Briscoe Annoucing Next Thursday.

[SJHooper]

Let me just conclude so there is no confusion, that nothing would make me happier than IB ending up at SJU and hopefully bringing another guy or 2 with him. You SJU guys haven't had a lot to smile about in the past decade or so. I know it has been a heck of a rollercoaster ride. I am an Islanders fan so I know the feeling. I also think Lavin IS a good guy and he deserves a break. I have my fingers crossed for you guys.

Try being a Jets, Isles, Mets, Knicks, SJ fan! Every team looks the same after a while on that list. I think Lavin is due. I mean he has absolutely nothing to show for 2 years of recruiting '14 and '15 up until this point. Can a great recruiter really just fall off the map? I guess anything is possible, but I'd like to think that he will land Briscoe. If my perception of the program as being cursed with bad luck rings true yet again, then Briscoe will not choose SJ. If Briscoe chooses to come, then Lavin can take a deep breath, and there will be a ton of excitement at SJ. The program literally lives and dies with this decision on Thursday. At least for the foreseeable future.

[Realfan]

If Lavin lands Briscoe, Lavs will be here for a while. Lavs takes a lot of heat for his coaching, and I have had comments about it as well. But when you look at his overall four years here, it's not necessarily terrible. "Year 1" he went on that amazing run with Norm's kids. Now, Norm had the same group for the three years prior and they did nothing but an NIT loss. In year one, we are beating top ten teams left and right and end our NCAA drought. Year 2 he is out with cancer. It is a freshman laden squad that grabs 6 conferences wins. The following year we go to the NIT and win a first round game at St. Joe's before losing to Virginia. Last year was a disappointment for sure. And I would say Lavin not having a set starting five when the Big East started was a big part of the problem. Still, we managed 20 wins and 10 in the Big East in a tie for third. So while his coaching sometimes makes you scratch your head, it has not necessarily been a disasterous few years. When Norm was here, I remember him saying St. John's was not going to be able to compete with the Dukes and Kentuckys for players. Lavin's first class, signed before he even coached a game for the Johnnies was ranked 3. He has hauled in players from all over and has given the Johnnies a buzz. In his first year, before coaching a game, he got the Garden to transform the Knicks locker room into St. John's locker room with SJU carpeting, chairs, etc. for Garden games. Before they used a different locker room. He has two Big East rookies of the year and two NBA players from SJU. So while Lavs is often a target, he has St. John's on a good path that is slower than we would all like, but good nonetheless. This year is big. New York is expecting a lot from this group this year and we will see how that goes.

I have to say that I disagree with most of what you posted. First off, Lavins first year was due primarily to the coaching efforts of Mike Dunlap, and Norm Roberts players. Since then there has been ineligible players, massive recruitment failures and horrific coaching which has sent the program spiraling downward. You like so many others on St. John's sites excuse Lavin for one failure after another. Do you not remember the constant jibberish/excuses by Lavin such as "we're the youngest team in America" or " we'll be ready by February" with the most experienced team in the BE, with quality depth, bonified shooters and a preseason trip over seas? And in terms of a 20 win season that you see progress with? Come on now, that win total was against a watered down Big East without the likes of Syracuse, Louisville etc. in fact last years BE was quite week as exemplified by the conferences failure in the NCAA tourney. And to have a team with D Harrison, Rysheed, Obekpa and two NBA forwards in Sampson and Sanchez and not make the NCAAs while starting out 0-5 in conference play is just plain underachieving. So where is the so called buzz the program has? Is it in the two latest debacles , the ineligible status of Thomas and now Delarosa ( which one of the St. John's sites pulled the thread asit was deemed too negative, what a joke), the lack of a formidable recruiting class which shall all but guarantee that such local schools as the Hall and even Manhattan pass us by? And let's face facts here, even if Briscoe does sign, is Lavin going to win? Surely his recent history suggests otherwise. While it would be great to get a player of Briscoe's ability, his committing would only lengthen Lavins stay as the brain trust may feel compelled to extend his contract, and that would be a disaster.

[NJRedman]

If Lavin lands Briscoe, Lavs will be here for a while. Lavs takes a lot of heat for his coaching, and I have had comments about it as well. But when you look at his overall four years here, it's not necessarily terrible. "Year 1" he went on that amazing run with Norm's kids. Now, Norm had the same group for the three years prior and they did nothing but an NIT loss. In year one, we are beating top ten teams left and right and end our NCAA drought. Year 2 he is out with cancer. It is a freshman laden squad that grabs 6 conferences wins. The following year we go to the NIT and win a first round game at St. Joe's before losing to Virginia. Last year was a disappointment for sure. And I would say Lavin not having a set starting five when the Big East started was a big part of the problem. Still, we managed 20 wins and 10 in the Big East in a tie for third. So while his coaching sometimes makes you scratch your head, it has not necessarily been a disasterous few years. When Norm was here, I remember him saying St. John's was not going to be able to compete with the Dukes and Kentuckys for players. Lavin's first class, signed before he even coached a game for the Johnnies was ranked 3. He has hauled in players from all over and has given the Johnnies a buzz. In his first year, before coaching a game, he got the Garden to transform the Knicks locker room into St. John's locker room with SJU carpeting, chairs, etc. for Garden games. Before they used a different locker room. He has two Big East rookies of the year and two NBA players from SJU. So while Lavs is often a target, he has St. John's on a good path that is slower than we would all like, but good nonetheless. This year is big. New York is expecting a lot from this group this year and we will see how that goes.

