The program would have been in way better shape now if Lavin was still on the sidelines. They did not extend him prior to that last season, so obviously that "lame-duck" status hurt his recruiting at the end and may have even cost us that last class with Briscoe etc. He loved St. John's and the players loved playing for him. With our team back then, yes would get some head scratching losses but at the same time you also would also think we had a shot against the blue-chip programs whether that be in games or recruiting. Now the program is an absolute joke- we are not contending seriously for top players and our program is not getting the buzz it once had.
The Freshman situation- if it was not for the corrupt NCAA we would have had D'Angelo, Phil, Jakarr, Moe, Dom and Norvel on the team at the same time. A #3 recruiting class in the nation. How far are we from that stratosphere now? How far are we from the talent on the team that nearly denied Coach K his 1K? The NCAA tournament was actually legitimately on the table most years and not outside the range of possibility. Now there is nothing. No hope. Just losers. And out of these losers, half of them will transfer anyway.
At San Diego- this is Lav's first year there at a mid-major program. The talent pool and in-roads is not there yet. He will build it up while we are banking on an Anderson firing and a Pitino or Mack miracle hire. This nonsense could have all been avoided.