You can make the argument that either player would be better off with St. John's. Yeah, they could be worse off, but consider the following:
As I understand it, Landesberg got in trouble because he flunked A class. Not all of his classes, an art class. It seems he had his mind set on going pro in this year. So I'll say his academic acumen/ homework help isn't axctually that much of an issue. You have to try to flunk classes like that.
OR he didn't like playing in Tony Bennett's structured style, which I believe was rumored. So who knows if Syl would have left after his second year? Maybe he would have stayed for a third; it also depends on what his role was. If Syl were in NYC, this team would be different, as well. Would Norm have brought in Dwight Hardy? Who knows. How would Syl - a player who used a lot of possessions - play with DJ Kennedy, who uses fewer but does dominate the action?
For all we know, Syl could have put up better numbers (he played fewer minutes per game in his second year - 32 vs 34) with St. John's. With Boothe's injuries and lack of scoring punch, Landesberg might just have had a chance to prove he is a big point guard. In this draft, that might get him a second round pick, though his shooting inside the arc is mediocre.
As for Lance, I am STRONGLY of the opinion that Cincinnati was one of the worst choices he could make. But he still got drafted in the 2nd round (I don't think he had the athleticism or the shot to be a 1st round pick. If 1 of those aspects was better, maybe. But the dude shot 22% from the outside, and his free throw rate was unimpressive). And I think he has a chance to stick.
But if he was at St. John's, who knows? He could have flamed out in an ego-driven entourage explosion; he could have poisoned the team chemistry. You know, he could have been Omar Cook, also drafted in the early 2nd round and had no outside shot to speak of. He'd have to live up to great expectations. But you know what? Lance is a volume scorer. And he went to a team with a mediocre volume scorer in Deonta Vaughn, and a forward who takes a lot of shots in Yancy Gates.
For a guy like Lance, that is a bad, bad, idea. You have three guys who aren't sure what to do if they're not scoring. So someone's going to get pissy taking a back seat. It doesn't often work. If Lance was on St. John's, he'd take all the shots he wanted to; one thing about the Red Storm team we've seen for the last 3 years is that they don't really have a go-to guy. DJ Kennedy does it because he's "big play", and D-Buckets is the closest thing the team has to a scoring star. But there is no bonafide star, just complementary players.
On the court, at least, I think Lance would have had a chance to put up big numbers. St. John's could have been good for him. I don't think he would have been good for St. John's in terms of wins, turnovers, ball movement, chemistry, distraction...