Lavin's Contract

Quote from: Tha Kid on January 07, 2014, 12:08:37 PM

Quote from: paultzman on January 07, 2014, 11:22:00 AM

Lavin may not be John Wooden, but I assume he must be concerned about the team to date. Is it possible that;

He regrets taking the job and just does not have energy level to succeed here.

Recruiting, his strong suit, requires year round attention & he no longer wants to do that. I know he has brought in some highly rated kids, but some fellow posters can attest to the fact we have been somewhat invisible on recruiting scene recently. Know we don't want to limit recruiting to local base, but I know for a fact Lav has not been active on that front, to dismay of local coaches with Div. 1 prospects.

Lastly, I wonder if his health scare, family loss or missing the Coast are factors. I could respect and accept that. However, if he has indeed lost his edge, hopefully he will be fair to a proud University that gave him a chance and compensated him well.

I may be entirely off base, often the case, but am just thinking out loud. Nothing would make me happier than deleting this post if we turn things around.

Great post.  Easy to forget all of the personal issues Coach has had to deal with over last 2 years.  It does not excuse him from his performance, but it would not be shocking either, for him to think that he'd get over it and he just realizes he doesn't have the same energy or passion as he did before.  If that indeed is the case then I hope, as you suggest, he realizes that and lets a proud University find someone who does have the passion and energy.  I also hope with Keady aboard, Keady is trying to snap him out of his funk slash advising him that there may be better options for him at season's end if he doesn't have it.  Always tough when there is no guaranteed similar payday if you leave your present job though...

Proud university it is, but surely not regarding its hoops program over the last decade. Four thousand people at MSG, and twenty five hundred at the Carn. Back to back loses to Ill. state. Multiple loses to Hofstra.  Losing to St. Frances the night Louie got the joint named after him.  Losing at home to Niagara. I have gone on enough. If not for the neglect that went on we never would have brought in a guy from the booth to put on the bench. That was after being turned down by guys who were coming off their own failures. At the time of the hire plenty of fans, some even here, felt lucky to get Steve. If coach makes mistakes, he's sure not the only one. Now we see how it plays out. For those talking about having coach put away, get a grip. Saying the guy can't coach a lick , if thats what you think, does the job.   

I agree with everything until the last sentence. Lavin not being a good coach thing didn't start here. That tag preceeded him. While Norm was in his last days we used to debate on the forums about whether the ideal replacement would be a recruiter or X and O guy. The feeling being we weren't going to be able to get both. Personally I favored a mid major guy that recruits to his strengths and runs a solid offense revolving around the three pointer.

Lavin is the exact opposite of what I wanted but it was  a huge upgrade and brought much needed respectability to the program. I was going to live with the coaching aspect of it as long as he brought in  good recruits. I complained about things becuase I am a fan, this is a fan forum and that is what fans do. For the most part I was content. Saturday Lavin took the leap from questionable coaching to almost throwing a game. That is what has everyone so angry.

Didn't know where to put this, but Dunlap is on twitter!

Mike Dunlap
@CoachMikeDunlap

He also has a blog.

http://www.coachdunlap.com/

@StJohnsBBall: Catch @SJUCoachLavin at 10:30 pm tonight on @SNYtv's SportsNite. #sjubb http://t.co/kcj2DD0x7m

There is few things you guys should know
-The AD did NOT hire Lavin.  He was informed about Lavin getting hired.  Our AD was/is useless.
-Lavin was offered extension in 2013.  Deal was put on hold until the end this season.  In my opinion Lavin really believed/believes in the team he has and wants bigger bucks.  We shall see how this one works out.
-Lavin was never offered the USC job.  He would of not left SJU anyways.
- 1 or 2 top 50 players will be committing to our program in the near future.
-If Lavin leaves/is fired our program will go back to the gutter.  Unless SJU brings in huge name that will cost 3m+.    He might not be a good coach but his recruiting is superior.  Without him we will not have Harrison's/Obekpas


I understand the frustration but give the man some breathing room.  We can all concur that it's bad but,  its still early.

