still believe we are a marque destination. A few winning seasons in a row can turn us a round. Although you made some great points, I still believe we should be on the top 25 list.
It's still Wichita. Population 300-something thousand. They don't have a pedigree of basketball there except recently. just because a school in the middle of nowhere has money doesn't mean it's one of the top 20 coaching destinations. I don't buy that. I think SJU is a better destination any day. We pay well, have history, are in NYC etc. Our program was in a state of neglect under Father Harrington for 20 years or so which is a problem we are still trying to climb out of. I still think that this just is better than many mentioned because we can offer unique things that many others can't, including history, our city, MSG etc. Lavin is making the most of the great opportunities here. He's a guy who sees it. He makes a big salary, lives in Soho in a fantastic city, can cab it to games at the most famous arena in all of basketball and we have over 100 years of bball history to boot.
I agree we have done little lately. I still think a coach living in Soho and being the only significant college program in NYC is a better opportunity than the guy at a program that can offer a condo in downtown Wichita across from the Piggly Wiggly, with little history like ours, even if our history seems a distant memory.
Class of 72
Active member
Add schools rich enough to pay college coaches NBA salaries for 30 games and you basically have your top ten schools. Those schools now want more independence to pay players so they become pro teams in the college game. Greed is a good thing is their motto.
jumbo_peanuts
Active member
You don't think that Coach K can or doesn't use the 3 games as MSG to lure recruits?? Why wouldn't he? Here's his pitch to recruits, "Come to Duke. You will have a chance to play for the national championship every year, its a great academic school, we send players to the NBA, and we play at cameron indoor stadium, which is one of the best environments in college basketaball to play. Oh, and by the way, we have a few games at Madison Square Garden every year, so you will be getting a free trip to NYC as well."
And as a side note, when Duke plays at MSG, they fill the place. It's not like when we play there sometimes and there are barely 4,000 people there.
Moose
Well-known member
It's interesting though because those who fill the arena when Duke plays aren't really Duke grads. A really big number aren't even Duke fans. They are college basketball fans and know Duke is a top 10 team every year. They are a name and have been for a long time. Because when we play them and the tide turns and we are cooking up an upset that place sounds loud. Which means those 'fans' are enjoying the big team going down.
It's tough to argue with any teams on this list. Wichita State might be the only exception for me. Private jet, no football, and10,000 fans a game are great, but what recruit will choose the Shockers over a legit ACC, Big 10, or Big East school? They have to find diamonds in the rough, play the JUCO game, and be heavil involved in the transfer circuit.
St. John's is a sleeping giant. If Calipari wasn't nixed by Louie, we would have at least two national championships IMO. There is no telling what that guy could have selling the Big East, NYC, MSG, and the history of the program.
St. John's is a sleeping giant. If Calipari wasn't nixed by Louie, we would have at least two national championships IMO. There is no telling what that guy could have selling the Big East, NYC, MSG, and the history of the program.
Not really. Duke doesn't play there every year either, they played there this year though. Also the trip to NYC is not guaranteed when they do enter the tournament, they have to win 2-3 games just to be able to go. So no, Coach K can't really lure recruits that way.
And a side note, Duke/Arizona at the garden was half filled.
Tons of our top 100 recruits that we have gotten just in these past few years said MSG was a big factor in why they liked at johns and wanted to go there. So it is proven to be a useful recruiting tool and I think it is specific to St. John's.
beast of the east
Active member
Calipari coming to St. John's is pure fantasy. He wasn't very interested, and even if St. John's convinced him to come here, he would have been out the door long before he brought anything close to a championship here. Calipari to St. John's was even less of a chance than Lew Alcindor.