Lavin's Contract

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uwsfan

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #140 on: March 12, 2014, 09:47:34 AM »
The fact is that if Buzz Williams had this same group of guys, they would be top-15 program right now.

Lavin will always dissapoint. Get used to it now that the lazy, low IQ admin at St. Johns has rewared him for underperformance. The only hope is that he can grab elite recruits. If he can recruit elite-8 caliber talent then maybe he can field teams capable of winning 1-2 games in the dance.

Tiznow

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #141 on: March 12, 2014, 10:14:50 AM »
The fact is that if Buzz Williams had this same group of guys, they would be top-15 program right now.

Lavin will always dissapoint. Get used to it now that the lazy, low IQ admin at St. Johns has rewared him for underperformance. The only hope is that he can grab elite recruits. If he can recruit elite-8 caliber talent then maybe he can field teams capable of winning 1-2 games in the dance.

Didn't Lavin beat Williams when recruiting Harrison? And didn't Lavin's team just sweep Williams?   

Tha Kid

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #142 on: March 12, 2014, 10:20:07 AM »
The fact is that if Buzz Williams had this same group of guys, they would be top-15 program right now.

Lavin will always dissapoint. Get used to it now that the lazy, low IQ admin at St. Johns has rewared him for underperformance. The only hope is that he can grab elite recruits. If he can recruit elite-8 caliber talent then maybe he can field teams capable of winning 1-2 games in the dance.

Didn't Lavin beat Williams when recruiting Harrison? And didn't Lavin's team just sweep Williams?   

Yes.  Yes.

Buzz is a great coach with consistent success, but I think Lavin's run here has been too tumultuous to definitively state that Buzz would do better with Lav's players.  Buzz didn't go through prostate cancer, death of father, etc.  Lavin is a recruiter, motivator, and public figure primarily, IMO.  I would wager he relies heavily on his assistant coaches for game prep, etc.  Year 1 was his first year of Dunlap, and by Jan/Feb they hit their stride.  Year 2 was no Lavin.  Year 3 was Lavin without a true associate head coach and the results were poor.  Year 4 (this year) we didn't get Whitesell until late in the game, and what do you know, but Jan/Feb they hit their stride.

If we had never hit our stride this year, I'd place heavy blame on Lavin, but it seems that with a solid associate head coach, once chemistry is formed between Lavs and such coach, good things have happened.  (See 2011 and 2014).  I am very excited for next year with continued consistency with Lavin/Whitesell.  If they hit the ground running, this theory may be correct. 

I might add too that nothing is wrong with this set up as far as I am concerned - esp. in NYC where being a public figure who can handle the media (or even thrive w media) is important and helpful.  AS LONG AS we always have a top notch associate head coach, because otherwise, see 2013.
"I drink and I know things"

MCNPA

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #143 on: March 12, 2014, 10:27:49 AM »
The fact is that if Buzz Williams had this same group of guys, they would be top-15 program right now.

Lavin will always dissapoint. Get used to it now that the lazy, low IQ admin at St. Johns has rewared him for underperformance. The only hope is that he can grab elite recruits. If he can recruit elite-8 caliber talent then maybe he can field teams capable of winning 1-2 games in the dance.

Didn't Lavin beat Williams when recruiting Harrison? And didn't Lavin's team just sweep Williams?   

Not to mention that are roster is no more heralded than Marquette's is.  Theirs is also full of top 70 kids, including several top 40 players.    How can one say he'd have our guys in the top 15, yet can't beat us with his own team that on paper is just as talented? 

Hs rankings of some of  Marquette's players:

Deonta Burton: 39th
Juan Anderson: 61st
Luke Fisher: 34th
JuJuan Johnson: 27th
Steve Taylor: 83rs
Duane Wilson 51st
Jamil Wilson: 30th

Again, their group is just as decorated if not more than ours.  If anything Buzz is underachieving more with his roster considering that his best players like Mayo, Gardener, Otule were unranked and not even on the list of top 100 kids mentioned, and he's got a minimum of 5 top 80 kids on his bench alone.
« Last Edit: March 12, 2014, 10:38:00 AM by MCNPA »

Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #144 on: March 12, 2014, 10:30:02 AM »
They need to hire Tebow as an assistant.  We would be on every ESPN highlight show for every game.

Lavin is the best deodorant this underarm will get.  Players love him and with Tebow as the inspiration nothing this team can't accomplish.

The biggest problem is that the school never really had a good chant.  We are St. John's was always lame.  Can we get a school song already or like a rock chalk?  Enough with the Johnnies already.

