Re: Accountability at St. John's
Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2017 10:58 am
SJHooper wrote:Under Willard, SHU has never lost more than 13 games. At this point, we would be lucky to win 13. That would mean we somehow get 5 more wins which is very unlikely. Willard won 21 games his 2nd season. This flies in the face of people who say it's impossible to get instant results.
Okay...first of all, you want to talk facts, you should look some up. Here are Willard's records:
2010-11: 13-18
2011-12: 21-13
2012-13: 15-18
2013-14: 17-17
2014-15: 16-15
2015-16: 25-9
So he's had 6 complete seasons, and he lost more than 13 in most of them. I'm not at all convinced by Willard yet. His one recruiting class was great, but he failed to get to the NCAAs with guys like Theodore, Pope, Edwin, Gibbs, etc. Impressed where they are now, but I'll wait to see what Willard's team does after Delgado, Carrington, and Rodriguez leave.
SJHooper wrote:I believe we even made the CBS Sports list for "Most Improved Teams". So I guess they don't know much about basketball either, even though it's their job. Pardon me, but doesn't "improved" mean better?
As I recall, Jon Rothstein said that. He's a New York guy who always seems to overrate St. John's. I wouldn't take too much solace from him fluffing the pillows at Carnasecca.
We are going through similar at Marquette. People aren't convinced by Wojo. 13 wins in his first season, failing to reach the NCAAs with Ellenson last year, and fans wondering if he knows how to coach defense or just likes to slap the floor this year. But when you look at a program like Villanova, which is the envy of the league, it took Jay Wright 4 years to reach the NCAAs and 16 to win a title. You don't get there overnight.
I don't know what to make of Mullin yet. Ponds and LoVett are talented but streaky and sometimes disappear against good teams. However the whole roster is really, REALLY young. Ahmed is the only upperclassman getting minutes. The talent is there to pull off the occasional stunner, but by and large more experienced Big East teams are going to take you behind the woodshed in the second halves of games. You've already doubled your Big East win total from last year and I'd guess your team probably manages 3-4 more league wins.
Teams like Villanova, Creighton, Butler, Xavier, and Seton Hall aren't just good, they're good and experienced, and that takes years. Lavin left you with a similar bill of goods like Buzz left us. A vacant roster with a lot of work to do. A buddy of mine says you need to give a coach 5 years to see what he does with a roster of his own players before you really pass judgment. I think that's fair in this case too.