Steve DeMeo

So your saying every coach hired except Matt was a bad hire since the Norm days got it.

Further back than that!

Best friends with Matt. That is all you need to know.

We went from a staff with 1 recruiter and a head coach that did zero. Now we have at least some balance.

I have no opinion of Run CTC and have offered no criticism of him except that he was as a choice sloppy thirds or fourths. If I've ever seen him coach a game I don't remember it and I hope he's a genius. But Mullin's first year he created a staff comprising Slice, Matt and HOF'er Richmond and signed Mussini, Yakwe, Fruedenberg, Sima, Williams, Mvoika, Johnson and Ellison. All of that did not work out particularly well but IIRC there were not a lot of "Mullin doing work" posts. And PS over the past four years MA made one more NCAA tournament than did Mullin and was ranked one more time than Mullin - and the consensus is that Mullin stunk - and MA had a four year head start.

Pardon me if I'm not particularly excited.

How many of the players you listed improved under Mullin? How many have improved period?

What coach at St.John’s has developed less talent?

We’re waiting on word about LJ and probably other kids, too to see if they’re staying or going. If Mullin was here how many would already be gone?

I have no idea how CMA will do here, but history says that he has a very good chance to be successful because he has been.

He's not going to get the stars yet. He has to prove it on the court with building a system that yields results. This is what the Mullin backers didn't realize. It doesn't matter how good Mullin was as a player 35 years ago. What mattered was his ability to coach kids up of the court and this is where he fell flat on his face.

Anderson is the anti-Mullin. He's a proven winner at all of his coaching stops. He's not going for the get rich quick scheme the way a Mullin needed to because he had no confidence in his coaching ability.

Quite the contrary, Anderson is a proven program builder who will start small with a few under the radar signings (McGriff, Sears). He will then show next year that he can not only assemble a program but win games on the court and improve his team's chemistry throughout the course of the season. Once he does that then he will start signing these 4 star kids because they can all tell he's building something. That's how you build a sustainable program. Not with some cockamamie, unsustainable scheme that was being thrown out there the last 4 years. That sh*t never works.

It’s not that CMA is the anti-Mullin. Mullin was never a coach and he never became one. CMA is a proven winner in three different conferences.

The transfer portal is a good point, but it’s not like there isn’t recent evidence of hm taking a position less than assistant coach or anything. At a non power 6 school on the other side of the country no less.

DeMeo coaches a Florida JUCO in the middle of nowhere. It’s not a good job. I doubt Esposito would have even considered that job. DOBO is a step up from his current gig. DOBO is several steps down from Esposito’s. It’s like asking a consultant to be a secretary.

history says that he has a very good chance to be successful because he has been.

Yeah, no. History says his coaching career will die here, just like all his predecessors careers died here. And if he's successful here he'll be the first coach to succeed at SJU since Louie and if he does and if past is prologue he'll be fired.

The only thing that matters is wins and losses. Neither you nor anyone else could possibly be offended YET because he hasn't coached a real game here YET.

I'm not offended, YET. And I'm not blowing him either, YET. Someone is though. Johnny23 doing work.

I'm not sure what motive I have. I have nothing to gain or lose by expressing my thoughts.

I want St. John's to be great just as any other fan would. I'm very skeptical at Mike Anderson's ability to navigate the Big East and culture at St. John's.

Van Macon is a good hire but hard to full evaluate until entire staff is filled.

I've known Coach DeMeo for a long time and he'd be over the moon to coach here and I'm sure he'd be at the pulse of some good juco players which coach Anderson seems to have a history with. Why hasn't any metro area school offered him a spot on staff? There have been plenty of openings over the years.

To me the whole vibe of everything feels very low mid-major. This is evident by the first 2 recruits signed. I feel like it's the path to be Virginia Tech under Seth Greenberg. Just good enough but never really good enough. Just see this process happening again in 3-4 years.

