I still think that coach Lavin is the right man for the job!

If Lavin makes it to the NIT this year is it a successful season? If he makes it to the NCAA tournament next year ian loses in the first round with a Jr. laden class is that still considered a success? Or is it alright to plan for a big run next year with a team full of upperclassmen who would have very little tournament experience? Honestly lookin for thoughts not nitpicking...

 At this point in the season, Playing in the NIT and winning a couple of games would be a success IMO.

 Next season needs to be an NCAA year...no doubt about it. 100%

If Lavin makes it to the NIT this year is it a successful season? If he makes it to the NCAA tournament next year ian loses in the first round with a Jr. laden class is that still considered a success? Or is it alright to plan for a big run next year with a team full of upperclassmen who would have very little tournament experience? Honestly lookin for thoughts not nitpicking...

NIT this year would be a success!

Funny thing about people calling me a Lavin Basher is if he can become Louie 2.0 and win 20 games a year and play a game or two in tourney than I will be perfectly content.

If Lavin makes it to the NIT this year is it a successful season? If he makes it to the NCAA tournament next year ian loses in the first round with a Jr. laden class is that still considered a success? Or is it alright to plan for a big run next year with a team full of upperclassmen who would have very little tournament experience? Honestly lookin for thoughts not nitpicking...

NIT this year would be a success!

Funny thing about people calling me a Lavin Basher is if he can become Louie 2.0 and win 20 games a year and play a game or two in tourney than I will be perfectly content.

Me too. Final Fours are gravy. I'd like to first not be embarrassed to say where I'm headed on a Saturday afternoon.

I would want eventually...that we always have the potential to win the whole thing. As successful as we're are historically it does get tiring to hear how we're the only team to have all these wins and all these appearances and never winning a NCAA championship...I understand there are steps to this process but our ultimate goal for the program should be more then a 20 win season and occasional final 4... The Basketball team is the flagship for the school and the city! Our soccer team has more championships then the basketball team!

 If you can become a program that consistently makes it to the sweet 16, then you always have the potential to win the whole thing. 

Very few programs are title contenders every single season.

If you can become a program that consistently makes it to the sweet 16, then you always have the potential to win the whole thing. 

Very few programs are title contenders every single season.

That would be a good place. Just want us to consistently contend and occasionally make a good NCAA tourney run.

I agree to that, but I also don't want to sit on making to the tournament every year and losing in the first round either.

I agree to that, but I also don't want to sit on making to the tournament every year and losing in the first round either.

It got Louie an arena named after him

At this point in the season, Playing in the NIT and winning a couple of games would be a success IMO.

 Next season needs to be an NCAA year...no doubt about it. 100%

That sounds about right to me too.  Nit this year, after a couple of exciting games in conference play, and it's a solid season.   


Honestly though I don't know that National Championships are even a possibility.  At least anymore.
I think a Final Four is the best we can realistically ever see.  Don't get me wrong, if we're ever fortunate enough to be back in a regional final or god for bid a final four... I'll be drinking the kool aid as much as anyone and thinking we can win it all.

But look at the National Champions over the last 25 or so years; it's all enormous programs with basically unlimited resources.    Kentucky, UCLA, UNC, Syracuse, Kansas, Florida.  We don't fit that profile at all.
The closest comparrison would be Georgetown ironically in '85, or Villanova in '86.  I guess to a lesser degree Duke, but that's stretching it.

Even the cinderellas don't have much in common with us... Arkansas? Maryland? 


But that's getting ahead of ourselves obviously.  Lets just play well against DePaul and the it from there 

Butler came extremely close twice, no reason we cant do the same in the future

Butler came extremely close twice, no reason we cant do the same in the future

They did get close.  And obviously we should try to win a NC.
I'm just saying its not a coincidence that in the last 25 years literally every national champion has been a huge state school with a behemoth athletic department (or Duke). 

As much as Louie has been great for this program I think we have to start moving past him and his final four appearance. He is a true ambassador for the University but he also hasn't coached in 20years...people get upset we talk about Red Storm should got back to Redmen because that is in the past...but nobody ever says that about Coach C. Looking back I think more and more people realize we should have been to more final fours then just one. Back in the day were competed for the NIT which was considered harder then the NCAA so why can't we eventually get back to that level? It helps to be a big School but I think we can be as successful as a big school if we sell our program the right way. Lavin has been doing a great job of that.

Roy was at Kansas a lot longer to build that program.  He was still known at the time as a guy underachieving.  I'm pretty sure Lavin would have had a NC if Baron didn't blow out his knee and we'd never be having this conversation.  My real point was that some of these guys got bad reps for no reason based in inflated expectations.  Ucla fired Lavin who went to or past the sweet 16 every year.  Only reason he didn't go further were injuries and of course a few good teams that Lavin had to play against.  As we all know, lots f things can happen the tournament and just because Lavin or any coach has top talent. Doesn't guarantee a final 4 or better every year.

Known as underachieving by nice persons. Guess he should have won every game.

At this point in the season, Playing in the NIT and winning a couple of games would be a success IMO.

 Next season needs to be an NCAA year...no doubt about it. 100%

Agree, making a deep run in the NIT this year would be enough to make this season respectable.

Next year however, merely making the tourney and having a first rd exit would be a huge failure.  Success next year means top 20 ranked and make a run in the tournament

A 3-3 start with two road wins and two wins over top twenty teams.  Anyone watching this team the past ten years is off base for questioning this staff.

Here's where this program has been the past five years after six games:

- 2-4 on way to 2-6 with an all first year squad
- 4-2 on way to NCAA under Lavin in his first year with players recruited by former coach
- 2-4 on way to 2-8 - former staff
- 1-5 - former staff
- 1-5 - former staff

Tom Penders, who never passed up an opportunity to tweak this program, tweated that Lavin has this program going in the right direction. 

Enjoy it.  It has been rare for Johnny fans.

Do we know if we had anyone on the road yesterday looking at recruits. It was a big weekend for watching kids in Springfield at at Baruch.

I actually would prefer coming back to the garden for the NIT semis then losing a 1st round NCAA game. Gotta win wendsday .

I actually would prefer coming back to the garden for the NIT semis then losing a 1st round NCAA game. Gotta win wendsday .

Losing a first round NCAA game over winning NIT is better in my book.

Winning NIT would be great for us. Play and win some more games. Then play 2 big games in front of packed garden where most of the fans are rooting for st.johns.