Tangent anyone?

uwsfan

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #145 on: March 12, 2014, 10:44:54 AM »
The fact is that if Buzz Williams had this same group of guys, they would be top-15 program right now.

Lavin will always dissapoint. Get used to it now that the lazy, low IQ admin at St. Johns has rewared him for underperformance. The only hope is that he can grab elite recruits. If he can recruit elite-8 caliber talent then maybe he can field teams capable of winning 1-2 games in the dance.

Didn't Lavin beat Williams when recruiting Harrison? And didn't Lavin's team just sweep Williams?   

Not to mention that are roster is no more heralded than Marquette's is.  Theirs is also full of top 70 kids, including several top 40 players.    How can one say he'd have our guys in the top 15, yet can't beat us with his own team that on paper is just as talented? 


Marquettes roster is full of inexperienced kids. Ours is full of juniors with lots of experience.
If Buzz had the quys on STJ roster right now, as juniors, they would be a top-15 squad.
Marquette will be a good, tourney team next year with virtual certainty, barring injuries.

Contrary to what some dimwits on here suggest, ST. Johns is a good job and fans should not lower their expectations. This program could do better than Lavin. Many talented coaches around the nation who would love to get the reins of this program and see it as a potential giant.

But the die has been cast Lav is here for the long run now, so I hope he can figure it out & deliver some consistency. Hopefully Whitesell is the real deal and sticks around longer than Dunlap.

Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #146 on: March 12, 2014, 10:53:07 AM »
The fact is that if Buzz Williams had this same group of guys, they would be top-15 program right now.

Lavin will always dissapoint. Get used to it now that the lazy, low IQ admin at St. Johns has rewared him for underperformance. The only hope is that he can grab elite recruits. If he can recruit elite-8 caliber talent then maybe he can field teams capable of winning 1-2 games in the dance.

Didn't Lavin beat Williams when recruiting Harrison? And didn't Lavin's team just sweep Williams?   

Not to mention that are roster is no more heralded than Marquette's is.  Theirs is also full of top 70 kids, including several top 40 players.    How can one say he'd have our guys in the top 15, yet can't beat us with his own team that on paper is just as talented? 


Marquettes roster is full of inexperienced kids. Ours is full of juniors with lots of experience.
If Buzz had the quys on STJ roster right now, as juniors, they would be a top-15 squad.
Marquette will be a good, tourney team next year with virtual certainty, barring injuries.

Contrary to what some dimwits on here suggest, ST. Johns is a good job and fans should not lower their expectations. This program could do better than Lavin. Many talented coaches around the nation who would love to get the reins of this program and see it as a potential giant.

But the die has been cast Lav is here for the long run now, so I hope he can figure it out & deliver some consistency. Hopefully Whitesell is the real deal and sticks around longer than Dunlap.


This makes no sense to me though.  Buzz wasn't able to get these kids and Lavin did.  True, if Lavin is a better coach the team would win more, but unless you want to make some sort of genetic combination of lavin's recruiting and buzz's coaching you can't have the st. john's roster with buzz's coaching ability.  As it is, lavin is doing better than buzz right now, so I don't understand the comparison.  Lavin's ability as a college coach has to including both the recruiting and coaching aspect which manifest themselves as wins/losses on the floor, that's how lavin should be judged (in my opinion).  I recognize that some people put more value in watching a well-coached team, rather than just wins/losses -- I understand this reasonable position, but it's not one I share.

Foad

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #147 on: March 12, 2014, 11:13:39 AM »
lavin is doing better than buzz right now, so I don't understand the comparison. 

Buzz Williams has been to the NCAA tournament 5 years running, including 2 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8. So I don't understand the comparison either.

Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #148 on: March 12, 2014, 11:56:36 AM »
lavin is doing better than buzz right now, so I don't understand the comparison. 

Buzz Williams has been to the NCAA tournament 5 years running, including 2 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8. So I don't understand the comparison either.

Tiznow

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #149 on: March 12, 2014, 11:56:42 AM »
lavin is doing better than buzz right now, so I don't understand the comparison. 

Buzz Williams has been to the NCAA tournament 5 years running, including 2 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8. So I don't understand the comparison either.

And he sweats more too.   

SJUFAN

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #150 on: March 12, 2014, 12:54:02 PM »
Marquettes roster is full of inexperienced kids. Ours is full of juniors with lots of experience.