Again I hope I'm wrong. I'm rooting for success

Fair enough. I just don't know what you expected. The staff as is seems decent at worst and it's not completed yet. What kind of home run staff could any head coach have brought in here?

Also, did you expect whoever got the job here a month ago to bring in 4 and 5 star kids immediately? This staff had a number of scholarships to fill and this is not really a popular destination for players of that caliber especially this late in the game.

Instead of fruitlessly chasing after players that they had no chance of getting, Anderson and Cleveland identified players that fit the type of play they want to have here. I'd rather have those type of players than guys like Sedee Keita, Mikey Dixon, Kassoum Yakwe, Richard Freudenberg etc. that were either highly rather HS prospects or sought after transfers that ended up contributing next to nothing here. This 5-9 PG and 2 star big the staff brought in aren't expected to be major contributors from day 1 so I don't know what the problem is. It's not like they are taking the spot from somebody better.

To me the whole vibe of everything feels very low mid-major.

To me, it seems that Anderson and his guys conduct themselves in a way that is far more consistent with how successful programs operate than the last two staffs

Did Van Macon have anything to do with recruiting Hofstra’s Loren Stokes and Antoine Agudio? Those guys owned St.John’s. They beat the snot out of us every time they played against us. There was no question they were leagues better than anything we had at guard.

That 28 Hofstra was f’n robbed of a bid. That was the best team they’ve ever had.

To me, it seems that Anderson and his guys conduct themselves in a way that is far more consistent with how successful programs operate than the last two staffs

Exactly. This isn’t an experiment. We just had one of those. CMA is new to NY, but he’s won everywhere he’s coached. There’s no reason not to expect him to win here, too.

I'm not sure what motive I have. I have nothing to gain or lose by expressing my thoughts.

I want St. John's to be great just as any other fan would. I'm very skeptical at Mike Anderson's ability to navigate the Big East and culture at St. John's.

Van Macon is a good hire but hard to full evaluate until entire staff is filled.

I've known Coach DeMeo for a long time and he'd be over the moon to coach here and I'm sure he'd be at the pulse of some good juco players which coach Anderson seems to have a history with. Why hasn't any metro area school offered him a spot on staff? There have been plenty of openings over the years.

To me the whole vibe of everything feels very low mid-major. This is evident by the first 2 recruits signed. I feel like it's the path to be Virginia Tech under Seth Greenberg. Just good enough but never really good enough. Just see this process happening again in 3-4 years.

Again I hope I'm wrong. I'm rooting for success

Holy cow. Dave...I'm 100% in agreement with the others and was really taken aback by your initial comments. And now this reasoning..

How in the world is hiring a coach who doesn't have a losing season, has coached in the SEC, a low-mid major type of move? That's ridiculous. As far as the ability to "navigate the Big East" and the "culture of St. John's" - navigate the big east we'll find soon enough. As far the bullsh*t that is the culture of St. John's...give me a break. What culture? Who has developed any sense of culture in Queens, that's a crock.

The two recruits signed giving you low - mid major feels...what did you want them to do? just go into the season with 7 guys? Honestly, it's like you've been hacked, these comments are head scratchers from someone who has been around this school and the game. Have to fill out the roster to play games...

It truly reads like you have a major axe to grind and really unlike you...

I'm not offended, YET. And I'm not blowing him either, YET. Someone is though. Johnny23 doing work.

As you wipe Mullin's Foad off your chin. Anderson is doing work and it's nice to see an experienced HC running the show. That is all. 

So your saying every coach hired except Matt was a bad hire since the Norm days got it.

No not even close. Please don't put words in my mouth.

Did Van Macon have anything to do with recruiting Hofstra’s Loren Stokes and Antoine Agudio? Those guys owned St.John’s. They beat the snot out of us every time they played against us. There was no question they were leagues better than anything we had at guard.

That 28 Hofstra was f’n robbed of a bid. That was the best team they’ve ever had.

