Welcome Van Macon

[quote="RICH K aka Booksnball" post=347758]VAN was a standout H.S. player at Newtown H.S. & in his Senior year was named an ALL-City player by both the N.Y. Post & Daily News. He led his team deep into the PSAL play-offs and gave a Stephon Marbury Lincoln H.S. team a great game in I think it was the 1/4 Finals, beFORE Lincoln pulled away late in the game.

I saw him at Friday's "Old Timers Hall of Fame" dinner in Brooklyn. Some one posted a picture of Coach Anderson & Coach Carnesecca earlier & I guess you can say the "torch" has officially been passed. Van was also there & sat with the SJU contingent who were there tonite to honor former SJU great Mel Utley (Far Rockaway H.S.) Additional former SJU players there were Billy Shafer, who looks like he could suit up tomorrow. George Johnson via Lafayette H.S. & Felipe Lopez (Rice H.S.) who's recent Documentary showing of his "DOMINICAN DREAM" film is drawing nothing but rave reviews. Felipe was taking pictures with fans all night. Former SJU coach Fran Fraschilla who was also inducted into the Old Timer's Hall of Fame gave special mention of Felipe's dedication while coaching him for his 2 years at SJU. He suggested that adding Felipe to the University's staff in some capacity would be a bonus for St. John's. I for one, hope the idea gets some serious consideration.
Mean while, having Coach Macon on the staff is a GREAT addition to St. John's.[/quote]

Thanks for the information on Newtown.
 
[quote="redmen4life" post=347776]https://twitter.com/isaiahwhitehead/status/1124502316055445505?s=21[/quote]

I got a lot of respect for this
 
[quote="redmen4life" post=347776]https://twitter.com/isaiahwhitehead/status/1124502316055445505?s=21[/quote]

This endorsement of Coach Van Macon says it all IMO. Unbelievable coming from a kid that would have been recruited by Van Macon and who went to the competition.
 
[quote="Andrew" post=347764][quote="RICH K aka Booksnball" post=347758]VAN was a standout H.S. player at Newtown H.S. & in his Senior year was named an ALL-City player by both the N.Y. Post & Daily News. He led his team deep into the PSAL play-offs and gave a Stephon Marbury Lincoln H.S. team a great game in I think it was the 1/4 Finals, beFORE Lincoln pulled away late in the game.

I saw him at Friday's "Old Timers Hall of Fame" dinner in Brooklyn. Some one posted a picture of Coach Anderson & Coach Carnesecca earlier & I guess you can say the "torch" has officially been passed. Van was also there & sat with the SJU contingent who were there tonite to honor former SJU great Mel Utley (Far Rockaway H.S.) Additional former SJU players there were Billy Shafer, who looks like he could suit up tomorrow. George Johnson via Lafayette H.S. & Felipe Lopez (Rice H.S.) who's recent Documentary showing of his "DOMINICAN DREAM" film is drawing nothing but rave reviews. Felipe was taking pictures with fans all night. Former SJU coach Fran Fraschilla who was also inducted into the Old Timer's Hall of Fame gave special mention of Felipe's dedication while coaching him for his 2 years at SJU. He suggested that adding Felipe to the University's staff in some capacity would be a bonus for St. John's. I for one, hope the idea gets some serious consideration.
Mean while, having Coach Macon on the staff is a GREAT addition to St. John's.[/quote]

Thanks for the information on Newtown.[/quote]

Newton HS - home of one of my favorite comedians of all time - Don Rickles
 
Our last 2 coaches were not every good at staff hiring and management. They also weren't the hardest of workers. OTOH I am extremely impressed with CMA's hiring acumen and work ethic. He seems to be assembling a staff with a lot of thought given to roles, connections and to coaches that have a similar work ethic to him. Furthermore he seems to want coaches who not only compliment each other, but who buy in to his vision of how great this program can be once again. CMA has certainly hit the ground running.....and he's done so with actions more than words. I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. I remain cautiously optimistic.
 
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[quote="Monte" post=347828]Our last 2 coaches were not every good at staff hiring and management. They also weren't the hardest of workers. OTOH I am extremely impressed with CMA's hiring acumen and work ethic. He seems to be assembling a staff with a lot of thought given to roles, connections and to coaches that have a similar work ethic to him. Furthermore he seems to want coaches who not only compliment each other, but who buy in to his vision of how great this program can be once again. CMA has certainly hit the ground running.....and he's done so with actions more than words. I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. I remain cautiously optimistic.[/quote]

That's high praise, coming from you Monte.
And no Kool-Aid sips.
Lol.
Yup, so far, two great hires.
We shall see.
 
[quote="Monte" post=347828]Our last 2 coaches were not every good at staff hiring and management. They also weren't the hardest of workers. OTOH I am extremely impressed with CMA's hiring acumen and work ethic. He seems to be assembling a staff with a lot of thought given to roles, connections and to coaches that have a similar work ethic to him. Furthermore he seems to want coaches who not only compliment each other, but who buy in to his vision of how great this program can be once again. CMA has certainly hit the ground running.....and he's done so with actions more than words. I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. I remain cautiously optimistic.[/quote]

Great post! Obviously coaching at this level is a success defined job. But if it all starts with commitment and hard work MA certainly is putting us on the right path.
 
