In my opinion you cant take bits and pieces of the game that are positive and credit Lavin, but then at the same time all the bits and pieces that are negative and dump them on the players ability or lack thereof. THere is fault b/t everyone involved in the program for the last 4 halfs, 80 mins or two games.
That's fair. I just think that a coach can only do so much from the sidelines. In the end, it comes down to execution and I just think these players have been on the wrong side too many times in their careers. They just don't seem to have what it takes to close out games.
In fairness to the players, I can blame Lavin for plenty of things as well. Why doesn't he switch up the defenses? Fordham figured out the press and by the time we switched it was too late. Why does he decide to play Boothe for the first time after sitting around the entire first 3/4 of the game? Why does he ever play Boothe and Stith together? Why do we stop attacking when Fordham's 2 best players are in foul trouble?
Of course there are things Lavin can do better, but to me it comes down to being embarassed as a St John's fan for the past decade. And for the past 4 years, when I see the same faces on the court loss after loss, I have to accept that theyre the reason we're not winning games.