Steere out indefinitely

If you want to debate decisions that's fine but when you bring character into this I have issue.

I think there can be philosophical debate on recruiting strategy on risk vs reward. If you specifically want to single out Coach Matt's track record on recruits I would classify him as more of a risk taker. I think in large those risks have what has propelled him to a fast track as a successful high major assistant.

As for the players I think it's extremely ignorant for you character assassinate without knowing anything about them. While all players come from different socioeconomic backgrounds there are a large contingent that come from poor ones. Now there is difference between a bad kid and a bad decision. Especially as a Christian and Vincentian University there is a level of service and compassion that we should have. A lot of these kid's lives and futures become better because of education and sport. There are tons of examples to support this.

Now specifically to Ian Steere. I've known Ian since he is sophomore in high school. He played on one of the programs I work with. He originally committed to Creighton and short after he switched private high schools he decommitted and eventually committed to NC State (in his home state). He got to campus and immediately wanted out and didn't jive with Kevin Keatts (who is very difficult personality and a lot of players wanted out) and left. He's not a bad kid but I could see this from his POV very easily. 

Gets to NC State based on promises that weren't met. Commits to St. John's because of Mullin and gets stuck with Anderson. Now he's not getting minutes and becomes mal content.  I think he should have been in better shape however I do not think he was unsuitable to play minutes.  He needed to get minutes to get his rust off. There are some coaches who make things work and others who say see ya later. Lavin, Mullin, and Anderson all fall into the latter.

Ian Steere is a good big man. He can play. Where he goes next? Who knows at this point but big bodied bigs who have some skill aren't plentiful. It's a shame his career has turned out like this.

I wish you would share more information like that. No one said he he was a bad kid. And it’s absolutely reasonable to question his character. Multiple High schools and colleges. How many coaches did this kid not get along with?
It’s not like he is the first transfer to have a problem here.

Know who else said he looked out of shape? You did.

Liar. I couldn't pick him out of a line up.

And no, that game at MSG in 2004, which I attended, was won by Darryl “Showtime” Hill. It was one of his best games as a Johnny.

The paper of record disagrees.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL; Little-Used Sophomore Helps Lift St. John's

https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/28/sports/college-basketball-little-used-sophomore-helps-lift-st-john-s.html

Darryl Hill, who was in high school at the time, never played with Curtis Johnson. Good try though.

Remember when Curtis Johnson - who legitimately could barely walk - singlehandedly beat Notre Dame that one year? Good times.

I recall him being a positive factor in a competitive game at Stonybrook as well.

I wish you would share more information like that. No one said he he was a bad kid. And it’s absolutely reasonable to question his character. Multiple High schools and colleges. How many coaches did this kid not get along with?
It’s not like he is the first transfer to have a problem here.

Again not every case is the same. Marcus Lovett going to multiple high schools not the same as Ian Steere going to multiple high schools. A lot of the private schools in the Carolinas are highly competitive recruiting kids with financial aid packages.

This isn't saying Ian Steere is without fault but I find him to be more victim of circumstance.

You’re pretty annoying. You can say a lot of things about the last staff or Matt but their talent evaluation was pretty good.

This must be a joke.

This must be a joke.

I know everyone wants to be incredibly critical of the guys we deem didn't work but there is no denying there was good talent in Queens. We could have used more depth for sure.

I think if we want to question distribution of sit outs that's totally fair.

I'm with you on this.  I think we had good talent years 3-4 with respect to the top 5-6 kids on the roster.  A problem was the next 5-9 or 6-9/10 on the rosters, among other factors. 

I know everyone wants to be incredibly critical of the guys we deem didn't work but there is no denying there was good talent in Queens. We could have used more depth for sure.

I think if we want to question distribution of sit outs that's totally fair.

I know everyone wants to be incredibly critical of the guys we deem didn't work but there is no denying there was good talent in Queens. We could have used more depth for sure.

I think if we want to question distribution of sit outs that's totally fair.

Plenty of talent. You can’t win with an empty suit as a head coach. All of you can make as many excuses as you want. That’s the reason we lost, are still losing, and are just starting to rebuild.

Liar. I couldn't pick him out of a line up.

The paper of record disagrees.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL; Little-Used Sophomore Helps Lift St. John's

https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/28/sports/college-basketball-little-used-sophomore-helps-lift-st-john-s.html

Darryl Hill, who was in high school at the time, never played with Curtis Johnson. Good try though.

