New Coach

Sounds like a good "safe" bet but not the type who is a program changer or more then a middle of the pack coach.

He changed UAB and Missouri.

Not necessarily every year, but after 8 years if you don't have one it's probably time

Expectations are relative. We would be throwing parties over here if we made the sweet 16 every 8 years.

It’s like having a discussion with your child about their D grade in math and they counter stating your omitting their B grade in science. Two different things. Neither of which is wrong, outside of the claim of omission.

I merely pointed out that "Mullin coached the 4th best team in the conference this season." You do agree with that statement don't you?  The Ncaa tournament committee did. If not, please explain how the 6 non Ncaa qualifying Big East teams could possibly have had better seasons than us?

I merely pointed out that "Mullin coached the 4th best team in the conference this season." You do agree with that statement don't you?  The Ncaa tournament committee did. If not, please explain how the 6 non Ncaa qualifying Big East teams could possibly have had better seasons than us?

I think this debate is actual results vs. failed realization of potential.  We all know what Mullin's last team actually achieved, as you correctly point out. The frustration with some on here is that the team was projected to achieve more by some "experts".  Either way, last season is done.  Mullin is gone. And Coach Anderson has a lot of work to do. 

He changed UAB and Missouri.

He definitely did. And the Mizzou team he left won 30 games and the Big XII tournament the next year under Frank Haith. All of the key players on that team were Anderson guys. Unfortunately he stopped recruiting the last half of that year (knew he was heading to Fayetteville) and left us zero signees. Likely would have landed Otto Porter if he had stayed.

This probably isn't a factor now that Mike is 59 but back when he was in Columbia he was always linked to open jobs. Every single off-season once we started having success. Most of that was due to Jimmy Sexton, his agent. UAB fans called him "Suitcase Mike" when we got him. We laughed and said it was ridiculous. Then 6 years later our fans did the same. That being said, I never heard any of those rumors once he got to Arkansas. That was certainly his dream job. I think at age 59 he is probably past that point now. I thought he would be a good fit for the Tulsa job when they finally decide to move on from Frank Haith. I doubt that is in the cards now that he has a much better job though.

I merely pointed out that "Mullin coached the 4th best team in the conference this season." You do agree with that statement don't you?  The Ncaa tournament committee did. If not, please explain how the 6 non Ncaa qualifying Big East teams could possibly have had better seasons than us?

That wasn’t a question that was posed. Mullins teams never finished higher than 7th place. Stating that fact isn’t an omission, as you had claimed, it’s a separate point from the one your attempting to make.

Another Hog fan here. I think this is a great hire. I know the coaching search was pretty far off the rails and at the last minute you managed to get a quality head coach.

Almost nobody here has anything against Mike. We all think he and his family are straight class and you never hear a bad word about him anywhere. We all (for the most part) are also okay with moving in another direction at this point. 8 years is a long time and although we had some success, there are no new banners hanging in Bud Walton and very little tourney success. Rightly or wrongly, we had a stellar run from the late 70s to 2000 and we want to get back to that level. Thought Mike was the guy to get it done, but for whatever reason it just never happened.

A few of the positives you can look forward to with Mike as your new coach:
-Your university will be well represented and he's not going to embarass your program.
-Your kids will be well taken care of will be the kind of kids you can be proud of.
-You will always be competitive.
-His style doesn't take long to start seeing results. He doesn't need elite ballers (though that is the goal), he just needs elite athletes to begin the rebuild and I have to think NYC and the whole NE, really, has plenty of those kids to go around.

Drawbacks:
-His style is his strength, but it can also be a weakness. It doesn't really resemble NBA ball and that's what most of the elite recruits are looking for in their college choice.

-Recruiting has been okay, but he missed out on some big time home state kids (lost two to Kentucky, one to Florida, and one to Kansas) that were probably the difference in him still being here or being at St. John's. New York is a big place with lots of ball players and athletes, though so maybe he'll get it done.

However it shakes out, I wish him and your program well and I now have another Big East team to root for.

It’s like having a discussion with your child about their D grade in math and they counter stating your omitting their B grade in science. Two different things. Neither of which is wrong, outside of the claim of omission.

Carmine has a point....

More like You got a D grade on a standard scale, but on a curve you were top 3rd in the class.

I think this debate is actual results vs. failed realization of potential.  We all know what Mullin's last team actually achieved, as you correctly point out. The frustration with some on here is that the team was projected to achieve more by some "experts".   

What "experts"?  I think the pre-season coaches poll picked them 4th and they finished one Jersey historically epic butt-f*ck*ing away from finishing 3rd. 

How much potential did a team with no size and no depth in a program that hasn't won a tournament game in a season starting this century really have? The teams potential was realized just fine. Only those with unrealistic expectation and a jones for bashing hometown basketball legends felt otherwise.

