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

[Bill Marsh]

You people are really funny in your hating. Kids don't know who Chris Mullin is? What do teenagers have trouble working the internet? They can't figure out Google?

Do people still use the word hating?

I'm not "hating", not congratulating either, but definitely not "hating".

I hope I am wrong but I can't see Mullin doing well and I don't see them outbidding every other school for their wishlist of assistants. I am not rooting against the guy but I feel there is so much that has to happen for Mullin just to have above average success. For him to be truly successful so much more has to fall in place and I don't like his chances.

Everyone wants to compare this to Hoiberg but we can also compare this to Clyde Drexler at Houston. Was he a success resurrecting a program who's glory days were during the mid-eighties? There is that old adage about great players being bad coaches and it makes sense. While Mullin was being successful in the NBA, some slow, short, untalented point guard became a post-graduate assistant and has acquired the skills and knowledge needed to become a successful coach. Maybe Hurley wasn't coming but I'd rather have Cluess or Masiello.

Your last sentence speaks volumes, NJ Redman. For kids with NBA aspirations, hooking up with a former NBA executive has to be an enormous positive.

How has that worked out for Eddie Jordan at Rutgers? I would expect every big time program has someone on-staff with a connection to the NBA. I don't think the fact that Mullin had an office at Sleep Train Arena is helping to sign four-stars.

Mullin would not have been my first choice at St. John's exactly because of the lack of coaching experience which you cite. So, I completely understand your feelings on this point.

However, to act like this isn't a home run for St. John's completely ignores the positives which Mullin does bring to the program and focuses only on the negatives. It's not a grand slam, but St. John's definitely hit it out of the park with this hire.

Let's look at your objections.

1. You "don't see him outbidding every other school for their wish list of assistants." He doesn't have to do that. Frankly if he hired a couple of NY high school coaches with the right stuff for recruiting, he'd endear himself to every HS coach in the NY area. With them on his side, he'd have a pipe line to NY/NJ area talent. As for established recruiters, he only needs one or two of them, so he doesn't need to "outbid every other school."

2. You don't like the Hoiberg comparison, so you go to Drexler. Why not go to Kevin Ollie at UConn? Or was it his 2 years on the UConn bench that enabled him to take his team to the national championship the first year they were eligible? The fact is that some coaches succeed and some fail regardless of their background and amount of prior coaching experience. I can provide examples of experienced assistants who failed as well as inexperienced coaches who succeeded. We just don't know who will succeed until they actually step into that role. Everyone's talking about Barry Rohrssen as a great recruiter for whose services Mullin will be competing with Kentucky. Who should have been better prepared to be successful as a HC than Slice with all his coaching experience? But he flopped at Manhattan despite having all those recruiting ties to the city. Masiello than came in and has succeeded. The fact is that there are no guarantees for anyone. You're only giving negative example while there are examples of both.

3. Your example of Eddie Jordan at Rutgers is a particularly poor one. The jury is still out on him. He took over a train wreck of a program which had hopelessly bottomed out. Did you want him to turn it around over night? And Jordan did have prior coaching experience, so if you want to cast him as a failure, he's actually an example of a case where prior coaching experience didn't make him a success. Furthermore Jordan never had the stature either at Rutgers or in the NBA that Mullin has had at both the college and pro levels.

The major thing that you've overlooked is how badly the St. John's brand has suffered since Louie retired - especially in the last 15 years. Jarvis ignored local high school coaches and then ended his tenure in scandal. Neither Roberts nor Lavin were able to overcome that although Lavin certainly took steps in the right direction.

For a program that needs to cut ties with the scandals and futility of its recent past, the hiring of Chris Mullin is an absolute Home Run. The Mullin hire turns the page from all that stuff. It reassociates the brand with all it's glorious past as the premier program in NY for more than 60 years and one of the great programs in college basketball history. Branding is very important in any business, and no less so with a college basketball program than anything else.

[Bill Marsh]

I hope I am wrong but I can't see Mullin doing well and I don't see them outbidding every other school for their wishlist of assistants.

They just outbid Iowa State for Abdelmassih.

[SecureDaBall]

Mullin would not have been my first choice at St. John's exactly because of the lack of coaching experience which you cite. So, I completely understand your feelings on this point.