I have to say that I disagree with most of what you posted. First off, Lavins first year was due primarily to the coaching efforts of Mike Dunlap, and Norm Roberts players. Since then there has been ineligible players, massive recruitment failures and horrific coaching which has sent the program spiraling downward. You like so many others on St. John's sites excuse Lavin for one failure after another. Do you not remember the constant jibberish/excuses by Lavin such as "we're the youngest team in America" or " we'll be ready by February" with the most experienced team in the BE, with quality depth, bonified shooters and a preseason trip over seas? And in terms of a 20 win season that you see progress with? Come on now, that win total was against a watered down Big East without the likes of Syracuse, Louisville etc. in fact last years BE was quite week as exemplified by the conferences failure in the NCAA tourney. And to have a team with D Harrison, Rysheed, Obekpa and two NBA forwards in Sampson and Sanchez and not make the NCAAs while starting out 0-5 in conference play is just plain underachieving. So where is the so called buzz the program has? Is it in the two latest debacles , the ineligible status of Thomas and now Delarosa ( which one of the St. John's sites pulled the thread asit was deemed too negative, what a joke), the lack of a formidable recruiting class which shall all but guarantee that such local schools as the Hall and even Manhattan pass us by? And let's face facts here, even if Briscoe does sign, is Lavin going to win? Surely his recent history suggests otherwise. While it would be great to get a player of Briscoe's ability, his committing would only lengthen Lavins stay as the brain trust may feel compelled to extend his contract, and that would be a disaster.

Hey look guys, it's yet ANOTHER troll!

We Johnnies must be really popular since they all just love to talk about us. Oh and the word is "weak" not "week". If you're going to insult the league at least have the brains to understand the difference between those two simple words.

Oh and Lavin was actually right about that February line. If you actually paid attention to the league last season you would have known that we were at our best then. We stormed back from an 0-5 start to finish tied for 3rd in the conference.

[REDMEN1415]

@JayOn_1: @LAVINWOOD announcement tomorrow. Yes u should feel very confident, no need to worry, kick your feet up and chill

Lavin, if IB signs that LOI and Diallo and Sampson follows then all will be forgotten with this year. GET IB damn it.

[SJHooper]

NJRedman, you are nuts dude. There is not one crazy thing he said that can be refuted if you're being honest. Yes he was right about the Feb. quote, but the truth is with a veteran team and by far the most talented/deep team in the conference, we should have been ranked and been a shoe-in for the tourney. We started out 0-5 and that's the reason we were left behind. The conference was very weak in the tourney. That's just true unfortunately. He didn't say regular season. You need to understand the difference between trolls (people who purposely try to start fights and get off topic to get a reaction) and fans who happen to be realists.

With that said, IB mentioned how he loved NYC and his SJ fans in his most recent article. Said nothing about UK. He also is not signing a NLI which suggests that he wants to ensure Lavin stays and that he can recruit more after he commits to SJ for some help. There is no reason not to sign a NLI if you are going to UK. He'd have tons of major recruits around him and a HOF coach arguably the best in the business. So why hold out on a NLI if you "have it all" in UK? Because he's coming here. That's my take.

[ChestRockwell85]

If SJU gets IB, Sampson and Diallo this could be the big break you guys needs. It can't be just one good recruiting year though, Lavin needs to roll with the success of that recruiting class and use it as a selling point to future recruits. 25 hours to go.

[Realfan]

If Lavin lands Briscoe, Lavs will be here for a while. Lavs takes a lot of heat for his coaching, and I have had comments about it as well. But when you look at his overall four years here, it's not necessarily terrible. "Year 1" he went on that amazing run with Norm's kids. Now, Norm had the same group for the three years prior and they did nothing but an NIT loss. In year one, we are beating top ten teams left and right and end our NCAA drought. Year 2 he is out with cancer. It is a freshman laden squad that grabs 6 conferences wins. The following year we go to the NIT and win a first round game at St. Joe's before losing to Virginia. Last year was a disappointment for sure. And I would say Lavin not having a set starting five when the Big East started was a big part of the problem. Still, we managed 20 wins and 10 in the Big East in a tie for third. So while his coaching sometimes makes you scratch your head, it has not necessarily been a disasterous few years. When Norm was here, I remember him saying St. John's was not going to be able to compete with the Dukes and Kentuckys for players. Lavin's first class, signed before he even coached a game for the Johnnies was ranked 3. He has hauled in players from all over and has given the Johnnies a buzz. In his first year, before coaching a game, he got the Garden to transform the Knicks locker room into St. John's locker room with SJU carpeting, chairs, etc. for Garden games. Before they used a different locker room. He has two Big East rookies of the year and two NBA players from SJU. So while Lavs is often a target, he has St. John's on a good path that is slower than we would all like, but good nonetheless. This year is big. New York is expecting a lot from this group this year and we will see how that goes.

