Dear A.D. Monasch:
I sent you e-mails last year about my disappointment in the progress of the men's basketball team under Coach Norm Roberts, so I do not want to rehash those e-mails. You made a decision to retain Coach Roberts and allow him to coach his juniors, and I respected that decision and rooted very hard for the team again this season. Sadly, no progress has been made.
My concern is not necessarily the wins and losses. I understand the Big East is a tough place to get your feet wet, and Norm is a hard worker. My concern is that the same problems the team has always had, they still have. Coach Roberts has no feel for substitution patterns. He pulls players when they get hot, specifically Hardy and Burrell frequently this year, while other players seem to do no wrong. He preached that depth and experience was an asset for the team which is why we should give him a break for his young inexperienced teams of the last two years. Coach Roberts showed he can't handle depth and experience either because he felt responsible to give everyone 10-20 minutes a game which does not allow the team to get into a proper flow. It has stunted the growth of our best talent, Justin Burrell. He can't make the hard decisions to play certain guys over others, and he seems to play favorites. His offensive sets are as poor as ever, and the recruiting? Well, let's just say he is the worst recruiter in St. John's history and that is not an exaggeration.
Coach Roberts must not be allowed to coach his seniors. First of all, St. John's and the athletic department owe it to these seniors to give them their best chance to win in their final year here. While Coach Roberts did not recruit top notch rated players, these players are obviously good kids and would certainly gel well and do well under a coach who knows how to win. Moreover, if Coach Roberts comes back next season, he alone will be responsible for the 9 open scholarships. The job is attractive to other coaches now when they can come in with a senior-laden team and then essentially have a blank canvas to recruit whoever they want for 2011-12. If Coach Roberts gets to recruit that enormous class, it is likely that coaches will not have as much interest because as Coach Roberts has shown, he can't land top notch recruits.
The fans are at their wits end. I am a graduate of the law school in 2008 and I am at my wits end. My father, a 1981 graduate of the law school was at his wits end a few years ago and no longer goes to games nor donates to the Red and White club. My mother, a graduate of the university in 78 and the law school in 81 is also at her wits end. My 17 year old brother is the only fan of the team at Rye High School which was flooded with St. John's fans when I was in high school, and it is impossible for us to find St. John's gear for him for birthday and Christmas presents. It was sad to watch the 25 year anniversary celebration of the Final Four team and realize that under the current coach, that would never be possible. An NCAA tournament appearance probably isn't possible under this coach.
St. John's men's basketball is about to become irrelevant. Action must be taken now or else I fear that St. John's will never be able to win their fans back which are dwindling by the day. As I said before, I am a graduate of the law school in 2008. If you are wondering, I completed my undergraduate studies at Duke University, graduating in 2005. Duke is my second team as I grew up with St. John's. I have begun donating to both of my alma maters. In addition, I have planned to donate money to one of their athletic programs as well. I had always planned on being part of the Red-White Club when I made enough money to contribute...but, if Norm Roberts is retained, you can be sure that I will take that as a sign that the administration is not interested in maintaining the rich history of the men's basketball team, and I will take my money to the Iron Dukes.
I am sure my money means nothing to you, but I am one of the most die hard St. John's fans out there. Multiply me by the rest of the remaining fans who will soon be able to contribute, and that's a lot of money you could make now that you aren't making....and a lot of money you will be losing from those who donate currently who are about to be fed up.
Please make the right decision for the sake of the players, for the sake of me, for the sake of my father, for the sake of all of the St. John's alumni and students, and for the sake of yourself...because I can't imagine you enjoy seeing this product out there any more than I do.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely,
THA KID! (I put my real name in the letter obviously)