What are you talking about? Marquette starts three seniors and two Junior's. There first two off the bench is a senior (6th man of the year) and a junior. We start 2 Junior's, 2 Sophmores, and a Freshman. All of these players on Marquette has been on the team the past few years as they made there deep NCAA tourny runs. How are you coming to the conclusion that we are more experienced?

If Buzz had the quys on STJ roster right now, as juniors, they would be a top-15 squad.
Marquette will be a good, tourney team next year with virtual certainty, barring injuries.

Again this makes no sense. Marquette was picked to finish first place in the new Big East, they finished sixth! Let's not pretend that Marquette doesn't have talent, they do. If Buzz couldn't get his team to finish first in the "watered down BE" with all the talent and experience they have and ends up finishing sixth, why would you make the agrument that he could take a team that was picked to finish 5th, with less experience, and turn them into a top-15 team? It's clear you are not a Lavin fan, which is fine, but you shouldn't make things up just to make a point that has no basis in fact.
« Last Edit: March 12, 2014, 12:59:33 PM by SJUFAN »

Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #151 on: March 12, 2014, 02:34:44 PM »
Thank you

uwsfan

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #152 on: March 12, 2014, 03:03:08 PM »
Marquettes roster is full of inexperienced kids. Ours is full of juniors with lots of experience.

What are you talking about? Marquette starts three seniors and two Junior's. There first two off the bench is a senior (6th man of the year) and a junior. We start 2 Junior's, 2 Sophmores, and a Freshman. All of these players on Marquette has been on the team the past few years as they made there deep NCAA tourny runs. How are you coming to the conclusion that we are more experienced?

If Buzz had the quys on STJ roster right now, as juniors, they would be a top-15 squad.
Marquette will be a good, tourney team next year with virtual certainty, barring injuries.

Again this makes no sense. Marquette was picked to finish first place in the new Big East, they finished sixth! Let's not pretend that Marquette doesn't have talent, they do. If Buzz couldn't get his team to finish first in the "watered down BE" with all the talent and experience they have and ends up finishing sixth, why would you make the agrument that he could take a team that was picked to finish 5th, with less experience, and turn them into a top-15 team? It's clear you are not a Lavin fan, which is fine, but you shouldn't make things up just to make a point that has no basis in fact.

Those "experienced' seniors & juniors playing for Marq this year simply are not good players. Not in the same league as the current STJ roster talent wise. Buzzs record speaks for itself, as does Lavins. Give lavin the current Marq roster and they have a losing record.
This is not something I am imagining. Buzz has PROVEN that he is a very good coach. Lavin has likewise PROVEN with his own performance that he is a very good recruiter but not a good coach.  That proven fact is why ANY roster will perform better with Buzz as the coach than with Lavin.

That is why in order for Lavin to succeed he needs to have decidedly better talent than most other schools. He had better out recruit Buzz  and JT3 in the future (and I think he will) because Marquette & G-town and the BE overall are going to much tougher in coming years than this yr.

Foad

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #153 on: March 12, 2014, 03:10:00 PM »
you shouldn't make things up just to make a point that has no basis in fact.

Sound advice from the poster who says that we don't have much experience because all our core players are sophomores and freshmen.

boo3

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #154 on: March 12, 2014, 03:56:24 PM »
 What is with the Buzz comparisons all of a sudden?    Buzz is an excellent coach..  Great for any University that is lucky enough to get him..

However, if we are judging by this season and expectations....He blows Lavin out of the water when it comes to his team failing to meet expectations... Pre-season conference champs-  remember?

SJUFAN

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #155 on: March 12, 2014, 04:21:06 PM »
you shouldn't make things up just to make a point that has no basis in fact.

Sound advice from the poster who says that we don't have much experience because all our core players are sophomores and freshmen.

Is that not accurate? I think we could agree that Harrison, Jordan, Sampson, and Obekpa are the core players on the team. If 3/4 of the core group are underclassmen, I think that would qualify as not having much experience.


Foad

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #156 on: March 12, 2014, 05:07:09 PM »
you shouldn't make things up just to make a point that has no basis in fact.

Sound advice from the poster who says that we don't have much experience because all our core players are sophomores and freshmen.

Is that not accurate? I think we could agree that Harrison, Jordan, Sampson, and Obekpa are the core players on the team. If 3/4 of the core group are underclassmen, I think that would qualify as not having much experience.

It's not particularly accurate, no. Greene and Pointer play more than Obekpa, and they're curiously absent from the core. These are the minutes in descending order by years. One freshman, two sophs and a bunch of upperclassmen, juniors who've played nearly three full years.

