Harrison suspended rest of the year

"[Harrison] wants to finish his collegiate playing career at St. John's." Lavin #stjbb

He did. Last game as a collegiate was Sat vs Pitt

“@Kieran_Lynch: "[Harrison] wants to finish his collegiate playing career at St. John's." Lavin #stjbb”

“@Kieran_Lynch: "He’ll be able to earn his way back by having a good spring and summer and have momentum going into next year." Lavin #stjbb”

Quote from: desco80 on March 01, 2013, 12:33:51 PM

I have a hard time finding any reason to fault coach Lavin over this.

Really? Lavin is supposed to be a teacher. At best he failed to teach Harrison to act like a gentleman and to follow the rules. All those stupid head games he played - benching him, sitting him, challenging him - none of them worked. They didn't work because they were cheap lame stupid shoddy grandstanding. Assuming that Lavin was smart enough to see that there was an issue, and to diagnose it, the treatment failed. The patient's dead.

It may be that Harrison is a sociopath. If so Lavin deserves blame for recruiting him. Maybe Harrison is merely incorrigible. If so, Lavin deserves blame for not civilizing him. Lavin is allegedly the adult in the room. There's more than enough blame to go around.

The suspension is part of the treatment, and Lavin is doing whatever he can to teach the young man and hope the message gets across. Its clear you are not a fan of Coach, but if Lavin is unable to get through to D'Lo then thats the Coach's fault? I disagree. D'Lo is not 12. At some point in time the individual has to stop blaming everyone else and start holding themselves accountable for their own actions and the repercusions that come with it. Giving a kid a chance is not a fault of the Coach, unable to make him see the value of his oppurtunity is not the fault of the Coach. I hope D'lo stays with the team but if he decides to leave then good luck to him.   

Even if justified the people trying to spin this as a good thing are crazy. It is never a good thing to lose your best player.
Again the timing is really weird this late in the season and a day after the Sanchez ruling. I think the people who are saying Lavin did this for next year are dead wrong. Seems pretty obvious he plans to move on w/o him. If it was at all possible, I would have liked to let this play out for rest of season, then came to a decision once season was over.

Nobody is spinning as a good thing, what they are saying is that Lavin did the right thing even if it means sacrificing the rest of this year.

Also rebutting the stupid notion that this was done to create room for another player next year, presumably Jordan, is important.

In a stunning announcement that could doom St. John's chances of making the NCAA Tournament, star guard D'Angelo Harrison, the captain and leading scorer for the Red Storm, has been suspended for the rest of the season, including the Big East Conference Tournament and any postseason tournaments, the university announced Friday.

Sources said Harrison, an emotional player who has challenged the coaching staff almost from the day he arrived on campus two years ago, seemed to making strides early in the season which is why coach Steve Lavin named him the captain. But he had not retained that inner growth and, as one source said, his conduct had become detrimental to the team.

Two sources said that there wasn't any defining issue in the last few weeks. Rather a compilation of not being respectful to coaches, tardiness to team functions and his demonstrative personality on the court led to the stunning suspension.

The suspension caught Harrison and his family by surprise. A source said he was very upset and devastated that he had let down his teammates. For all his displays of emotion on the court, Harrison has always supported his teammates and never shown them up.

Harrison met with head coach Steve Lavin and has had multiple conversations with his family as to whether to remain at St. John's. His loving grandmother, Angela Harrison, who raised D'Angelo and his brother Deandre, said the suspension caught them off guard.

Angela Harrison declined to go into details about the suspension but she made it clear her grandson had not violated any NCAA rules. Nor had he have any substance abuse issues.

"This is not about any illegal drugs or alcohol,'' Angela Harrison told The Post. "D'Angelo is an emotional young man but he is never been involved in anything like that. We were caught off guard by this suspension.''

Angela Harrison said she would travel from Missouri City, Texas to support her son in New York within the next day or two. She said D'Angelo was not withdrawing from the university and no decision had been made about next season although there was a desire for him to return to the good graces of the staff.

The loss of Harrison might be the pin that bursts the teams NCAA tournament bubble. He is the team's leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, third best in the Big East and tied for 42nd nationally.

