LA Daily News article on Lavin

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151205/steve-lavin-content-with-fox-sports-pac-12-network-landing-spot-this-time-around?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Money quote:

“To manage a winning basketball program, you have to be fully consumed with the job at hand,” said Lavin, between bites of a turkey sandwich.

Quote from: TRabinowitz on December 07, 2015, 12:38:39 PM

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151205/steve-lavin-content-with-fox-sports-pac-12-network-landing-spot-this-time-around?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Money quote:

“To manage a winning basketball program, you have to be fully consumed with the job at hand,” said Lavin, between bites of a turkey sandwich.

I agree with him, which is one reason why his teams here constantly underachieved and were 2-8 when it mattered most.

Anyone else raise an eyebrow w this excerpt? This isn't exactly common knowledge to an LA beat writer:

Within hours after he was let go at St. John’s – mostly because the new president was bent on having former alum Chris Mullin take over the program –

Anyone else raise an eyebrow w this excerpt? This isn't exactly common knowledge to an LA beat writer:

Within hours after he was let go at St. John’s – mostly because the new president was bent on having former alum Chris Mullin take over the program –

Obviously Lavin told the guy I wasn't fired because I sucked, I was fired because the new guy wanted Mullin.

Quote from: Foad on December 07, 2015, 12:49:04 PM

Quote from: TRabinowitz on December 07, 2015, 12:38:39 PM

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151205/steve-lavin-content-with-fox-sports-pac-12-network-landing-spot-this-time-around?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Money quote:

“To manage a winning basketball program, you have to be fully consumed with the job at hand,” said Lavin, between bites of a turkey sandwich.

I agree with him, which is one reason why his teams here constantly underachieved and were 2-8 when it mattered most.

He never missed a meal, did he.

Quote from: QuanMan on December 07, 2015, 01:35:18 PM

Anyone else raise an eyebrow w this excerpt? This isn't exactly common knowledge to an LA beat writer:

Within hours after he was let go at St. John’s – mostly because the new president was bent on having former alum Chris Mullin take over the program –

Obviously Lavin told the guy I wasn't fired because I sucked, I was fired because the new guy wanted Mullin.

This is exactly the propaganda that he and his people have been pumping out since he was fired. That he was "backdoored" by Mullin. 

Quote from: Foad on December 07, 2015, 01:47:54 PM

Quote from: QuanMan on December 07, 2015, 01:35:18 PM

Anyone else raise an eyebrow w this excerpt? This isn't exactly common knowledge to an LA beat writer:

Within hours after he was let go at St. John’s – mostly because the new president was bent on having former alum Chris Mullin take over the program –

Obviously Lavin told the guy I wasn't fired because I sucked, I was fired because the new guy wanted Mullin.

This is exactly the propaganda that he and his people have been pumping out since he was fired. That he was "backdoored" by Mullin. 

Maybe he was. Some people I know at the school tell me they believe the wheels were in motion when Mullin was back getting his number retired. Who really knows? Can finally put this Lavin talk to bed, he's not the coach anymore.

The Lavin stuff will fade in time.  Right now, all of us diehards are still struggling and/or pissed at the dismal recruiting effort over the past 2 years, which has the roster in far worse shape than when Lavin took over.  No one thought that would have been the case, especially with the success at first.  We likely won't be talking about this next year or, almost certainly, the year after.

Quote from: TRabinowitz on December 07, 2015, 02:07:44 PM

Quote from: Foad on December 07, 2015, 01:47:54 PM

Quote from: QuanMan on December 07, 2015, 01:35:18 PM

Anyone else raise an eyebrow w this excerpt? This isn't exactly common knowledge to an LA beat writer:

Within hours after he was let go at St. John’s – mostly because the new president was bent on having former alum Chris Mullin take over the program –

Obviously Lavin told the guy I wasn't fired because I sucked, I was fired because the new guy wanted Mullin.

This is exactly the propaganda that he and his people have been pumping out since he was fired. That he was "backdoored" by Mullin. 

Maybe he was. Some people I know at the school tell me they believe the wheels were in motion when Mullin was back getting his number retired. Who really knows? Can finally put this Lavin talk to bed, he's not the coach anymore.