[quote="Chicago Days" post=347829][quote="Monte" post=347828]Our last 2 coaches were not every good at staff hiring and management. They also weren't the hardest of workers. OTOH I am extremely impressed with CMA's hiring acumen and work ethic. He seems to be assembling a staff with a lot of thought given to roles, connections and to coaches that have a similar work ethic to him. Furthermore he seems to want coaches who not only compliment each other, but who buy in to his vision of how great this program can be once again. CMA has certainly hit the ground running.....and he's done so with actions more than words. I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. I remain cautiously optimistic.[/quote]

That's high praise, coming from you Monte.
And no Kool-Aid sips.
Lol.
Yup, so far, two great hires.
We shall see.[/quote]

You will never ever catch me sipping cool aid CD lol.
 
[quote="Monte" post=347828]Our last 2 coaches were not every good at staff hiring and management. They also weren't the hardest of workers. OTOH I am extremely impressed with CMA's hiring acumen and work ethic. He seems to be assembling a staff with a lot of thought given to roles, connections and to coaches that have a similar work ethic to him. Furthermore he seems to want coaches who not only compliment each other, but who buy in to his vision of how great this program can be once again. CMA has certainly hit the ground running.....and he's done so with actions more than words. I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. I remain cautiously optimistic.[/quote]

I think many here are still in cautiously optimistic modes because coach Anderson didn't become available until very late when Arkansas hired Musselman. Everyone expected Cluess who is a good coach but has almost no national appeal to players outside the NY metro area.
Except for one guy Lavin had a terrific staff. From Chiles, Dunlap, Keady, to coach Whitesell who is now head coach at Buffalo. Lavin had personal issues that affected him but his staff hires were great.
Mullin on the other hand had no idea how to select staff for key roles and basically abandoned recruiting and handed those duties to MA. Once he left it was all over. He would have had to overhaul the entire staff except Greg. We were in bad shape with all our high school prospects.
Coach Anderson may have landed a Precious while Matt was pursuing a JC hotshot who declared for the draft before setting foot on campus.
Unlike with Mullin most have no personal stake in praising or criticizing coach Anderson. None of us know him so we all start with a clean slate.
One thing is certain and that is this guy is a pro at what he does and doesn't need a 3 year one the job training grace period. Maybe not even in his first year if Heron and Figueroa re-up.
 
[quote="Class of 72" post=347845][quote="Monte" post=347828]Our last 2 coaches were not every good at staff hiring and management. They also weren't the hardest of workers. OTOH I am extremely impressed with CMA's hiring acumen and work ethic. He seems to be assembling a staff with a lot of thought given to roles, connections and to coaches that have a similar work ethic to him. Furthermore he seems to want coaches who not only compliment each other, but who buy in to his vision of how great this program can be once again. CMA has certainly hit the ground running.....and he's done so with actions more than words. I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. I remain cautiously optimistic.[/quote]

I think many here are still in cautiously optimistic modes because coach Anderson didn't become available until very late when Arkansas hired Musselman. Everyone expected Cluess who is a good coach but has almost no national appeal to players outside the NY metro area.
Except for one guy Lavin had a terrific staff. From Chiles, Dunlap, Keady, to coach Whitesell who is now head coach at Buffalo. Lavin had personal issues that affected him but his staff hires were great.
Mullin on the other hand had no idea how to select staff for key roles and basically abandoned recruiting and handed those duties to MA. Once he left it was all over. He would have had to overhaul the entire staff except Greg. We were in bad shape with all our high school prospects.
Coach Anderson may have landed a Precious while Matt was pursuing a JC hotshot who declared for the draft before setting foot on campus.
Unlike with Mullin most have no personal stake in praising or criticizing coach Anderson. None of us know him so we all start with a clean slate.
One thing is certain and that is this guy is a pro at what he does and doesn't need a 3 year one the job training grace period. Maybe not even in his first year if Heron and Figueroa re-up.[/quote]

Dunlap was a great hire, if you can show me how any of the others were great hires as asst coaches then I stand corrected. Still not exactly sure what Keady did, with all due respect to a HOF coach.
 
