Patience

 I know nobody wants to hear it, but things need some perspective. I also know I will get raked over the coals for this . Don't really care.

Sick of hearing it or not, Lavin inherited a team full of seniors and had to replace an entire roster of basketball players.  Things haven't gone as smoothly as we would like on the recruiting front with regards to eligibility issues, but i am ok with taking the risks.

 So Lavin is in his third year at the helm and 2nd full season behind the bench.

 Another program in a similar situation ( not identical...similar..ok?) was Indiana when Crean took over. He had a depleted roster his first year, kinda like us last year.  Also lost his first huge recruit, Eric Gordon to the draft. These are the records of his teams  in his first 3 seasons.

 2008–09   Indiana   6–25         
 2009–10   Indiana   10–21         
 2010–11   Indiana   12–20

 Lets not be so quick to tear this thing down as it's being built. It takes time. Even in Indiana it took a full 3 seasons, and now in his 5th, he has a top 5 team. It can work. 

 So keep crying if it makes you feel better , but reality says, it takes longer than 2+ years to rebuild a program that was neglected for 10 years.

 Go St. Johns!

 

Good post boo. I am all for giving lavin time and am a big supporter of his.

I can not say much negative about the roster he has put together. My only concern is his in game coaching tactics.

Good post boo. I am all for giving lavin time and am a big supporter of his.

I can not say much negative about the roster he has put together. My only concern is his in game coaching tactics.

+1

I'm with patience but I believe we can have an improved team this year if we just made some simple rotation adjusments

I'm somewhat disappointed with how this year has gone thus far.  I expected at least 2 more wins, if not 3.  With all that said, I don't understand why more of the posters on here don't look at the Crean/Indiana situation, and many others we could point to around the country, and take solace in the fact that while the on-the-court struggles this year are not pretty at times, we are on the right track.  I know St. John's situation is different than Indiana, but I am sure there are others we could point to.

Chilleb -- Agree 100%.  Totally fair to question things like why isn't Branch playing more, why is PGIV dominating minutes at the point, Gift being red-shirted, Marco's/Hooper's role, etc.  I just think sometimes we get caught up in the game-to-game stuff that we lose sight of the big picture.  We have the most talent here in a long, long time.  It may not happen as soon as we want, but I think we are on the right track.

I'm with patience but I believe we can have an improved team this year if we just made some simple rotation adjusments

 I agree. Loyalty is a great attribute, it can also hurt you as well.

I am 34 2010 was awesome . Erik Barkley is also 34. Beating duke in 99 was amazing. That was a long time ago. Lets stop sucking.

I'm with patience but I believe we can have an improved team this year if we just made some simple rotation adjusments

100% agree with you

What confuses me the most is Bourgault's lack of minutes out there.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting him to log 30 minutes per game.  But outside of Harrison, this team is awful at shooting the basketball.  In my opinion, if you put Bourgault out there with Harrison and Branch, he'll get some open looks for them and stretch the defense.

Outstanding post, funny thing is I was actually thinking about about Crean/Indiana in comparison to how we are rebuilding. You are absolutely right, its gonna take some time but it will all be worth it

I wouldn't call myself pessimistic....however I'm not an optimist either... we are not Indiana...by no stretch of the imagination... not the same type of school, not the same fan base, and no where near the same tradition.... those farm boys will support IU come hell or high water... crean was coming off proven success at MU... so personally I.think that's a crap comparison.... there is only one remedy to our situation and its sustained winning.... unfortunately we don't have a whole states support regardless of the end result.... all I know is according to most, we have a team of top 100 bball players who aren't winning games... so either the experts were off on their assessment of these kids or our coaching staff are trying to put round pegs into square holes...

Great post boo.   But Crean didn't have to sit out a year with cancer so your comparison is way off

Great post boo.

Nice post Boo, thanks for bringing some perspective to the situation.

I'm certainly not interested in tearing things down, and it's nice to see things building upon one another.  The program is headed in the right direction it seems.  At the same time, the message boards offer us a valuable space to vent though.

But again; it's nice to remind ourselves of the bright future this team has. 

Quote from: Chilleb on January 11, 2013, 10:02:09 PM

I'm with patience but I believe we can have an improved team this year if we just made some simple rotation adjusments

100% agree with you

What confuses me the most is Bourgault's lack of minutes out there.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting him to log 30 minutes per game.  But outside of Harrison, this team is awful at shooting the basketball.  In my opinion, if you put Bourgault out there with Harrison and Branch, he'll get some open looks for them and stretch the defense.

Bourgault needs picks, screens and ball reversal to give him time for his release.  We have minimal beef to set screens and few  of our guys who set picks are catching the ball well enough if they come free rolling to the basket after setting a pick.

I'm with patience but I believe we can have an improved team this year if we just made some simple rotation adjusments

+1

"... Lets not be so quick to tear this thing down as it's being built...."


Well said.

Why the the spotlight is more focus on Lavin this is because of the perception he can't coach and Dunlap was one of the best strategist in the college game. What would have happend if Lavin was fired because he was just not the right fit at UCLA, and nothing was said about his coaching. Would everyone would be as harsh about his coaching if that perception from UCLA was not around?                                                                                                            The other question is how you look at this season. Do you look at it as should we be better and have at least two more wins, and good teams that turn the corner when the Rutgers game (fair point). Or do you look at the team and say we have been in every game despite the fact that one of our top recruits has not played and probably will never play.                                                                                                                                                         Overall if this is a down year I think it will be a limited know on Lavin. Next year will be the crucial year because Lavin should not have to recruit heavely like the preavoius two years and he  have a good amount of Jrs as well.      The last thing I will say is that I think Lavin knows better then anyone else about the perception of his in game coaching, and I believe that this perception eats him up more then anybody knows and he wants to prove to everyone that he is a good coach.

Why do Nba caliber players at Puke stay 4 years and we Finally get one and he leaves in 1 year?

Why do Nba caliber players at Puke stay 4 years and we Finally get one and he leaves in 1 year?

duke is known for its academics.

as far as patience...lavin has had previous success.  so have the assistants.  i don't think anyone is looking for replacements at this stage of the game.

the difference between lavin and roberts is that roberts had no previous success...only failure as a head coach.