I respect your opinion, but I think that kind of thinking is just flat out wrong. I think it's the thinking that Francesca seems to have, and what a lot of people seem to hold. There is a HUGE difference between an assistant and someone who has run a damned program before. A huge difference. Some assistants are good at making the conversion - but most start at an easier level, where they can work out the kinks in their program building ideas. Taking an assistant and putting him in the Big East - at least at this time, let's say the last 10 years - seems to just not work.
St. John's needed someone with experience.
Moreover, the problem with an assistant is that you don't know if he can EXECUTE his plan. With a man who is already coaching, you can find out what went right, what went wrong, and assume that a strong winning record (let's arbitrarily say .600 winning percentage and higher) translates into some ability to coach or/and recruit or/and train.
Screw a "proven big name coach." That guy's not coming, and that guy is not available. People who get wet over Bobby "Midseason Quitter" Knight are just dreaming, and that's what people do in forums. Dream big.
But knowing what we THINK about financial restrictions, the next coach, if there is one, will be a mid-major guy. So they haven't won at a Big East level. They've at least WON. I like Norm, but he has not hardly ever "won" for the balance of a season.
Why can't a coach from a mid-major win? What, those teams aren't coached? Where did the Big East coaches come from? Some were assistants, but Jay Wright came from Hofstra. Gonzalez, from Manhattan. Pitino (back in the day) started at Boston U. Calhoun, at Northeastern. Cronin, at Murray State. Keno Davis, from Drake. Stan Heath was at Kent State before he was at Arkansas. Buzz Williams had a year at New Orleans. Mike Brey at Delaware.
So, besides Jamie Dixon and Fred Hill, and the interim Tracy Webster (or we can add Wainwright, who wasn't that great at Richmond before coming over)... all those coaches were "some mid-major guy." Hadn't recruited or won on the Big East level. Some of them hired guys with Big East experience to ease the transition, I believe.
By the way, Kevin Willard has been an assistant on the Big East level.
The school needs to find money to pay better coaches, but finding a new coach doesn't take 2 million. It just does not. And the current coach is both not doing the job, nor is he inspiring the NYC talent to come to the school. You need to bring in a new coach, if only to have a guy say "things will be different" and some kids will buy it.
They bought it in Norm's second year, when he got Rob Thomas, Q Calhoun, Derwin Kitchen. Even if that didn't pan out, those were exciting recruits, sold on the idea of playing time and turning things around.