The Johnnies are 16-11 overall and 8-7 in the Big East going into Saturday night's game against red hot Providence. On a team that is woeful on 3-point shooting (109-for-369, 29.5 percent), Harrison (58-of-184, 31 percent) has made more treys the rest of the team combined.

“I had a productive meeting with D'Angelo yesterday. He has a bright future in basketball and I'm optimistic his time away from our team will be of value,” said Lavin.

This is a stark contrast to Lavin's feelings about Harrison at the start of the season. He lauded Harrison's personal growth over the summer. As reported exclusively by The Post, Harrison spent most of the summer at the John Lucas camp in Houston, working on becoming a more mature player and person.

"D'Angelo across the board has been outstanding,'' Lavin said in November. "The most important thing for him is channeling his energy in a positive way in terms of being in the present.''

Earlier this season Harrison became a member of the university's 1,000-point club. He was on pace to become the school's all-time leading scorer if he stayed four seasons. And his emotional play combined with his clutch shot-making made him a fan favorite.

“@NYPost_Brazille: St. John’s suspends Harrison for rest of season - http://NYPOST.com http://nyp.st/12gjcxq via @nypost #stjbb”

Clearly Mullin is behind this in an attempt to keep his record

Another lash for Lavin's whipping boy and another excuse for Lavin's failure. Suddenly a scholarship opens up. Wot a coincidence.

Please hold up with that Lavins whipping boy stuff. Guys who get suspended work hard at it.

“@Kieran_Lynch: "[Harrison] wants to finish his collegiate playing career at St. John's." Lavin #stjbb”

“@Kieran_Lynch: "He’ll be able to earn his way back by having a good spring and summer and have momentum going into next year." Lavin #stjbb”

Good stuff. Like I said before, this is not the last you will hear of D'angelo

This is what i don't get.  This is a "surprise" to Harrison and his family.  And he's devastated.  Why not suspend him "indefinitely" and see how he acts in the next 2 weeks.  Reinstate him for BE tourney if he behaves, if not, he's out for year.  I just don't get this all or nothing business.  I am NOT critical of Lavin and believe he should have the right to suspend someone who is not being respectful of coaches, etc., but why not bench him, suspend him for a game, suspend him for remainder of reg season, etc. to try to get the point across first?

Quote from: we are sju on March 01, 2013, 11:32:15 AM

Kid gets the green light 24/7.
Gets lauded wit a C on his chest.
Is anointed the man and pushed for national recog.

And all they ask is fo him to at least give a damn in practice, to at least be civil to his brothers on the court and to at least be respctful to the staff when all they wanna do is make him better wit a lil mo individual drills.

Too much to ask apparently.


Choz, I am sure you have better info than most, but from my perspective he seemed like he got along with the other players. Is that incorrect?

It begins to wear on teammates when they're all following the rules and one guy isn't. Can't have someone trying to operate on a different set of rules. Similarly this happened to Nuri last year. No one is bigger than the team

And that is why I think this could have a positive effect in the short run. Kids now know that the staff isn't showing any favoritism. Dividing his minutes among 3 other guys with better attitudes and certain skills could add up to better then what we were getting from his unproductive 35 minutes. Not saying we're going to win any more games. I just think the sky isn't going to fall on this one for this year. And if we land Jordan it'll be D'Angelo who ?

Quote from: desco80 on March 01, 2013, 12:33:51 PM

I have a hard time finding any reason to fault coach Lavin over this.

Really? Lavin is supposed to be a teacher. At best he failed to teach Harrison to act like a gentleman and to follow the rules. All those stupid head games he played - benching him, sitting him, challenging him - none of them worked. They didn't work because they were cheap lame stupid shoddy grandstanding. Assuming that Lavin was smart enough to see that there was an issue, and to diagnose it, the treatment failed. The patient's dead.

It may be that Harrison is a sociopath. If so Lavin deserves blame for recruiting him. Maybe Harrison is merely incorrigible. If so, Lavin deserves blame for not civilizing him. Lavin is allegedly the adult in the room. There's more than enough blame to go around.

They are going to bring back Norm Roberts and then make Johnny Clamchowder, aka John Calipari, his main recruitng assistant.

And then just for you as SJU prepares to play Providence on Senior Day at 4-13 you are going to be the only one posting on the board like it was 5 years ago.