There is few things you guys should know
-The AD did NOT hire Lavin.  He was informed about Lavin getting hired.  Our AD was/is useless.
-Lavin was offered extension in 2013.  Deal was put on hold until the end this season.  In my opinion Lavin really believed/believes in the team he has and wants bigger bucks.  We shall see how this one works out.
-Lavin was never offered the USC job.  He would of not left SJU anyways.
- 1 or 2 top 50 players will be committing to our program in the near future.
-If Lavin leaves/is fired our program will go back to the gutter.  Unless SJU brings in huge name that will cost 3m+.    He might not be a good coach but his recruiting is superior.  Without him we will not have Harrison's/Obekpas


I understand the frustration but give the man some breathing room.  We can all concur that it's bad but,  its still early.

I keep hearing about these top 50 kids committing, be it Diallo or Briscoe. Any idea when they might be supposed to pop?

A win this weekend and a top 50 recruit would do wonders for the mood of this board/program.

Quote from: desco80 on January 07, 2014, 12:30:51 PM

Quote from: Redstormy80 on January 07, 2014, 12:12:43 PM

I still think he believes he has something to prove

If he thought he had something to prove, and if he still had the fire and desire; then he would 1) not screw with the starting lineup as much as he is doing, and 2)put more time and effort into recruiting.

Concerns me as well but I would like to see how everything plays out before I throw him under the bus 

I agree with this sentiment. I'm very disappointed by what I've seen so far in conference play, but you have to keep in mind @ Xavier, @ Georgetown, and a ranked Villanova team is not an easy way to start the season. Not making excuses for the poor performances, but they definitely got the short end of the stick in terms of scheduling.

Prior to this season, I was very happy with the direction of this program. However, there's no ignoring the fact that poor play and poor recruiting have plagued this season (also alarming to hear from posters about his lack of effort him and his staff have shown on the recruiting front). I thought Whitesell would help our on court performance, but so far that's a no. There is still an awful lot of basketball to be played and I'm hoping St. John's gets it together this Saturday. This can still be a very fun season if we get everybody on the same page.

Do you guys really think its a coaching issue? Lets really look at this now, outside of the players HS rankings, do you think these players have much talent? The proof is in their numbers, its not the coaching. I'm not happy with the starting lineups either, but did it really matter? Did the walk on play poorly in his 7 minutes? What did Sampson do once he got in? All of these players are one dimensional and Lavin is searching for someone that can play basketball. 

Yes, I really think it's a coaching issue. Rather than have the team master one type of defense, Lavin has insisted on them knowing and playing several types, and all in the same game. The kids simply haven't grasped his play.

Offensively, we are just as clueless. Who runs this offense? Who's the PG? Is it Orlando Sanchez? Jakarr Sampson, Phil Greene? Watching this team day in day out, you wouldn't know. They play with no discipline on either side of the ball. And because if our coach taking his sweet time, we have yet to find a starting 5, and a bench. Lavin went to Europe to get his team ready for the season. It didn't work. Why the heck not?

Look we can get top 50 kids until the cows come home. It won't matter. We need better coaching from this staff or potential will never be fulfilled.

As far as Lavin possibly moving on or leaving, the program would be fine.

There is few things you guys should know
-The AD did NOT hire Lavin.  He was informed about Lavin getting hired.  Our AD was/is useless.
-Lavin was offered extension in 2013.  Deal was put on hold until the end this season.  In my opinion Lavin really believed/believes in the team he has and wants bigger bucks.  We shall see how this one works out.
-Lavin was never offered the USC job.  He would of not left SJU anyways.
- 1 or 2 top 50 players will be committing to our program in the near future.
-If Lavin leaves/is fired our program will go back to the gutter.  Unless SJU brings in huge name that will cost 3m+.    He might not be a good coach but his recruiting is superior.  Without him we will not have Harrison's/Obekpas


I understand the frustration but give the man some breathing room.  We can all concur that it's bad but,  its still early.

