Played with More Toughness: Norm Roberts Era or Steve Lavin Era

A loss is a loss whether it's by 50 or 10. Losing to bum teams with this talented roster is just as bad as losing by 40 with a non big east talented roster such as Norms

Marco, when Iona lost to SU in the tournament on a Marius Janulis 3 pointer, do you think that's the same thing as getting destroyed by Ohio State?

I don't.

This is sports. And if you're like me, and you played sports, holding your own, and putting up a fight, especially for amateurs isn't meaningless. It's something to be proud of. The Johnnies aren't toast on January 3rd. They're 9-4, and a win away from the bubble. When Norm was here, by January 3rd, the season was over. Money that was spent on season tickets was wasted. 6 straight years of that.

I was frustrated when we couldn't pull out the win vs Syracuse this year, but I walked out of the Garden with optimism. And I don't think it was unreasonable optimism. While I'm not content with 9-4, and I'm annoyed that Lavin seems to be all over the place with his rotations, things aren't so bad.

They certainly aren't as bad as they were when Hofstra would take our lunch money, Syracuse would routinely wax us by 35, and players were
transferring and excelling elsewhere. Is Lavin a good coach? The jury is out IMO. Right now, he gets a B-, but Norm was an F, and there's no around it that I can think of.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on January 03, 2014, 02:35:35 PM

A loss is a loss whether it's by 50 or 10. Losing to bum teams with this talented roster is just as bad as losing by 40 with a non big east talented roster such as Norms

Marco, when Iona lost to SU in the tournament on a Marius Janulis 3 pointer, do you think that's the same thing as getting destroyed by Ohio State?

I don't.

This is sports. And if you're like me, and you played sports, holding your own, and putting up a fight, especially for amateurs isn't meaningless. It's something to be proud of. The Johnnies aren't toast on January 3rd. They're 9-4, and a win away from the bubble. When Norm was here, by January 3rd, the season was over. Money that was spent on season tickets was wasted. 6 straight years of that.

I was frustrated when we couldn't pull out the win vs Syracuse this year, but I walked out of the Garden with optimism. And I don't think it was unreasonable optimism. While I'm not content with 9-4, and I'm annoyed that Lavin seems to be all over the place with his rotations, things aren't so bad.

They certainly aren't as bad as they were when Hofstra would take our lunch money, Syracuse would routinely wax us by 35, and players were
transferring and excelling elsewhere. Is Lavin a good coach? The jury is out IMO. Right now, he gets a B-, but Norm was an F, and there's no around it that I can think of.

Dead on

Nice post Poison.   I think that's the feeling of a lot of people. 
 Both the ceiling and the floor are much higher under Lavin.   We may just end up being an average team this season, but we certainly won't be awful, and there's a chance we could be pretty good.
You couldn't say that under the old regime.

Quote from: Poison on January 03, 2014, 03:26:09 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on January 03, 2014, 02:35:35 PM

A loss is a loss whether it's by 50 or 10. Losing to bum teams with this talented roster is just as bad as losing by 40 with a non big east talented roster such as Norms

Marco, when Iona lost to SU in the tournament on a Marius Janulis 3 pointer, do you think that's the same thing as getting destroyed by Ohio State?

I don't.

This is sports. And if you're like me, and you played sports, holding your own, and putting up a fight, especially for amateurs isn't meaningless. It's something to be proud of. The Johnnies aren't toast on January 3rd. They're 9-4, and a win away from the bubble. When Norm was here, by January 3rd, the season was over. Money that was spent on season tickets was wasted. 6 straight years of that.

I was frustrated when we couldn't pull out the win vs Syracuse this year, but I walked out of the Garden with optimism. And I don't think it was unreasonable optimism. While I'm not content with 9-4, and I'm annoyed that Lavin seems to be all over the place with his rotations, things aren't so bad.

They certainly aren't as bad as they were when Hofstra would take our lunch money, Syracuse would routinely wax us by 35, and players were
transferring and excelling elsewhere. Is Lavin a good coach? The jury is out IMO. Right now, he gets a B-, but Norm was an F, and there's no around it that I can think of.