I have also heard there is truth to the fact that the wheels were in motion during the season.  There is also truth to the fact that other candidates were discussed and being vetted as well.  It wasn't just Mullin.  Lavin was gone after the year barring a tournament run. To say insinuate that Mullin backdoored him or that the GEMP fired him merely because he was hell-bent on getting Mullin in here is a fallacy and allows Lavin to strip himself of accountability for the situation, which in unsurprising given how many times he and his camp did that during his tenure.

Quote from: Foad on December 07, 2015, 01:47:54 PM

Quote from: QuanMan on December 07, 2015, 01:35:18 PM

Anyone else raise an eyebrow w this excerpt? This isn't exactly common knowledge to an LA beat writer:

Within hours after he was let go at St. John’s – mostly because the new president was bent on having former alum Chris Mullin take over the program –

Obviously Lavin told the guy I wasn't fired because I sucked, I was fired because the new guy wanted Mullin.

This is exactly the propaganda that he and his people have been pumping out since he was fired. That he was "backdoored" by Mullin. 

To a certain degree he was in the shadows but Lavin didn't help himself out. It's all water under the bridge.

Lavin brought some fun exciting times here and helped change the way the school operated. He didn't work up to his potential and the proof was in the pudding. Time to move on.

Also I think Lavin is much better on TV than the sidelines and there is nothing wrong with that.

Objectively, Lavin took us to two NCAAs and two NITs in five years. He recruited/coached Big East ROY Maurice Harkless, Big East ROY JaKarr Sampson, other Big East notables Dwight Hardy, SirDom Pointer and D'Angelo Harrison. Diagnosed w cancer and missed his second season here. Got the university a lot of good publicity and the opportunity to promote the St Johns brand nationally.

Subjectively, poor game coach. Good recruiter but got lax, maybe as a result of change in health. A lot of academic issue recruits. His teams were dead in post season. The Robert Morris game was embarrassing.

Wish him well. Like you said, probably better in front of the camera v coaching on the sideline.

Quote from: TRabinowitz on December 07, 2015, 01:29:12 PM

Quote from: Foad on December 07, 2015, 12:49:04 PM

Quote from: TRabinowitz on December 07, 2015, 12:38:39 PM

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20151205/steve-lavin-content-with-fox-sports-pac-12-network-landing-spot-this-time-around?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Money quote:

“To manage a winning basketball program, you have to be fully consumed with the job at hand,” said Lavin, between bites of a turkey sandwich.

I agree with him, which is one reason why his teams here constantly underachieved and were 2-8 when it mattered most.

He never missed a meal, did he.

I'd say the least shocking part of the article was the last sentence in this quote:

“Steve has been a tremendous addition to our college basketball coverage,” said Fox Sports president of production John Entz. “He obviously had previous experience doing television and it’s shown from day one, but his unique insight is truly valuable. He’s also improved our local knowledge of the food and wine scene ‑ an area we were clearly lacking.”

As some have noted, Lavin & Co. obviously did some good things.  In addition to those already mentioned, we actually have a few guys in the league now (there was a long dry spell where Ron Ron was basically the only one), and as a fan I got to attend a lot of really fun games that had been missing for a while (Pitt game in 2010-2011 season, Gtown and UCONN in 2010-2011, Creighton during Doug McD's senior year, Gtown at home the past 2 years, Duke last year, etc).

Had his legacy been that, coupled with the bad in-game coaching, a few terrible losses in the BE tourney/NIT (RM game), a massive underachievement with the Sampson/Dlo/Jordan/Sanchez squad, and the constant drama, I think most of us could have lived with that.

But there is absolutely no excuse for the lax recruiting the past 2 years.  Knowing that you were going to be losing all those seniors, and knowing that Jordan and Obekpa were wildcards/threats to leave, it is simply unconscionable that Lavin & Co. left us with the roster we have.  Regardless of how good he felt about Briscoe, Sampson and Diallo, they had to know that there was a really good chance that at least 2 of those guys wouldn't come.  To not cover all bases on the recruiting front is a joke, and when it became apparent early last fall that this is what was transpiring, a lot of Lavin supporters like me jumped off the bus. 

As some have noted, Lavin & Co. obviously did some good things.  In addition to those already mentioned, we actually have a few guys in the league now (there was a long dry spell where Ron Ron was basically the only one), and as a fan I got to attend a lot of really fun games that had been missing for a while (Pitt game in 2010-2011 season, Gtown and UCONN in 2010-2011, Creighton during Doug McD's senior year, Gtown at home the past 2 years, Duke last year, etc).