Then when SJU wins you can start a thread mocking SJU fans for rooting "against" Coach Roberts and how it didn't work.  Because you root for the school not for the Coach.

This is what i don't get.  This is a "surprise" to Harrison and his family.  And he's devastated.  Why not suspend him "indefinitely" and see how he acts in the next 2 weeks.  Reinstate him for BE tourney if he behaves, if not, he's out for year.  I just don't get this all or nothing business.  I am NOT critical of Lavin and believe he should have the right to suspend someone who is not being respectful of coaches, etc., but why not bench him, suspend him for a game, suspend him for remainder of reg season, etc. to try to get the point across first?

+100  I agree, I just don't get it.

WHAT?! I just saw this in the Post and nearly jumped out of my seat. I swear this program is snakebitten. Great news one day, then terrible news the next. I guess it had to even itself out. Suspended for the rest of the season while we are on the bubble in our last few games? I am in absolute shock. We just shot ourselves not only in the foot as they say, but probably in the head because we just killed out chances this year and likely next year unless we get another 18 PPG guy here. If he really didn't do anything major specifically to warrant this, then I am really disappointed in the decision. The kid had probably 1 more year left before he went pro anyway...just ride his talent and let him go. We are a much better team just letting him play even if he's a bit of a jerk than totally letting him go. I have never heard of a team getting rid of its own leading scorer willingly without citing a specific over the top incident. It's things like this that really keep this program from getting over the hump. I can only hope this means Jordan is on the way. Marco and Hooper will have to step up BIG time next year, because I'm sure most people's gut feeling is he's leaving. Wow...unbeliavable news. Sad day to be a Red Storm fan.

Quote from: we are sju on March 01, 2013, 11:52:34 AM

I showed up to every practice hungover and since I wasn't playing most games in college. My point was from everything we have seen, nothing Harrison has done warrants this action as well. Eye rolling is worse than being hungover? Like I have said, behind the scenes maybe he has a personality llike MaineQB and this is warranted. On the surface, where we all reside, this seems extreme.

I agree.  Gotta be more to it.  Timing is real strange - the season is nearly over and this doesn't look good for anyone.  "Leave of absence for personal reasons" for a TBD length seems like a better spin unless there is something sorta big that we don't know about.

Do you think Coach wanted to rain on the Sanchez parade and the new BE with this unless he had to.

This is what i don't get.  This is a "surprise" to Harrison and his family.  And he's devastated.  Why not suspend him "indefinitely" and see how he acts in the next 2 weeks.  Reinstate him for BE tourney if he behaves, if not, he's out for year.  I just don't get this all or nothing business.  I am NOT critical of Lavin and believe he should have the right to suspend someone who is not being respectful of coaches, etc., but why not bench him, suspend him for a game, suspend him for remainder of reg season, etc. to try to get the point across first?

I am puzzled also. A 1 game suspension would have sent a loud message. But we dont know all the details.

Quote from: fordham96 on March 01, 2013, 12:05:21 PM

Quote from: Moose on March 01, 2013, 12:00:20 PM

As for transfer stuff I don't see him leaving unless he gets to play ASAP.

Bingo I don't see him sitting a year.

But it sounds like the staff might not be too keen on having him back.   
Transferring might be his only option unless he's ready to make a go of it in Europe.

My guess is he would be made to apologize to all his teammates and they would have a say in his future with the team.

QUOTE" Do you think Coach wanted to rain on the Sanchez parade and the new BE with this unless he had to."Derk

I do not know why ths was done the day after? The quote from the school was there was no defining incident but an accumulation. I am not suggesting anything other than confusion over the timing.

The timing and the drastic nature of it (with no recent benchings, 1 game suspensions, etc.) is what puzzles me.  I am not surprised he has been a problem.

QUOTE" Do you think Coach wanted to rain on the Sanchez parade and the new BE with this unless he had to."Derk

I do not know why ths was done the day after? The quote from the school was there was no defining incident but an accumulation. I am not suggesting anything other than confusion over the timing.

The picture of the Sanchez celebration appeared to have Harrison in it so my guess is the tipping point was yesterday in practice and Lavin told Harrison this morning of his decision.

Some of the responses on here I attribute to the participation trophy era.