I agree as well, Mike does not know alot about SJU basketball because he does not care enough nor is it a big topic here in the tri state area anymore. He is going to tell you the stats because he can read it off a paper but he can not elaborate on the actual program itself.
The only way we will ever bring in a big name coach is, we have to show them the money. If we can do that we will still only bring in a guy who is from a top notch conference but not at a big name school. The days of bringing in the Calipari's are over unless we give top $$.
What frustrates me is this area is loaded with top talent. We can bring in a guy for $500,000 and he can succeed quickly if and only if he can get the top kids in our backyard(NYC, NJ Conn). If we are not doing well here, I think it is about time we start shooting for kids outside the area and use NYC as a whole to attract kids.
Kids in this area do not want to stay home anymore, there is to much out there for them to explore not only with a great campus but a chance to see other parts of the country. The big east is a great recruiting point, but there are 15 other schools that can say that as well. The aau coaches do not want there kids playing for Norm and that is who we need on our side.
Unfortunately, winning cures all aspects regardless of how well the kids grades are. You can tell the parents all they want to hear about our good GPA but in the end the kid is going to make the decision because he is the one going to that school and the only way we gain an bit of his attention is by winning.
Anyone who thinks that Norm should stay because he is competing is a nice person. This year we expected NcAA tournament and that is not happening. He has built a steady program off the court but in basketball it should not take 6 years to build a winner. I do not care if the kids from past programs lit the school on fire, 6 years is to long to get the program back to winning on the court.