Wrong. Hill played with Johnson during the 03-04 season.

Good try though.

And BTW, I didn’t have to look that up.

Plenty of talent. You can’t win with an empty suit as a head coach. All of you can make as many excuses as you want. That’s the reason we lost, are still losing, and are just starting to rebuild.

I don’t think Mullin was an empty suit. I saw tangible progress in game on the bench. I think St Jean ran really good schemes/plays.

What they missed was organization and preparation on daily basis. We needed a more experienced associate head coach and potentially an assistant to the head coach.

Could have had John Carroll who is in that role for Rhode Island right now along with Mike Rice.

I don’t think Mullin was an empty suit. I saw tangible progress in game on the bench. I think St Jean ran really good schemes/plays.

What they missed was organization and preparation on daily basis. We needed a more experienced associate head coach and potentially an assistant to the head coach.

Could have had John Carroll who is in that role for Rhode Island right now along with Mike Rice.

What did you see that showed tangible progression in Mullin's in-game coaching? Combine that progression with St. Jean's schemes (besides his beloved inbounds plays that you so admired) that you thought were really good and why did they flounder so much last February as they backed their way into the dance as the last team selected?

Quite frankly, I saw none of these things and thought the team played wayy too much iso ball with Ponds and too many guys standing around while someone would force up a bad look more often than not.

I don’t think Mullin was an empty suit. I saw tangible progress in game on the bench. I think St Jean ran really good schemes/plays.

What they missed was organization and preparation on daily basis. We needed a more experienced associate head coach and potentially an assistant to the head coach.

Could have had John Carroll who is in that role for Rhode Island right now along with Mike Rice.

That’s true. He got better. Still he was the worst in conference. Worse then leitko. What was missing was obvious. He choose not to do it. The excuses constantly made for him are ridiculous.
Even though he improved, simple decisions that he made like his staff led to 20-59. He deserves his record.

Wrong. Hill played with Johnson during the 03-04 season.

Good try though.

And BTW, I didn’t have to look that up.

Larry Wright hit a game winning jumper. Maybe one of you is thinking of that game. Bought 5 dollar tickets. Sat I first row behind ND bench. Sat next to Luke harangoudy’s dad. Guy had huge hands.

That’s true. He got better. Still he was the worst in conference. Worse then leitko. What was missing was obvious. He choose not to do it. The excuses constantly made for him are ridiculous.
Even though he improved, simple decisions that he made like his staff led to 20-59. He deserves his record.

I didn't see much if any improvement in his coaching last year. The system looked exactly the same as it did in Year 1 under him. The only difference last year is he had arguably the most talented starting 5 in the conference so the the team was bound to be better regardless of any coaching improvement which there was very little of.

Wrong. Hill played with Johnson during the 03-04 season.

Good try though.

And BTW, I didn’t have to look that up.

Allow me to recap.

You said Ian Steere could hardly walk and therefore could not have been expected to contribute.

I said no fan could evaluate Steere's ability to contribute based on 15 minutes of playing time and anyway Curtis Johnson couldn't walk either and he nearly singlehandedly beat ND one year.

You lied and said I said Steere was out of shape because that never happened and added a nonsequitur: Darryl Hill once played well against ND in 2004 - a game you personally attended -  not Curtis Johnson. You said this despite the fact that SJU played Notre Dame only twice in calendar year 2004 and lost both times

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-johns-ny/2004-schedule.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-johns-ny/2005-schedule.html

And that SJU only beat ND once in Hill's four years, in 2007, when Hill DNP.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=270232599

In 2006 SJ did not play ND

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-johns-ny/2006-schedule.html

In 2005 Hill scored 30 against ND, but that was in a loss at Notre Dame. So its unlikely you saw that one personally at MSG.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=250150087

And in 2004 SJ lost to ND 89-62 under Kevin Clark when the team went 6-21, so it seems unlikely that that was the finest game of Hill's career. I can't find the box score though.

And yes I looked all that up. I could have done what you do and make things up out of whole cloth but I prefer to know what I'm talking about. Also I enjoy rubbing your face in it.

Then I provided a link to a NY Times article from 2-28-02, detailing CJ's contribution to SJ victory over ND 84-81 at MSG the day before. I did this despite the fact that you tend to lie indiscriminately and ignore documentary evidence. I'll cop to gilding the lily about CJ and Hill never playing together and unlike you am happy to admit error on those rare occasions when I make a mistake. As I did here.

