(1) Sunday Game 12/18 - psu v SJU

[Bill Marsh]

I thought it was a bad hire when they did it and I haven't seen anything to change my mind. As with any profession, coaching is a learning process. I can't fathom who would ever think a guy with zero coaching experience at any level could step in as head coach of any college program and be successful, let alone at a major D1 program going against coaches who have been honing their coaching skills for a dacade or more. Maybe he will figure it out in time, but I will be pleasantly surprised if he does. He just seems clueless on the bench at times. Not everyone has what it takes to be a successful coach at this level. I just don't know why St Johns would gamble five years or so to see if a guy who never coached before has it in him. Skilled players only gets you so far. Even the collection of talent at Kentucky require quality coaching to be successful against good teams.

How much coaching experience did Kevin Ollie have when UConn made him their head coach after his NBA career? You're acting as if no one's ever done this before and been successful with it.

2 years as Jim Calhoun's assistant coach. certainly not the most experienced hire, but at least it's something. And it's not like he spent those 2 years working with just anybody, he spent them working with one of the best coaches in the game, who was molding Ollie into his hand picked successor.

Sure, it's something but it's not much. And it's zero as a head coach, which is what everyone seems to be screaming for.

There's no doubt that Calhoun is a HOF coach, but he's not exactly the guy to learn X's and O's from. Basic man-to-man defense, unimaginative offense. Besides, Ollie isn't running Calhoun s stuff, so I don't know how much difference that made.

[FDS]

https://www.google.com/amp/nypost.com/2 ... ent=safari

[SJHooper]

To be completely honest I feel a strong sense that Sima was not the only transfer. LoVett was close to transferring before the season already...now seeing that we have no coaches, really wouldn't be shocked if him or someone else transferred. Yakwe's advisor is also very upset with the terrible coaching and might be on his way out. To be totally honest, I'd strongly urge Mullin to leave, beg LoVett and Ponds to stay, beg Matt A to stay, and then beg Dan Hurley to coach us. If Hurley said no, go to Masiello. Either one would be a much better hire than Mullin and if we can keep Matt A, I would still be confident recruiting wise.

There is no logical reason we should keep putting off the inevitable. Every year we hold onto Mullin is another year we are wasting at this point. I have not been sure of many things in my life, I'm now 100% sure that Mullin is not the answer.

[EMT]

To be completely honest I feel a strong sense that Sima was not the only transfer. LoVett was close to transferring before the season already...now seeing that we have no coaches, really wouldn't be shocked if him or someone else transferred. Yakwe's advisor is also very upset with the terrible coaching and might be on his way out. To be totally honest, I'd strongly urge Mullin to leave, beg LoVett and Ponds to stay, beg Matt A to stay, and then beg Dan Hurley to coach us. If Hurley said no, go to Masiello. Either one would be a much better hire than Mullin and if we can keep Matt A, I would still be confident recruiting wise.

There is no logical reason we should keep putting off the inevitable. Every year we hold onto Mullin is another year we are wasting at this point. I have not been sure of many things in my life, I'm now 100% sure that Mullin is not the answer.

I think you can get Hurley. I think he wanted to coach this URI team this year and then see what's out there.

[stever20]

I just wonder if there's any coincidence that the team went into the tank right after Sima's announcement of transferring. 0-2 with 2 horrible losses.

[SJHooper]

Other candidates that despite what others may say...are indeed possible:

Miller
Marshall
Pecora
Rice
Cluess
Will Brown (head coach of Albany led them to 5 straight NCAA's)

For those of you who say, "who would come to SJ after Mullin left/got fired after 2 yrs?!", the answer is "someone who knows how to coach and wants to make a lot of money". Coaching this program would be a step up for every single one of the coaches listed above. Just because a mid major like Wichita St. has done very well doesn't make it a major program. SJ is still a desirable job that will pay more than any of the above coaches make right now. We are in the Big East, one of the premiere conferences in the country with FS1 putting us on national TV every game. None of the above coaches have any of those perks right now.

Too bad Billy Donavan is in the NBA. Would have been a great hire here. Local guy and familiar with Big East from coaching PC.

[hoops22]

Mullin isn't going anywhere unless he wants to. A new AD thats only been on the job a few months, is not about to be the person who fires Chris Mullin from St. John's, two years into a rebuilding job. Mullins house is for sale, what exactly that means, who knows? But he doesn't seem to be having fun, that's for sure. However, to be clear, this is not about wins and losses from the disgruntled fanbase. It's about the complete lack of progress, individually and collectively the team is showing. No one expected a whole lot this year, but we did expect more than this. Something that comes to mind was something I saw in the Nova/Temple game this week. Nova was up around 20, when with the shot clock about to expire, 5 star guard Jalen Brunson took an ill advised 3 pointer. Jay Wright was in his face immediately, all over him for the bad decision. Not once this year, despite the nonstop selfish, sloppy play, have I seen any St. Johns coach, hold anyone responsible for anything. My guess is Brunson enjoys playing for a coach that holds him accountable, and is determined to make him the best player he can be. At St. johns you can be out of control and selfish, and you won't hear a peep from anyone on the staff. Oh and one more thing, Penn St. started 3 freshmen today and their youth didn't seem to hurt them as they breezed to a 24 point halftime lead. It is possible to be young, and still play with some discipline.

While i would welcome Danny Hurley, I certainly don't expect to see Mullin step down. The best we can hope for are some new and better assisstants ( and keep Matt A) and hope Mullin starts to grow into this job.

[ecasadoSBU]

I hate this situation for St. John's but also for NYC. This is tough for the Johnies. How are people going to show up to MSG if they can't compete. I'm sure its costly to keep that lease going. What a difficult situation. I hope it gets better soon

[REDMEN1415]

St Johns......just quit

As a completely unrelated aside, 9-team conferences are cool too. Right?

F off. Us SJU fans are pissed off enough already.

SJU actually puts in the money and resources to compete. Actually think we spend more on basketball than any other Big East program (possibly due to the MSG lease)?

I was a big fan of the Mullin hire but don't think he's the answer. Obviously a very tough situation because you can't fire him, but something is wrong with the coaching. This team has way too much talent to lose like this.

Very depressing. Love rooting for this conference, watched every game yesterday, but shameful how bad SJU is.

WHY NOT f---ing TIMEOUTS DURING THAT 35-5 RUN TO END THE HALF?
They are a very young team, you can't just let it bleed, without calling one? They did f'ing quit

[REDMEN1415]

Yes, I am ignoring what another coach might have done with recruiting. They might have or they might not have. But we know that Mullin has in fact brought in good talent, which is the most important thing that a coach can do to produce a winner.

Regardless of what kids know about Mullin, their coaches know him and their parents know him. That matters. The biggest thing that a St John's coach has to do is to build a network of connections among the NYC high school and AAU coaches. It's what his several predecessors were unable to do. Not only will Mullin's name and reputation enable him to do that, but he's also hired the right assistants to get that job done.[/quote]

He hired the right assistants? They seem clueless, Mullin needs an experienced coach, someone that knows what he's doing.