Junior
Soph
Freshman
Junior
Senior
Junior
Soph
Junior
Senior

Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #157 on: March 12, 2014, 05:16:26 PM »
So I'm an idiot

Your words not ours

Learn how to read and you'll find out otherwise.

Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #158 on: March 12, 2014, 05:19:29 PM »
5-6 years extension is a long time...the program is moving in the right direction just really slowly. No issues with the extension the years scare me a bit .

Well, consider this.  Everyone says the program is headed in the right direction but is it really? Lavin did well with Norm's recruits and Mike Dunlap in his first year, in fact that was his most impressive year.  People will point to the so called success of this year with a 20 win season but the reality is that this record was compiled with a much easier schedule and a much easier conference schedule. then his first campaign.  Can you imagine if the Big East included SYRACUSE, UCONN, CINCINNATI, LOUISVILLE, PITT?  Would the record be much better then in the past? No WAY!! So if you are going to say the team is moving in the right direction, and more successful then it has been in the past several years, you must compare apples to apples not apples to walnuts. With this watered down Big Least schedule, anything less then going three rounds in the NCAA tourney is not a team on the rise at all.   So what is the justification for the lengthy contract extension, unless having the gift of gab counts.  but wait, I forgot, we are dealing with the St. John's brain (less) trust here.

Much of the old guard is struggling getting 20 wins, not just us.  We had a losing streak before Rysheed was ready for the big time.  We've been different since then, but we certainly are better now, and Lavin had a year off from coaching with a cancer issue.   We are still on the bubble which is ok.  I hoped for 2 wins better at this point.  That said, only an idiot like Mirabella would say that nothing but 3 rounds (ie. Elite 8) is sufficient.   That's just nice personic.  I think we had/have capability to go a round or two depending on how we are playing.  Expecting to go to the elite 8 is rabble rousing and nothing more. 

So I'm an idiot for keeping the expectations that the majority of posters had for this team from the get go? No pal, it is you who are the true idiot for making believe that such expectations are out of line and never existed.  Then again, you are a Lavin supporter so I guess his nonsensical BS style has rubbed off on you.  To this day, as Paultzman and many have pointed out, Lavin continues to spin his TOTAL BS and true idiots like yourself buy into his crap. He just recently bragged about having three straight top 10 recruited classes.  Oh really? how.  His first with Harrison and the boys was a legit class, but that top ranking did include Norvel Pelle.  His second class was led by Jakar Sampson who was really part of his first class.  Sanchez was a very good get but Obekpa was the star of that class.  And as for his third?  Does a one player class yield a top 10 class.... thats just BS!  Just listening to him spin how 5 teams should be in the BE tourney, or how him stating that "the team does not have to make the NCAA tourney for the season to be a success" or of course his infamous "we are the youngest team in America" rhetoric is enough to make any fan of any program vomit.  But As I stated before, the fools at SJU buy into his BS and will happily extend his contract.

 Whats really interesting is to read the posts by Paultzman and Moose and several others who see through all the BS with regards to recruiting etc. yet everyone (not I) soft soaps this so as not to upset other posters and to hold out hope that things will work out.  Well get used to this..................... THE BS WILL CONTINUE, THE YOUNGEST TEAM IN AMERICA WILL ONCE AGAIN RETURN, AND THE EXCUSES WILL GO ON AND ON until one day some of the true idiots on this site wake up and see what the real deal is, snake oil anyone?????

You said that anything less than an Elite 8 is not an improvement, which is an absurd of a statement as I can think of.  Right now we have 20 wins.  I think we have certainly improved, but unfortunately tanked out of the gate in league play and are now trying to grab our rightful spot in the NCAA tourney.  I certainly will be disappointed if we don't make the NCAA's.  It's not a failure, but certainly not where I think we should be.  At this point though, our destiny is still in our hands.  Win 2 games and we are in imo.  Win only now and we sweat it out.

Please re read what I originally said, I said going three rounds, as in playing as a sweet 16 team not getting to the elite 8 which again with the assembled talent and COMPETENT COACHING is not a reach.

jr49

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Re: Lavin's Contract
« Reply #159 on: March 12, 2014, 05:24:26 PM »
The fact is that if Buzz Williams had this same group of guys, they would be top-15 program right now.

Lavin will always dissapoint. Get used to it now that the lazy, low IQ admin at St. Johns has rewared him for underperformance. The only hope is that he can grab elite recruits. If he can recruit elite-8 caliber talent then maybe he can field teams capable of winning 1-2 games in the dance.
I'm watching hoops 60 years and never once gave a thought to what a coach might manage to do with another coaches players. How do you go about it?