A little disappointed in that, I would have liked to see McCaffery on St. John's sidelines.
Not saying that he wouldn't have been a good fit, but McCaffery had a lot going for him at Siena. He's recruiting against Marist and Fairfield and Iona - no Xanadu's there. Siena is a nice campus, in a nice part of the country, they play in a nice gym in front of a sold out crowd of 7 or 8 thousand, they get the home court in the conference tournament every year, the administration is supportive and the media kisses his ass. As far as MAAC schools go, it's a pretty good deal - in that regard it's nearly everything the SJU job is not. Deane, Orr and Hewitt have all gone to underachieve. Saint John's is where coaches go to die. That's not a good combination.
IIRC you hissed at Lavin but if they can get him SJ is immediately relevant. There is publicity and there are expectations and it's a destination for recruits. He can't possibly be a worse coach than Norm, who won 16 or 17 games a year. I'd take him in a heartbeat. And if it blows up in 3 or 4 years, well, better king for a day than schmuck for a lifetime.