SJHooper wrote:Whoa...nowhere did I state that the AD never wrote back. He did in fact write back. His words (to summarize): "Thank you for your interest in St. John's basketball. We will do everything in our ability to put a winning team on the court, hang in there". I obviously appreciated the fact that he even read it let alone wrote back. He seems like a good hire so far who truly cares.
I think the issue here is that I'm already anticipating next year and see the writing on the wall while others are splitting hairs to show the smallest improvements compared to our worst year ever then using that barely existent improvement to throw in my face and tell me to get off the ledge, because apparently SJ hoops is my entire life. Do I know for sure how next year will pan out? Of course not. No one can predict the future, but you can look at trends and look at the roster concerns and reasonably suspect that there won't be much positive change. Yakwe has regressed, there are rumors of LoVett wanting to go pro somewhere after this year, etc. From year 1 to year 2 there has been very minimal improvement in terms of actual W/L so far pretty late into the season where we will be underdogs the rest of the year. Who's to say we make a huge leap next year? People say "we already have 3 BE wins and we had 1 all of last season! Well, let's look a little further...2 of those 3 wins were against DePaul. Let's be real here those 2 wins are fools gold. And also, saying we "already" have 3 wins implies we will get several more before the season is over. Again, we will be underdogs for the remaining games. G'Town throttled us, Seton Hall throttled us, and Marquette just beat 2 top 10 teams (really closer to top 5). PC is the only team I think you can realistically argue we have a decent chance of splitting but Cooley's teams are always sneaky good even in down years.
Many of you are "wait and see" but I'm just taking it a step further. I have waited, I have seen, and I don't believe this experiment is or will work. You can only wait and see for so long before you realize change is needed. I will feel a lot better if Matt A can pull a rabbit out of his hat and get us a few solid big men. Sima is gone, Yakwe is horrible, and Owens is decent but way too skinny. I think Clark will be a slightly better Christian Jones. Nothing special, just ok. We need some skilled big men to transfer. One who specializes offensively in the paint and one who specializes on defense.
Hooper, as you know, I disagree with your assessment of the prospects for St John's. But I like you. And since you're so down about your alma mater, I'll offer a different take in an effort to brighten your day.
1. The mistakes you've been focusing on are part of the learning process at this level. A year of experience for this group will make a world of difference next year.
2. None of the players on the St John's roster are immediate impact players - even LoVett and Ponds. There's good talent there, but it needs time to mature. They're playing guys in key rolls who would be coming off the bench in more mature Big East programs and who would be gaining experience in small doses where their mistakes wouldn't be as visible or impactful on the outcome of games.
3. As good as LoVett and Ponds are offensively, they are an undersized backcourt, leaving them vulnerable on defense. That's a problem all of the coaching in the world can't cure.
4. The real catalyst for change will come next year not only with experience but with the eligibility of Simon and Clark. Both have seen experience at this level and have had a year to practice and get acclimated to the system and to their teammates. Simon will add size to the backcourt, which will solve one problem. By all reports, Clark is a tough, physical kid and that will create a whole different dynamic in the front court. He will be a presence.
5. This year your team goes about 3 deep with ready-for-prime-time players. Next year they should go about 8 deep.
6.Look at Seton Hall for a comparison. A couple of years ago, they had a young team that was making mistakes and underperforming, The coach was under fire. There was dissension on the team and one of the veteran lead s quit the team in midseason. The future looked bleak. The next year they won the Big East championship. The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores and then juniors.
You're suffering through another tough year, but the glass is half full.