Stith has been given opportunities to start. He's been given so many chances to perform. Cain was a backup. That wasn't a mistake. JB was a great point guard. And not much different than Erick Barkley. Not a fair comparison.
Stith has shown us so little that it's hard to fight for his cause on any level. He needs to play better. That simple.
Compare Buchanan's senior year stats 9.5 ppg and 6.2 apg with Cain's senior year stats, 11.4 and 7.1. Buchanan was a walk-it-up point who fit Looie's slowdown style to a T. The following year Mahoney turned Cain loose and he was a jet bringing it up and unafraid to go to the hole, sort of the anti-Buchanan. The starters on Buchanan's senior year were Malik, Shawnelle, Sproling and Lamont Middleton. The starters on Cain's team were Shawnelle, Lamont, Derek Brown and Minlend. Which starting five was better? Yet both teams finished at 19-11.
Mahoney was named Big East Coach of the year that first season, largely because of Cain being the engine that made that team go.
So maybe Cain being a backup who saw limited minutes his junior year was a mistake.