Coach Pitino and the Program's Priority List

Nice article on this. What is everyone's thoughts on how Coach Pitino can start to make this work?

https://nypost.com/2023/03/20/rick-pitino-wants-to-bring-st-johns-back-to-its-glory-days/

Culture - is the idea to clean house with the exception of a couple players (ie Storr and Soriano)? I feel like there were academic issues with the team with those random benchings. Better recruits with skill and knowledge. Better coaches.

Facilites- he does say he wants more games at Garden. Is that a punt as to fixing Carnasecca Area and Taffner? What else can be done here?

NILs- this is where Repole comes in- does this become a program that we are offering  5 star recruits to be the face of Vitamin Water etc? It may not be on front pages, but I have to believe Repole helped get this done in the end and what he offers monetarily and business savy.

What other factors can Coach Pitino start to focus on?

When is the all Big East games to be played at Msg announcement?

Am I the only one worried that our program is so cursed that even a legendary hall of fame coach can't save us?

Am I the only one worried that our program is so cursed that even a legendary hall of fame coach can't save us?

You should be but unfortunately there are a lot of nuts out there. 

Am I the only one worried that our program is so cursed that even a legendary hall of fame coach can't save us?

No. Many of us have been conditioned to expect the worst. Pitino, at 71 this year, won’t be as appealing to many recruits. He’s in the grandfather stage now. He looks older and more frail that even the ugliest man alive, Jim Boeheim, does at 79. He’s older than his years due to what he went through and his 15 seconds of fame at Louisville.

We dropped the ball not hiring him five years ago. Our leadership was so embarrassing…The Gimp as President and the career intern Cragg as AD.  How Cragg still has a job is unbelievable to me, but I digress.

Pitino’s worst as a coach is likely still substantially better than Lavin, Mullin, Anderson, and certainly Norm at their absolute best. And we hade Repole back in the fold.

No. Many of us have been conditioned to expect the worst. Pitino, at 71 this year, won’t be as appealing to many recruits. He’s in the grandfather stage now. He looks older and more frail that even the ugliest man alive, Jim Boeheim, does at 79. He’s older than his years due to what he went through and his 15 seconds of fame at Louisville.

We dropped the ball not hiring him five years ago. Our leadership was so embarrassing…The Gimp as President and the career intern Cragg as AD.  How Cragg still has a job is unbelievable to me, but I digress.

Pitino’s worst as a coach is likely still substantially better than Lavin, Mullin, Anderson, and certainly Norm at their absolute best. And we hade Repole back in the fold.

I agree and disagree with some points. I agree that the former prez Gempesaw had no basketball acumen and shot this program in the foot with not going for Pitino 5 years ago. Mullin and Anderson have been an absolute waste. Anderson the worse of course. Cragg has not impressed with that terrible extension to Anderson. Locking Pitino down with Fr. Shanley and Repole, however, is a positive. He also knows how to win with being around Coach K for so long. Hoping he grows more into this role.

I disagree with not expecting much from Pitino. The man has won everywhere he has been and knows the game of basketball/Big East better than anyone and has a career of instilling a disciplined "on the court product". The players buy into it and he has won literally at the highest level and is a Hall of Famer for a reason. He attracts great players and has several pros. It is not crazy for us to be linked to more 4 and 5 stars now.

But- it won't be a one year thing. Anderson has left him with nothing but Storr and Soriano and a couple depth players. Its a shorter recruiting frame so he has to hit the transfer portal quickly.

I would say next season at worst we fair well in the NIT and at best we sneak into the Round of 32. I would expect a nice showing in the Big East tournament even if we do not win it. After year 1 expectations are heightened of course.