However, to act like this isn't a home run for St. John's completely ignores the positives which Mullin does bring to the program and focuses only on the negatives. It's not a grand slam, but St. John's definitely hit it out of the park with this hire.

Let's look at your objections.

1. You "don't see him outbidding every other school for their wish list of assistants." He doesn't have to do that. Frankly if he hired a couple of NY high school coaches with the right stuff for recruiting, he'd endear himself to every HS coach in the NY area. With them on his side, he'd have a pipe line to NY/NJ area talent. As for established recruiters, he only needs one or two of them, so he doesn't need to "outbid every other school."

2. You don't like the Hoiberg comparison, so you go to Drexler. Why not go to Kevin Ollie at UConn? Or was it his 2 years on the UConn bench that enabled him to take his team to the national championship the first year they were eligible? The fact is that some coaches succeed and some fail regardless of their background and amount of prior coaching experience. I can provide examples of experienced assistants who failed as well as inexperienced coaches who succeeded. We just don't know who will succeed until they actually step into that role. Everyone's talking about Barry Rohrssen as a great recruiter for whose services Mullin will be competing with Kentucky. Who should have been better prepared to be successful as a HC than Slice with all his coaching experience? But he flopped at Manhattan despite having all those recruiting ties to the city. Masiello than came in and has succeeded. The fact is that there are no guarantees for anyone. You're only giving negative example while there are examples of both.

3. Your example of Eddie Jordan at Rutgers is a particularly poor one. The jury is still out on him. He took over a train wreck of a program which had hopelessly bottomed out. Did you want him to turn it around over night? And Jordan did have prior coaching experience, so if you want to cast him as a failure, he's actually an example of a case where prior coaching experience didn't make him a success. Furthermore Jordan never had the stature either at Rutgers or in the NBA that Mullin has had at both the college and pro levels.

The major thing that you've overlooked is how badly the St. John's brand has suffered since Louie retired - especially in the last 15 years. Jarvis ignored local high school coaches and then ended his tenure in scandal. Neither Roberts nor Lavin were able to overcome that although Lavin certainly took steps in the right direction.

For a program that needs to cut ties with the scandals and futility of its recent past, the hiring of Chris Mullin is an absolute Home Run. The Mullin hire turns the page from all that stuff. It reassociates the brand with all it's glorious past as the premier program in NY for more than 60 years and one of the great programs in college basketball history. Branding is very important in any business, and no less so with a college basketball program than anything else.

You are cherry picking comments but:

1. My point was towards a comment about St. John's getting 2 or 3 of the top assistants. They already proved they can get Abdelmassih but ISU doesn't have the budget of Kentucky so I think they won't get Slice which I think is many people's top choice. I agree they don't need a full staff of star assistants.

2. It's not that I don't like Hoiberg as a comparison, I just think its fair to show the times when a move like this fails. And yes, Ollie had experience so he doesn't fit the mold IMO.

3. Yes, jury is still out on Jordan but losing 16 in a row to end your 2nd season doesn't give me confidence. I used Jordan as an example because he's a guy that came in with no recruiting connections. My doubt in Mullen is multi-faceted so I feel the need to use a few different examples.

I agree with everything you are saying about St. John's since Carnasecca but I don't see this as a home run. Maybe a PR home run but that gets St. John's two weeks. After that, the mob will slowly turn on him if they don't see results and I can't see how anyone is sure that Mullen will get results.

[NJRedman]

Mullin would not have been my first choice at St. John's exactly because of the lack of coaching experience which you cite. So, I completely understand your feelings on this point.

However, to act like this isn't a home run for St. John's completely ignores the positives which Mullin does bring to the program and focuses only on the negatives. It's not a grand slam, but St. John's definitely hit it out of the park with this hire.

Let's look at your objections.

1. You "don't see him outbidding every other school for their wish list of assistants." He doesn't have to do that. Frankly if he hired a couple of NY high school coaches with the right stuff for recruiting, he'd endear himself to every HS coach in the NY area. With them on his side, he'd have a pipe line to NY/NJ area talent. As for established recruiters, he only needs one or two of them, so he doesn't need to "outbid every other school."