I have to say that I disagree with most of what you posted. First off, Lavins first year was due primarily to the coaching efforts of Mike Dunlap, and Norm Roberts players. Since then there has been ineligible players, massive recruitment failures and horrific coaching which has sent the program spiraling downward. You like so many others on St. John's sites excuse Lavin for one failure after another. Do you not remember the constant jibberish/excuses by Lavin such as "we're the youngest team in America" or " we'll be ready by February" with the most experienced team in the BE, with quality depth, bonified shooters and a preseason trip over seas? And in terms of a 20 win season that you see progress with? Come on now, that win total was against a watered down Big East without the likes of Syracuse, Louisville etc. in fact last years BE was quite week as exemplified by the conferences failure in the NCAA tourney. And to have a team with D Harrison, Rysheed, Obekpa and two NBA forwards in Sampson and Sanchez and not make the NCAAs while starting out 0-5 in conference play is just plain underachieving. So where is the so called buzz the program has? Is it in the two latest debacles , the ineligible status of Thomas and now Delarosa ( which one of the St. John's sites pulled the thread asit was deemed too negative, what a joke), the lack of a formidable recruiting class which shall all but guarantee that such local schools as the Hall and even Manhattan pass us by? And let's face facts here, even if Briscoe does sign, is Lavin going to win? Surely his recent history suggests otherwise. While it would be great to get a player of Briscoe's ability, his committing would only lengthen Lavins stay as the brain trust may feel compelled to extend his contract, and that would be a disaster.

Hey look guys, it's yet ANOTHER troll!

We Johnnies must be really popular since they all just love to talk about us. Oh and the word is "weak" not "week". If you're going to insult the league at least have the brains to understand the difference between those two simple words.

Oh and Lavin was actually right about that February line. If you actually paid attention to the league last season you would have known that we were at our best then. We stormed back from an 0-5 start to finish tied for 3rd in the conference.

Troll? Funny but whenever anyone on Yesmen.com types factual information, they too are called trolls. Yesterday when one of your fellow posters revealed that Delerosa was ineligible, he was called out, put down etc. who cares if it was true, why should facts get in the way. I think you're on the wrong site. Name calling and put downs is the theme of that other site of which I'm certain you are a member. And believe me I know the difference between week and weak, a typo when one types quickly. But that's OK revel in a BE team starting out 0-5 in conference play if that excites you.

In terms of IB, not so sure it's a done deal to SJU. You see that humongous 2014 recruiting class failure that many on some sites said were no big deal may just come back to affect IB's decision. Who is he going to pass the ball to next year, Casper the Friendly Ghost?

[Bill Marsh]

If SJU gets IB, Sampson and Diallo this could be the big break you guys needs. It can't be just one good recruiting year though, Lavin needs to roll with the success of that recruiting class and use it as a selling point to future recruits. 25 hours to go.

After reading Briscoe's tweet, I won't be surprised if he picks UConn. They look like the under the radar favorite to me.

[billyjack]

If SJU gets IB, Sampson and Diallo this could be the big break you guys needs. It can't be just one good recruiting year though, Lavin needs to roll with the success of that recruiting class and use it as a selling point to future recruits. 25 hours to go.

After reading Briscoe's tweet, I won't be surprised if he picks UConn. They look like the under the radar favorite to me.

Yeah, and I think each website has a different prediction for Briscoe. He gave high praise to all 3 remaining schools. Tough to turn down Kevin Ollie.

I've been optimistic towards St John's because Tuesday night around 10pm a tweet came out from "Undercover Friar" that said "hearing Skai LaBissiere (sp) will be heading to Kentucky, and Briscoe will be heading to St John's"...

[stever20]

If SJU gets IB, Sampson and Diallo this could be the big break you guys needs. It can't be just one good recruiting year though, Lavin needs to roll with the success of that recruiting class and use it as a selling point to future recruits. 25 hours to go.

After reading Briscoe's tweet, I won't be surprised if he picks UConn. They look like the under the radar favorite to me.

Yeah, and I think each website has a different prediction for Briscoe. He gave high praise to all 3 remaining schools. Tough to turn down Kevin Ollie.

I've been optimistic towards St John's because Tuesday night around 10pm a tweet came out from "Undercover Friar" that said "hearing Skai LaBissiere (sp) will be heading to Kentucky, and Briscoe will be heading to St John's"...

Why would a center and a point guard be an either or situation? That makes no sense at all.