Dead on

Agreed. Good post Poison. But  whAts worse, not getting the talent and losing. Or getting the top talent and still losing? Frustrating as hell rooting for this team

Poison killing it this thread.

FWIW DJ Kennedy is the toughest player ive seen at st johns. People are saying Dom is a really tough player, I dont really agree. He's no where near as tough as DJ.

Another +1 for Poison.

keep on trucking...

+ 1 on poison
+ 1 on dj being tough

Poison has always been a top poster on these boards. Nothing new here

part of this has to do with the recruit status. 4 stars and the type of recruit Lavs has gotten are more pampered and have alot more people saying stuff in their ears. The 1 and 2 star recruits are out to prove a point that people missed out on them and need to be more hard nosed and hustle players to get the NBA scouts to notice them. Just a theory.

part of this has to do with the recruit status. 4 stars and the type of recruit Lavs has gotten are more pampered and have alot more people saying stuff in their ears. The 1 and 2 star recruits are out to prove a point that people missed out on them and need to be more hard nosed and hustle players to get the NBA scouts to notice them. Just a theory.

Agree. Plus obekpa has no offensive game. Is a poor post defender and is considering leaving early for the nba

toughest players I've ever seen at SJU was Charles Minlend and Matt brust

part of this has to do with the recruit status. 4 stars and the type of recruit Lavs has gotten are more pampered and have alot more people saying stuff in their ears. The 1 and 2 star recruits are out to prove a point that people missed out on them and need to be more hard nosed and hustle players to get the NBA scouts to notice them. Just a theory.

good call.

Quote from: valgoth on January 03, 2014, 03:53:23 PM

part of this has to do with the recruit status. 4 stars and the type of recruit Lavs has gotten are more pampered and have alot more people saying stuff in their ears. The 1 and 2 star recruits are out to prove a point that people missed out on them and need to be more hard nosed and hustle players to get the NBA scouts to notice them. Just a theory.

Agree. Plus obekpa has no offensive game. Is a poor post defender and is considering leaving early for the nba

The more i watch CO , it would be a huge mistake for him to leave without developing some offensive game. Dalembert was more advanced than he was and struggled alot at the beginning.

Tyrone Grant, Lamont Middleton

Agreed. Good post Poison. But  whAts worse, not getting the talent and losing. Or getting the top talent and still losing? Frustrating as hell rooting for this team

We are getting better quality talent and competing. We have seen that the quality of player that Lavin has brought in has improved each year. We are still looking for that program changer, but once we land him, the pieces will be in place to make a run.

Quote from: Marco Baldi on January 03, 2014, 03:39:56 PM

Agreed. Good post Poison. But  whAts worse, not getting the talent and losing. Or getting the top talent and still losing? Frustrating as hell rooting for this team

We are getting better quality talent and competing. We have seen that the quality of player that Lavin has brought in has improved each year. We are still looking for that program changer, but once we land him, the pieces will be in place to make a run.

How long I gotta wait?

Quote from: SJUFAN on January 03, 2014, 07:38:34 PM

Quote from: Marco Baldi on January 03, 2014, 03:39:56 PM

Agreed. Good post Poison. But  whAts worse, not getting the talent and losing. Or getting the top talent and still losing? Frustrating as hell rooting for this team

We are getting better quality talent and competing. We have seen that the quality of player that Lavin has brought in has improved each year. We are still looking for that program changer, but once we land him, the pieces will be in place to make a run.

How long I gotta wait?

February

Poison killing it this thread.

FWIW DJ Kennedy is the toughest player ive seen at st johns. People are saying Dom is a really tough player, I dont really agree. He's no where near as tough as DJ.

Did dj ever slug someone in the face?

How did Linda post as Dave? 

I saw the thread and assumed  it was  linda.  Now I'm really confused.

The fight at ND revealed that this team lacked mental toughness.

The hope was that we would see an improvement in this area this year.  It seemed to be there till New Year's eve when they melted in front of the Xavier home crowd missing 40 two point attempts in a 40 minute game.

I don't think Lavin or Roberts have anything to do with it.