Is this really true though?
Everyone frames it as if the only two options are Lavin or a better coach who can't recruit at all.   There is a middle ground you know.
Granted, an alternative might not be as good a recruiter as Lavin, but that doesn't mean any alternative has to be chop liver.
I see Ed Cooley bringing in a handful of prime recruits to a place far worse than SJU.   Willard is using questionable methods and it sounds like Delgado won't qualify... but eh still has some elite recruits signed for SHU.  Obviously Marquette, Xavier, and BUtler have some decent recruits signed.   Hell, even Purnell and Depaul signed a top 100 recruit last season.

My point is that just because a new coach may not be the recruiter Lavin is, it doesn't mean we have to go back to the days of signing all mid major talent.   There are coaches out there who could  coach and still be above average recruiters.

There is few things you guys should know
-The AD did NOT hire Lavin.  He was informed about Lavin getting hired.  Our AD was/is useless.
-Lavin was offered extension in 2013.  Deal was put on hold until the end this season.  In my opinion Lavin really believed/believes in the team he has and wants bigger bucks.  We shall see how this one works out.
-Lavin was never offered the USC job.  He would of not left SJU anyways.
- 1 or 2 top 50 players will be committing to our program in the near future.
-If Lavin leaves/is fired our program will go back to the gutter.  Unless SJU brings in huge name that will cost 3m+.    He might not be a good coach but his recruiting is superior.  Without him we will not have Harrison's/Obekpas


I understand the frustration but give the man some breathing room.  We can all concur that it's bad but,  its still early.

Finally, an optimist here!  Thanks - I needed this post.  A lot of negativity around here lately.  Some is deserved, but hopefully we turn things turn around.

There is few things you guys should know
-The AD did NOT hire Lavin.  He was informed about Lavin getting hired.  Our AD was/is useless.
-Lavin was offered extension in 2013.  Deal was put on hold until the end this season.  In my opinion Lavin really believed/believes in the team he has and wants bigger bucks.  We shall see how this one works out.
-Lavin was never offered the USC job.  He would of not left SJU anyways.
- 1 or 2 top 50 players will be committing to our program in the near future.
-If Lavin leaves/is fired our program will go back to the gutter.  Unless SJU brings in huge name that will cost 3m+.    He might not be a good coach but his recruiting is superior.  Without him we will not have Harrison's/Obekpas


I understand the frustration but give the man some breathing room.  We can all concur that it's bad but,  its still early.

If we don't start winning Lavin will not be able to continue to get the top recruits cause they will see he isn't winning with good talent. Good players want to win.

Lavin looks energetic at every game I've watched. 

I'll wait to see where this team is after the first Seton Hall game. After that game, they have 12 games left before the tournament.

There's plenty of season left for this group.

Maybe in a perfect world, Lavin stays until his contract expires and Danny Ainge cuts Brad Stevens loose!!

Maybe in a perfect world, Lavin stays until his contract expires and Danny Ainge cuts Brad Stevens loose!!

Puff puff pass

I'm optimistic this morning!!

I'm optimistic this morning!!

Go play the lotto.
Then you can buyout Lavin's contract

I lost my lotto ticket monday night with 13 seconds left to in the 4th.

I lost my lotto ticket monday night with 13 seconds left to in the 4th.

Well played Auburn

There is few things you guys should know
-The AD did NOT hire Lavin.  He was informed about Lavin getting hired.  Our AD was/is useless.
-Lavin was offered extension in 2013.  Deal was put on hold until the end this season.  In my opinion Lavin really believed/believes in the team he has and wants bigger bucks.  We shall see how this one works out.
-Lavin was never offered the USC job.  He would of not left SJU anyways.
- 1 or 2 top 50 players will be committing to our program in the near future.
-If Lavin leaves/is fired our program will go back to the gutter.  Unless SJU brings in huge name that will cost 3m+.    He might not be a good coach but his recruiting is superior.  Without him we will not have Harrison's/Obekpas


I understand the frustration but give the man some breathing room.  We can all concur that it's bad but,  its still early.

Thanks for the positive post. But there are a few more things we want to know. Why did a walk on start vs Gtown on the road ?