That wasn’t a question that was posed. Mullins teams never finished higher than 7th place. Stating that fact isn’t an omission, as you had claimed, it’s a separate point from the one your attempting to make.

I stated right out that he wasn't lying. I feel important facts germane to the Mullin bashing agenda he's pushed for quite some time were omitted. He's free to put in or "omit" whatever he likes.  They're his posts. 

Likewise I'm free to state facts in support of Chris that I feel are important.

You're piling on a 94 yr old man that has absolutely nothing to do with anything during this hiring process. Let me guess...you think Lou is blackballing Cluess cuz he transferred 40 years ago.

Pull your head out of your ass.

What "experts"?  I think the pre-season coaches poll picked them 4th and they finished one Jersey historically epic butt-f*ck*ing away from finishing 3rd. 

How much potential did a team with no size and no depth in a program that hasn't won a tournament game in a season starting this century really have? The teams potential was realized just fine. Only those with unrealistic expectation and a jones for bashing hometown basketball legends felt otherwise.

Did we have size and depth in 1999? How many teams go more than 7-8 deep? We had the most talent in the big East. Who had a better back court than Ponds and Heron? Throw in LJ and the defensive player of the year. Williams and Keita are both top 100 players. No business finishing 8-10 in BE play.

I merely pointed out that "Mullin coached the 4th best team in the conference this season." You do agree with that statement don't you?  The Ncaa tournament committee did. If not, please explain how the 6 non Ncaa qualifying Big East teams could possibly have had better seasons than us?

Did I miss the time we finished 4th in the BE under Mullin?

That never happened. And clearly, we didn’t belong in the ncaa tournament.

I stopped watching at the end.  Didn’t watch the last 3 or 4 games, the BET or the play-in game.  I’ve never done that before.  This team was so disappointing.  On par with the no-show performance against Robert Morris in the NIT a few years back. 

Pull your head out of your ass.

Or maybe you should pull your mouth off Louie's sack. I repeat the man had NOTHING to do with Cluess not getting this job.

Also this is not a great hire. It makes no sense. This is not a hire for the future of SJU hoops. Anderson might make a tourney or two but Cragg was brought here to make this a nationally recognized program again. Imo,he dropped the ball several times throughout this process.

Also this is not a great hire. It makes no sense. This is not a hire for the future of SJU hoops. Anderson might make a tourney or two but Cragg was brought here to make this a nationally recognized program again. Imo,he dropped the ball several times throughout this process.

It's the best we could do unless Pitino was a candidate. We are lucky we got him,  the search was going down a slippery slope. Queens and the past 20 years are not a good selling point.

Another Hog fan here. I think this is a great hire. I know the coaching search was pretty far off the rails and at the last minute you managed to get a quality head coach.

Almost nobody here has anything against Mike. We all think he and his family are straight class and you never hear a bad word about him anywhere. We all (for the most part) are also okay with moving in another direction at this point. 8 years is a long time and although we had some success, there are no new banners hanging in Bud Walton and very little tourney success. Rightly or wrongly, we had a stellar run from the late 70s to 2000 and we want to get back to that level. Thought Mike was the guy to get it done, but for whatever reason it just never happened.

A few of the positives you can look forward to with Mike as your new coach:
-Your university will be well represented and he's not going to embarass your program.
-Your kids will be well taken care of will be the kind of kids you can be proud of.
-You will always be competitive.
-His style doesn't take long to start seeing results. He doesn't need elite ballers (though that is the goal), he just needs elite athletes to begin the rebuild and I have to think NYC and the whole NE, really, has plenty of those kids to go around.

Drawbacks:
-His style is his strength, but it can also be a weakness. It doesn't really resemble NBA ball and that's what most of the elite recruits are looking for in their college choice.

-Recruiting has been okay, but he missed out on some big time home state kids (lost two to Kentucky, one to Florida, and one to Kansas) that were probably the difference in him still being here or being at St. John's. New York is a big place with lots of ball players and athletes, though so maybe he'll get it done.

However it shakes out, I wish him and your program well and I now have another Big East team to root for.

Thanks for the info. We are grateful to have some new fans with basketball knowledge.  This has been a rough month for our fans so be patient with us.  It sure seems like we got a good coach, but it also seems like it was just dumb luck.

Also this is not a great hire. It makes no sense. This is not a hire for the future of SJU hoops.

Who else is better that we could have obtained? We had mid-major coaches turning us down. I feel damn lucky we were able to land CMA. He’s going to get our program respectable. If he’s able to develop the right relationships, no reason a 5* can’t pop for us.

Smaller schools like us needs a coach to develop relationships with top recruits to land them. When his time is through, maybe Cleveland could take over. Would be nice to have a succession plan for a change. At the very lest we will be a respectable program once again where the better coaches will consider us because of our pedigree.

Imagine being mad that CMA has no NY roots when CHRIS MULLIN was our coach and we had one player from NY on our roster last season.

Sheesh.