Macon will get some guys for sure.

Holy cow. Dave...I'm 100% in agreement with the others and was really taken aback by your initial comments. And now this reasoning..

How in the world is hiring a coach who doesn't have a losing season, has coached in the SEC, a low-mid major type of move? That's ridiculous. As far as the ability to "navigate the Big East" and the "culture of St. John's" - navigate the big east we'll find soon enough. As far the bullsh*t that is the culture of St. John's...give me a break. What culture? Who has developed any sense of culture in Queens, that's a crock.

The two recruits signed giving you low - mid major feels...what did you want them to do? just go into the season with 7 guys? Honestly, it's like you've been hacked, these comments are head scratchers from someone who has been around this school and the game. Have to fill out the roster to play games...

It truly reads like you have a major axe to grind and really unlike you...

The SEC is a football conference. Outside of Kentucky basketball is somewhat of an afterthought at these schools. It's different from dealing with alumni, media, expectations, etc. Additionally it's very different recruiting in north east vs south.

Dealing with St. John's politics is not easy. From the administration to board it's not an easy place to succeed. I don't see Coach Anderson being the guy to crack that code.

If these first 2 recruits don't transfer after a year we are in trouble.

Did Van Macon have anything to do with recruiting Hofstra’s Loren Stokes and Antoine Agudio? Those guys owned St.John’s. They beat the snot out of us every time they played against us. There was no question they were leagues better than anything we had at guard.

That 28 Hofstra was f’n robbed of a bid. That was the best team they’ve ever had.

Agudio and Jenkins

The SEC is a football conference. Outside of Kentucky basketball is somewhat of an afterthought at these schools. It's different from dealing with alumni, media, expectations, etc. Additionally it's very different recruiting in north east vs south.

Dealing with St. John's politics is not easy. From the administration to board it's not an easy place to succeed. I don't see Coach Anderson being the guy to crack that code.

If these first 2 recruits don't transfer after a year we are in trouble.

I'll say this and I've known Dave since the Norm years but I've never read such a low tone in his posts    Not sure if that is bad or good since we have sucked forever. lol

Fair enough. I just don't know what you expected. The staff as is seems decent at worst and it's not completed yet. What kind of home run staff could any head coach have brought in here?

Also, did you expect whoever got the job here a month ago to bring in 4 and 5 star kids immediately? This staff had a number of scholarships to fill and this is not really a popular destination for players of that caliber especially this late in the game.

Instead of fruitlessly chasing after players that they had no chance of getting, Anderson and Cleveland identified players that fit the type of play they want to have here. I'd rather have those type of players than guys like Sedee Keita, Mikey Dixon, Kassoum Yakwe, Richard Freudenberg etc. that were either highly rather HS prospects or sought after transfers that ended up contributing next to nothing here. This 5-9 PG and 2 star big the staff brought in aren't expected to be major contributors from day 1 so I don't know what the problem is. It's not like they are taking the spot from somebody better.

I'd take Yakwe's, Dixon's, and Freudenberg's but I'd play them.

The SEC is a football conference. Outside of Kentucky basketball is somewhat of an afterthought at these schools. It's different from dealing with alumni, media, expectations, etc. Additionally it's very different recruiting in north east vs south.

Cmon Dave, this is stupid now. 10 years ago you may have been right about this. However, recently the SEC has made it clear that their schools need to invest heavily in basketball. Not saying it will ever come close to football, but basketball is FAR from an afterthought in the SEC these days.

Just look at the coaches that SEC schools have hired and fired over the past 5 years. The hottest rising star in college basketball is at Alabama now. Eric Musselman who turned Nevada into a legit contender is at Arkansas. Buzz Williams is at A&M. Billy Kennedy and Mike Anderson got whacked from their schools despite having pretty good resumes. Bruce Pearl, Rick Barnes, Frank Martin, Ben Howland... Those guys wouldn't be at places where basketball is an afterthought.