Marquette Gets Top-5 Recruit

[SJHooper]

The Big East has recruited extremely well. Even though a lot wasn't proven on the court, it will come eventually…people say you need a huge stylish gym or some fancy next generation facilities and yes they help, but if you can consistently somehow get good recruits, you will be a good program. That's what will keep us afloat even though football schools have way more money and resources. As long as we show they can still get to the league here and play premier teams, they will still come.

By the way, this list didn't even include SJ who had the #2 recruiting class in the nation in Lavin's first year. I know it was just before the new Big East but that has to count for something. He brought in Jordan and some other major recruits as well more recently. I will admit I'm nervous because he seems to have slipped recruiting for some reason, but Briscoe's father loves us and says he absolutely owes SJ some loyalty for recruiting his son so hard and being so good to them. You know your league is good at recruiting when a team many on here picked to be 6th or 7th (SJ) is bringing three 4-5 star recruits to midnight madness (Briscoe, Sampson, Diallo). It would be a miracle but if somehow Lavin lands all 3 or even just 2/3 of those then the Big East may have another top 10 recruiting class for 2015. He's known as a closer like with Jordan and Obekpa so I'm holding out hope as slim as it is while he flirts with Mizzou, UConn, and UK.

[Bill Marsh]

The Big East has recruited extremely well. Even though a lot wasn't proven on the court, it will come eventually…people say you need a huge stylish gym or some fancy next generation facilities and yes they help, but if you can consistently somehow get good recruits, you will be a good program. That's what will keep us afloat even though football schools have way more money and resources. As long as we show they can still get to the league here and play premier teams, they will still come.

By the way, this list didn't even include SJ who had the #2 recruiting class in the nation in Lavin's first year. I know it was just before the new Big East but that has to count for something. He brought in Jordan and some other major recruits as well more recently. I will admit I'm nervous because he seems to have slipped recruiting for some reason, but Briscoe's father loves us and says he absolutely owes SJ some loyalty for recruiting his son so hard and being so good to them. You know your league is good at recruiting when a team many on here picked to be 6th or 7th (SJ) is bringing three 4-5 star recruits to midnight madness (Briscoe, Sampson, Diallo). It would be a miracle but if somehow Lavin lands all 3 or even just 2/3 of those then the Big East may have another top 10 recruiting class for 2015. He's known as a closer like with Jordan and Obekpa so I'm holding out hope as slim as it is while he flirts with Mizzou, UConn, and UK.

How are the plans coming for a new gym at St. John's. There was some talk about that back about 8-10 years ago, but word was that the big donor pulled out when his choice for coach, Matt Doherty, didn't get the job.

[SJHooper]

The Big East has recruited extremely well. Even though a lot wasn't proven on the court, it will come eventually…people say you need a huge stylish gym or some fancy next generation facilities and yes they help, but if you can consistently somehow get good recruits, you will be a good program. That's what will keep us afloat even though football schools have way more money and resources. As long as we show they can still get to the league here and play premier teams, they will still come.

By the way, this list didn't even include SJ who had the #2 recruiting class in the nation in Lavin's first year. I know it was just before the new Big East but that has to count for something. He brought in Jordan and some other major recruits as well more recently. I will admit I'm nervous because he seems to have slipped recruiting for some reason, but Briscoe's father loves us and says he absolutely owes SJ some loyalty for recruiting his son so hard and being so good to them. You know your league is good at recruiting when a team many on here picked to be 6th or 7th (SJ) is bringing three 4-5 star recruits to midnight madness (Briscoe, Sampson, Diallo). It would be a miracle but if somehow Lavin lands all 3 or even just 2/3 of those then the Big East may have another top 10 recruiting class for 2015. He's known as a closer like with Jordan and Obekpa so I'm holding out hope as slim as it is while he flirts with Mizzou, UConn, and UK.

How are the plans coming for a new gym at St. John's. There was some talk about that back about 8-10 years ago, but word was that the big donor pulled out when his choice for coach, Matt Doherty, didn't get the job.

It's definitely a regular discussion among students, staff, and fans alike. CA may have been good enough back in the Mullin era, but schools now have professional grade facilities and SJ needs to invest badly in it. It's shocking that having big names like Mullin, Jackson, Artest, Francesa, Franco, etc. as alumni has not resulted in big donations. I was at the physical therapist the other day and the therapist saw my SJ shirt and started talking SJ hoops. Even he said "oh, St. John's…isn't that the school with the historic basketball program but a high school gym on campus?". If a random physical therapist 45 miles from campus says that, you know there's a problem and it's well-known.

The campus itself is very nice, but the facilities for athletics are seriously lacking. I haven't heard anything in terms of a plan to redo the gym or upgrade facilities, but we all know it's badly needed. I went to a MAAC school for undergrad and the facilities were just as nice as what SJ as a Big East school has to offer. It's awful. We have our selling points like NYC/MSG but I seriously think the facilities are a major drawback for some recruits and have held some back from committing. The school is too busy investing in new campus signs and campus coffee shops to care about the arena unfortunately. I mean jesus, it's 40k+ a year to go to SJ with plenty of famous alumni and past success in the Big East in NYC and we can't get good facilities? I believe SJ has the most alumni in the Big East. So either donors are very cheap or SJ has the money but uses it for other things. Now that I think of it, I believe the creator or one of the big executives for Vitamin Water is a SJ alumni. Surely he would have money to put his namesake on a new gym.

To watch a game in Carnesecca is torture. Most seats have no backs and it's rock hard plastic and metal. No cushions except for a few tiny sections. The student section is a joke with maybe 5 rows of more uncomfortable benches removed from all the action down low since it's raised above the hoop. I'm 25 and drive home with my back killing me from sitting through a game there. I can't imagine a 55+ year old sitting through a game there. The gym does not have a homey feeling and it's just a typical industrial high school gym with metal beams everywhere and a 1980's scoreboard. To say it's embarrassing is an understatement and if I was a recruit I know I'd be turned off big time even if I got to play in MSG some games.