At which point you claimed victory based upon the fact that CJ and DH played together for a year, despite nearly every word you used being a lie, including and and the. Because that's how you do.

I didn't see much if any improvement in his coaching last year. The system looked exactly the same as it did in Year 1 under him. The only difference last year is he had arguably the most talented starting 5 in the conference so the the team was bound to be better regardless of any coaching improvement which there was very little of.

Everyone gives him a pass for year 1. That was the worst coached team in sports history. They looked like a bad middle school team. Most of you don’t remember incarnate word. They didn’t have a clue what was going on?
By year 4 they would occasionally run a set. St. Jean was very good out of timeouts. They were not good defensively, but much better then they were. The head coach actually seemed to be paying attention. Still many second half’s went by without a timeout

What did you see that showed tangible progression in Mullin's in-game coaching? Combine that progression with St. Jean's schemes (besides his beloved inbounds plays that you so admired) that you thought were really good and why did they flounder so much last February as they backed their way into the dance as the last team selected?

Quite frankly, I saw none of these things and thought the team played wayy too much iso ball with Ponds and too many guys standing around while someone would force up a bad look more often than not.

You have to realize Mullin was a first time head coach in arguably one of the most competitive conferences in the country. There was obviously going to be a learning curve when he was hired. I was apprehensive about this when he was hired however once  he was you had to know what you were getting into and the leash had to be there especially given Mullin's history with the school.

He had a level of comfort and confidence on the sidelines that obviously wasn't there his first year. Better understanding of flow of the game, interacting with refs, utilizing clock.

I think the lack of depth and lack of confidence in bench caused the team to become fatigued which caused some breakdowns. I also think Ponds playing for NBA instead of in the moment resulted in some hero ball that negatively impacted team at times.

Allow me to recap.

You said Ian Steere could hardly walk and therefore could not have been expected to contribute.

I said no fan could evaluate Steere's ability to contribute based on 15 minutes of playing time and anyway Curtis Johnson couldn't walk either and he nearly singlehandedly beat ND one year.

You lied and said I said Steere was out of shape because that never happened and added a nonsequitur: Darryl Hill once played well against ND in 2004 - a game you personally attended -  not Curtis Johnson. You said this despite the fact that SJU played Notre Dame only twice in calendar year 2004 and lost both times

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-johns-ny/2004-schedule.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-johns-ny/2005-schedule.html

And that SJU only beat ND once in Hill's four years, in 2007, when Hill DNP.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=270232599

In 2006 SJ did not play ND

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/st-johns-ny/2006-schedule.html

In 2005 Hill scored 30 against ND, but that was in a loss at Notre Dame. So its unlikely you saw that one personally at MSG.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=250150087

And in 2004 SJ lost to ND 89-62 under Kevin Clark when the team went 6-21, so it seems unlikely that that was the finest game of Hill's career. I can't find the box score though.

And yes I looked all that up. I could have done what you do and make things up out of whole cloth but I prefer to know what I'm talking about. Also I enjoy rubbing your face in it.

Then I provided a link to a NY Times article from 2-28-02, detailing CJ's contribution to SJ victory over ND 84-81 at MSG the day before. I did this despite the fact that you tend to lie indiscriminately and ignore documentary evidence. I'll cop to gilding the lily about CJ and Hill never playing together and unlike you am happy to admit error on those rare occasions when I make a mistake. As I did here.

At which point you claimed victory based upon the fact that CJ and DH played together for a year, despite nearly every word you used being a lie, including and and the. Because that's how you do.

Nonsense. All of it. Admit you were wrong. Go ahead. The board knows it. You’ll feel better after doing so.

I don’t think Mullin was an empty suit. I saw tangible progress in game on the bench. I think St Jean ran really good schemes/plays.

What they missed was organization and preparation on daily basis. We needed a more experienced associate head coach and potentially an assistant to the head coach.

Could have had John Carroll who is in that role for Rhode Island right now along with Mike Rice.

Dave you hit nail on the head...I loved/love mullin and wanted him to succeed in the worst way...with that said, I think he had difficulty understanding how to run a program as opposed to a team...as a head coach you have to have many pieces in play and you need to be able to able to organize and delegate appropriately which is where he showed great defects...I would have loved to see him given more time and guidance, but honestly, I don’t think he was open to be supervised....so now we have a coach who to me will never be mullin, but in the long run a way better fit..

Dave, Totally agree with your last post regarding Coach Mullin.