Had his legacy been that, coupled with the bad in-game coaching, a few terrible losses in the BE tourney/NIT (RM game), a massive underachievement with the Sampson/Dlo/Jordan/Sanchez squad, and the constant drama, I think most of us could have lived with that.

But there is absolutely no excuse for the lax recruiting the past 2 years.  Knowing that you were going to be losing all those seniors, and knowing that Jordan and Obekpa were wildcards/threats to leave, it is simply unconscionable that Lavin & Co. left us with the roster we have.  Regardless of how good he felt about Briscoe, Sampson and Diallo, they had to know that there was a really good chance that at least 2 of those guys wouldn't come.  To not cover all bases on the recruiting front is a joke, and when it became apparent early last fall that this is what was transpiring, a lot of Lavin supporters like me jumped off the bus. 

I think the daily news even mentioned that Not getting Briscoe would hurt Lavin chances of being able to stay. The NYT article that came out about Jr College basketball and Thomas, didn't put Lavin in the most positive light either...This is after the issues with Jordan and CO. Maybe Gemp wanted Mullin, but Lavin gave Gemp every reason to replace him, During his SJU tenure and after.

I was hoping he would have been succesful, he had the right personality and charisma for NYC. In the end it was his own fault.

I found this quote interesting:

'during a 12-year run coaching at UCLA – the last seven of them as the head coach on teams that had five Sweet 16 appearances.'

At halftime of the Xavier/Wright State game tonight, Lavin and his fellow commentator were supposed to preview St. John's/Niagara game.  While addressing St. John's current thin team, Lavin's copatriot grabbed his arm and said,"Of course, someone close to me left them with a depleted roster..." 
Lavin quickly replied, "I thought the idea was to graduate kids?" 

Yeah, that is part of the idea, but what about the part about replacing the guys who graduate so that your next year's team won't remind people of the Washington Generals?

At halftime of the Xavier/Wright State game tonight, Lavin and his fellow commentator were supposed to preview St. John's/Niagara game.  While addressing St. John's current thin team, Lavin's copatriot grabbed his arm and said,"Of course, someone close to me left them with a depleted roster..." 
Lavin quickly replied, "I thought the idea was to graduate kids?" 

Yeah, that is part of the idea, but what about the part about replacing the guys who graduate so that your next year's team won't remind people of the Washington Generals?

In a stunning turn of events Steve Lavin refuses to take responsibility for the bad while simultaneously taking credit for the good.

Quote from: Lycidas on December 08, 2015, 10:29:41 PM

At halftime of the Xavier/Wright State game tonight, Lavin and his fellow commentator were supposed to preview St. John's/Niagara game.  While addressing St. John's current thin team, Lavin's copatriot grabbed his arm and said,"Of course, someone close to me left them with a depleted roster..." 
Lavin quickly replied, "I thought the idea was to graduate kids?" 

Yeah, that is part of the idea, but what about the part about replacing the guys who graduate so that your next year's team won't remind people of the Washington Generals?

In a stunning turn of events Steve Lavin refuses to take responsibility for the bad while simultaneously taking credit for the good.

Since the idea of his job is to "graduate kids," that would've made Steve Lavin the highest paid guidance counselor ever at $1.5 mill per year.

Quote from: Foad on December 09, 2015, 07:40:15 AM

Quote from: Lycidas on December 08, 2015, 10:29:41 PM

At halftime of the Xavier/Wright State game tonight, Lavin and his fellow commentator were supposed to preview St. John's/Niagara game.  While addressing St. John's current thin team, Lavin's copatriot grabbed his arm and said,"Of course, someone close to me left them with a depleted roster..." 
Lavin quickly replied, "I thought the idea was to graduate kids?" 

Yeah, that is part of the idea, but what about the part about replacing the guys who graduate so that your next year's team won't remind people of the Washington Generals?

In a stunning turn of events Steve Lavin refuses to take responsibility for the bad while simultaneously taking credit for the good.

Since the idea of his job is to "graduate kids," that would've made Steve Lavin the highest paid guidance counselor ever at $1.5 mill per year.

Making sure that half or so of the teens who were entrusted to your care did the minimal amount of work necessary to merely graduate from college is not much of a legacy.