Chris Mullin new head coach of St. John's!

[hoyahooligan]

Kids might not know who he is, but their parents will and that's just as important. I hope Mullin turns out to be as big a success as Hoiberg has been for Iowa State in pretty much the exact same situation.

[Chalmers0]

Imagine listening to a Mullin phone call on your answering machine ? Hi ,this is Chris Mullin from St. John's and I would like to speak to you.

There is a better chance the kids know who Chris Mullin is compared to if they know what an answering machine is...

I actually really don't like the hire (obviously in the minority). He has never coached a game in his life. He has never had any sort of role in college that involved recruiting. If he can land an assistant or two that people are referencing, maybe I will change my mind but those are far from the guarantees some people are making them out to be.

Obviously they won the PR battle with St. John's fans and alums though so maybe that will translate into something.

[HoosierPal]

I think the key's going to be, can New York basketball get back to where it used to be.
I mean, look at ESPN's ratings by state-
4 top 100 recruits
3 other 4 star recruits
1 3 star recruit

until that changes, it's going to be a challenge for St John's.

You have verbalized a key issue. NYC is no longer the mecca of HS BB. I don't remember when the last NYC AP-All American was. Was it Kemba Walker?

Mullins will have to leave NYC to get a competitive team. Folks might be in awe in NYC, rightfully so. It won't be that way in California, Florida, Texas, KY, Indy or Chicago.

[billyjack]

No biggie, but his last name is spelled "Mullin"... singular... although his brother is expected to be on his coaching staff, so in some cases the "s" can be added...

Also I've heard that Villanova legend Ed "Pinckney" is expected to join Mullin too... Pinckney has a "ck" and an "ey"...

[Xudash]

So much for our conference being shut out by ESPN.

I'm catching a late rerun of PTI and the first four topics include the two F4 games, the Texas coaching situation and St. John's.

speaking highly of the history. Kornheiser saying that the tradition iended 23 yrs ago after Carnesecca left.

Wilbon giving Mullin high marks for his administrative ability; likes the pick overall.

It's time to fully come back to life SJU.

[SecureDaBall]

No biggie, but his last name is spelled "Mullin"... singular... although his brother is expected to be on his coaching staff, so in some cases the "s" can be added...

Also I've heard that Villanova legend Ed "Pinckney" is expected to join Mullin too... Pinckney has a "ck" and an "ey"...

Now explain the proper use of the ellipsis. Thanks...

[RDinNY]

The coaching staff is gonna be fantastic. Recruiting should not be a problem.

[Steve Lavin]

Myth 1: "Kids don't know who Mullin is"

Truth: Sure, if you are not around basketball and just an average Joe on the street maybe not, but these kids eat, sleep, and breather basketball. Mullin was on the 1992 Dream Team with Jordan, Bird, and Magic. Think they never heard of that? I'm 25 and I was born years after Mullin even finished at St. John's…and I knew who he was. There have been 4-5 HS recruits tweeting that it's a good hire. They know who he is. Coaches know who he is. Parents know who he is. He's trending on Twitter. How many old people are on Twitter? It's mostly youth. So to be trending on Twitter young people have to know you. Also, in the video game NBA 2K15 Mullin is one of the NBA Legends you can unlock in the game. And that's an outrageously popular video game. So put it to rest. He is known.

Myth 2: "He has no experience"

Truth: You have to start somewhere. Rome was not built in a night. Jay Wright did not become an overnight stud. Coach K had zero experience at one point. I'm not comparing him to these guys, but it's the principle. Everyone starts with no experience. He might be good and he might be bad. Time will tell, but he has a lot more experiencing managing a team than you think. You don't just become the GM of an NBA team in your sleep. And if you think he doesn't understand the game of basketball in and out from X's and O's to shooting form and other fundamentals, you are nuts. You don't become an NBA HOFer by being shaky in those areas.

Myth 3: "He can't recruit"

Truth: Recruits have already taken to twitter expressing their excitement. One has already essentially begged for a phone call from him. A top NYC recruit. And he doesn't even have assistants yet. The Iowa State board confirmed that Matt A. (his last name is hard to spell) the assistant who recruited very well there is on his way back to SJU. So that's 1 great recruiter already on his side. He is also rumored to be pulling other great assistants. Recruiting is not done 100% by the coach. The coach is a PART of it. But assistants play a major role. So the perception that all the recruiting is dependent on the head coach is wrong. And the recruits already love Mullin without even having assistants who specialize in recruiting. Imagine Mullin going into a kid's home, sitting his parents down, and saying "I played with Michael Jordan on the Dream Team and I'm in the NBA HOF"? If I were the parent of a recruit, I know I'd be extremely impressed. Some coaches can tell you how to do things at a high level. Others can SHOW and DEMONSTRATE how to do it. Mullin is one of those guys. These days the top recruits seem to be dead set on the NBA. Briscoe went to UK because he said Cal has an NBA machine. Well, that plays right into Mullin's hands. He can tell kids and parents about his major NBA connections and show them what it takes to get there and also succeed. So I really don't see recruiting being a problem at all. Plenty of kids would love to play for an NBA legend.

[XUFan09]

I said before that I think this is a really risky hire, and I still do, but I'm warming up to it a little on the recruiting side (with the right staff). It's still a better hire than the "safe" pick at DePaul because of the potential upside.

That being said, in a few years, DePaul could be a respectable yet not great program with a chance at a tournament berth here and there while St. John's could be firing one of their playing legends after a dismal coaching performance.

[billyjack]

No biggie, but his last name is spelled "Mullin"... singular... although his brother is expected to be on his coaching staff, so in some cases the "s" can be added...

Also I've heard that Villanova legend Ed "Pinckney" is expected to join Mullin too... Pinckney has a "ck" and an "ey"...

Now explain the proper use of the ellipsis. Thanks...

Hey, i just learned a new word, "ellipsis"...