[quote="Monte" post=347847][quote="Class of 72" post=347845][quote="Monte" post=347828]Our last 2 coaches were not every good at staff hiring and management. They also weren't the hardest of workers. OTOH I am extremely impressed with CMA's hiring acumen and work ethic. He seems to be assembling a staff with a lot of thought given to roles, connections and to coaches that have a similar work ethic to him. Furthermore he seems to want coaches who not only compliment each other, but who buy in to his vision of how great this program can be once again. CMA has certainly hit the ground running.....and he's done so with actions more than words. I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far. I remain cautiously optimistic.[/quote]

I think many here are still in cautiously optimistic modes because coach Anderson didn't become available until very late when Arkansas hired Musselman. Everyone expected Cluess who is a good coach but has almost no national appeal to players outside the NY metro area.
Except for one guy Lavin had a terrific staff. From Chiles, Dunlap, Keady, to coach Whitesell who is now head coach at Buffalo. Lavin had personal issues that affected him but his staff hires were great.
Mullin on the other hand had no idea how to select staff for key roles and basically abandoned recruiting and handed those duties to MA. Once he left it was all over. He would have had to overhaul the entire staff except Greg. We were in bad shape with all our high school prospects.
Coach Anderson may have landed a Precious while Matt was pursuing a JC hotshot who declared for the draft before setting foot on campus.
Unlike with Mullin most have no personal stake in praising or criticizing coach Anderson. None of us know him so we all start with a clean slate.
One thing is certain and that is this guy is a pro at what he does and doesn't need a 3 year one the job training grace period. Maybe not even in his first year if Heron and Figueroa re-up.[/quote]

Dunlap was a great hire, if you can show me how any of the others were great hires as asst coaches then I stand corrected. Still not exactly sure what Keady did, with all due respect to a HOF coach.[/quote]

Agree, Monte. Lavin's staffs were average. They only look great compared to Mullin's staff.
 
For some reason I thought Macon was older than he is. I assume Cleveland will eventually be first in line once MA hangs it up. But I don't think Macon looks elsewhere for another assistant gig now that he's home. We could be looking at a long run for Macon here, which would be great since local coaches apparently love him.
 
[quote="redmen4life" post=347854]St. Raymond coach: "It’s not the time to experiment. Get somebody in that can get the job DONE now."[/quote]

Commentary on rumors of bringing in an AAU guy?.
 
[quote="L J S A" post=347856][quote="redmen4life" post=347854]St. Raymond coach: "It’s not the time to experiment. Get somebody in that can get the job DONE now."[/quote]

Commentary on rumors of bringing in an AAU guy?.[/quote]

Nah. I believe he was talking about Macon.
 
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[quote="L J S A" post=347856][quote="redmen4life" post=347854]St. Raymond coach: "It’s not the time to experiment. Get somebody in that can get the job DONE now."[/quote]

Commentary on rumors of bringing in an AAU guy?.[/quote]

With the core 3 on board, I have no issue with experimenting with an AAU guy, if that’s the route CMA chooses to take. Starting to feel like a strong foundation is being built. The key to any successful organization(program)
 
Hard to side with Zach because he comes off as Mike Francesa in that he constantly demeans fans asking him typical questions on Twitter. Lots of these reporters have these inflated egos. I followed the same path as Brandon Tierney going to Marist then SJ and I got a chance to meet him while at Marist. Real down to earth guy and definitely did not have that diva mentality.

Anyway, I'll take everyone's word for it regarding this hire and hope he has that NYC area respect. I have already seen evidence of MA and staff being respected in the area with Arbitello complimenting us, which I have never seen before. It would be pretty cool if MA can scour the south while Macon covers the tri-state. Thinking NYC area only is mom and pop mentality IMO. Remember that fan favorite and legend D'Lo is from Houston! Just a random thought as I sip my cold brew: seems like there's zero drama with coaches which is very weird and maybe not as entertaining but certainly welcome. I know it's still quite early in the tenure, but seems like MA keeps things close to vest and him and his guys just go to work. Nice not to have Matt A/Slice/Mullin/Mitch drama. Even if this experiment doesn't work out, no one can say there were obvious warning signs. I'm excited to see where this takes us.
 
[quote="Mike Zaun" post=347985]Hard to side with Zach because he comes off as Mike Francesa in that he constantly demeans fans asking him typical questions on Twitter. Lots of these reporters have these inflated egos. I followed the same path as Brandon Tierney going to Marist then SJ and I got a chance to meet him while at Marist. Real down to earth guy and definitely did not have that diva mentality.

Anyway, I'll take everyone's word for it regarding this hire and hope he has that NYC area respect. I have already seen evidence of MA and staff being respected in the area with Arbitello complimenting us, which I have never seen before. It would be pretty cool if MA can scour the south while Macon covers the tri-state. Thinking NYC area only is mom and pop mentality IMO. Remember that fan favorite and legend D'Lo is from Houston! Just a random thought as I sip my cold brew: seems like there's zero drama with coaches which is very weird and maybe not as entertaining but certainly welcome. I know it's still quite early in the tenure, but seems like MA keeps things close to vest and him and his guys just go to work. Nice not to have Matt A/Slice/Mullin/Mitch drama. Even if this experiment doesn't work out, no one can say there were obvious warning signs. I'm excited to see where this takes us.[/quote]

Beautiful morning and I am having some Cold Brew as well. There are about six months until the season starts and I thought of this song for you. Maybe sing it at Karoake next weekend.

 
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