The staff's inability to identify and sign viable front court talent has been a major setback for any resurgence of the Johnnies. Too many similarities to the previous staff's attempts to go after recruits who either are long shots or have better options than St. John's in the end. For next year all we have to show are 2 transfers. The one official recruit of any importance was a 50/50 gamble. With the continued poor play, losses and ultimately loss of players via transfer, it is hard to regain any stability if year three does not produce a blockbuster class.
Matt may be an aggressive little recruiter but I am not sure Mullin and Richmond have the closing ability to land the level of talent Mullin needs to succeed as a coach. It appears the philosophical differences with Slice regarding the direction of the program were more significant than they appeared.
Were it not for Ponds and Lovett the dearth of talent we have signed would yield very little in wins and only demoralizing losses.
Just as with the last regime, the ability to get the best players may be the biggest hurdle.
As for Yakwe's funk, that funk is in reality spread across the entire front line with Williams, Alibegovic, Freudenberg, and an underwhelming Bashir Ahmed to comprise the least talented and least productive front court in the Big East.
The frustration felt by Ponds and Lovett must be tremendous.
I understand LoVett and Ponds being frustrated but if they didn't understand what they were signing up for it is on them. Ditto for fans, myself included, for the frustration boiling over in essentially year one of a 4-5 year project.
Stating the obvious, an essential part of staying the course for next 3-4 years in that equation will be keeping the right kids here & replenishing roster with talent. If not, extending the plan each year has no appeal. (Which I know you are not suggesting) In fairness to Matt, if you lose key pieces, you can't expect him to fill those gaps automatically. Hopefully the roster going forward remains relatively stable or our targeted continuity will be difficult to attain. Let's win one today.
Yeah it is fine rebuilding if you keep adding pieces to compliment the pieces you brought in previously. That doesn't happen here. We are not good then lose our players, then have to replace our better players. One step up and two steps back.. Not a Mullin thing either. Just how it seems to work around here no matter who the coach is since Elite 8 team really.
Totally agree. Ineligibility, kids leaving early and transfers are poison & have too often been part of equation here. Cutting and pasting won't compensate for that.
As an aside, as dreadful as Freudenberg has been year one, I hope he does not get frustrated & return home. He may never be a star, but by his junior year could be a good complementary piece if he regains his stroke. I never felt that about Amar, but RF seems to have some skills and feel for the game. At the least, it is worth staying the course with him to see what he has in my opinion. If not Detlef S., Niels Giffey, who gave UCONN decent minutes his final two years, would be fine.
