we are sju-even if we accept your second choice than he still sucks as a coach (and I'm not saying he does I'm saying your premise says so) because he has a recruiting plan that you say is not working and he sticks to it. As they say doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.
I think it is hard for anyone to recruit here. Outside of Lavin's first class no one has been able to recruit consistently since Fran and he was only here 2 years. I think it is also extremely hard for someone of Mullin's stature to deal with all of the nonsense and ass kissing of kids and delusional parents. That is where the Slice / Matt team was supposed to take over. That failure should fall on Mullin. As is the dependence on Matt to recruit transfer players.
ST John's needs to embrace a dirty word around here mid major. Not move into a mid major but recruit like one. Recruit 3 star 6-3 to 6-6 kids that can shoot the three. Mix in a 4 star and transfer kid here and there that fit your system. But bread and butter should be three star kids that can shoot.
You need to take a break to get your mind straight. Between your knocking of our All-American Ponds to drivel about mid-majors, you are losing it.
We aren't setup to recruit the kids you described. Our talent pool consists of kids from or near big cities who are athletic and play fast. We aren't in Wisconsin or Nebraska like Marquette and Creighton. We don't have amazing academics like Georgetown. We need to be creative to get transfers and land a star or two like Ponds.
How can you love Simon so much and then turn around and say we need to recruit skilled shooters?! Simon is the antithesis of what you just described. He is the antithesis of the Villanova player.