2. You don't like the Hoiberg comparison, so you go to Drexler. Why not go to Kevin Ollie at UConn? Or was it his 2 years on the UConn bench that enabled him to take his team to the national championship the first year they were eligible? The fact is that some coaches succeed and some fail regardless of their background and amount of prior coaching experience. I can provide examples of experienced assistants who failed as well as inexperienced coaches who succeeded. We just don't know who will succeed until they actually step into that role. Everyone's talking about Barry Rohrssen as a great recruiter for whose services Mullin will be competing with Kentucky. Who should have been better prepared to be successful as a HC than Slice with all his coaching experience? But he flopped at Manhattan despite having all those recruiting ties to the city. Masiello than came in and has succeeded. The fact is that there are no guarantees for anyone. You're only giving negative example while there are examples of both.

3. Your example of Eddie Jordan at Rutgers is a particularly poor one. The jury is still out on him. He took over a train wreck of a program which had hopelessly bottomed out. Did you want him to turn it around over night? And Jordan did have prior coaching experience, so if you want to cast him as a failure, he's actually an example of a case where prior coaching experience didn't make him a success. Furthermore Jordan never had the stature either at Rutgers or in the NBA that Mullin has had at both the college and pro levels.

The major thing that you've overlooked is how badly the St. John's brand has suffered since Louie retired - especially in the last 15 years. Jarvis ignored local high school coaches and then ended his tenure in scandal. Neither Roberts nor Lavin were able to overcome that although Lavin certainly took steps in the right direction.

For a program that needs to cut ties with the scandals and futility of its recent past, the hiring of Chris Mullin is an absolute Home Run. The Mullin hire turns the page from all that stuff. It reassociates the brand with all it's glorious past as the premier program in NY for more than 60 years and one of the great programs in college basketball history. Branding is very important in any business, and no less so with a college basketball program than anything else.

You are cherry picking comments but:

1. My point was towards a comment about St. John's getting 2 or 3 of the top assistants. They already proved they can get Abdelmassih but ISU doesn't have the budget of Kentucky so I think they won't get Slice which I think is many people's top choice. I agree they don't need a full staff of star assistants.

2. It's not that I don't like Hoiberg as a comparison, I just think its fair to show the times when a move like this fails. And yes, Ollie had experience so he doesn't fit the mold IMO.

3. Yes, jury is still out on Jordan but losing 16 in a row to end your 2nd season doesn't give me confidence. I used Jordan as an example because he's a guy that came in with no recruiting connections. My doubt in Mullen is multi-faceted so I feel the need to use a few different examples.

I agree with everything you are saying about St. John's since Carnasecca but I don't see this as a home run. Maybe a PR home run but that gets St. John's two weeks. After that, the mob will slowly turn on him if they don't see results and I can't see how anyone is sure that Mullen will get results.

You think people at St. John's will turn on Mullin after 2 weeks? It's not like he's inheriting an all star team or even a full roster. Jordan and Obekpa might be gone. He might have to literally put together an entire team for next season. No one is going to expect him to win the conference next year. If we make the NCAA's it will be a huge success. Next year was always going to be a rebuilding year after losing the senior class no matter who the coach was.

Mullins leash is a LOT longer than you are suggesting.

[Bill Marsh]

All fair points, Secure D Ball.

I'm focusing on the positives of this hire, of which I think there are many. Given who St. John's is at this point, it's hard to imagine that they could have gotten a more high profile hire. Given who Chris Mullin is, it's unlikely that he'll be going anywhere else if he is a success here. That's in contrast to the high energy, up and coming young coaches like The Hurleys, Masiello, etc, who would all have been a good possibility to move on if they were successful. The only candidate with successful coaching experience who would have had the same level of commitment to St. John's would have been Tim Cluess.

I understand that you have your reservations and you are on legitimate ground with them. It's not like this is without question marks.

[Steve Lavin]

Officially hired Matt A. as an assistant to help recruiting in a big way. An AAU coach called NYC area radio station ESPN NY the other day and said that Lavin waived at him in a gym. The coach asked "Who is that guy waiving to me?". That should speak volumes about Lavin's supposed "great recruiting" ability. AAU coaches said he was at a distance, never in the homes or talking to them in gyms. NYC area coaches resented him for being so distant. Thought it was very interesting.

People say NYC talent is down, but it's like saying the Big East is down after the old Big East got demolished. It's not the same, but it's still quite good. There are still lots of very good kids in the 5 boroughs, LI, NJ, CT, Westchester, etc. So I think it's greatly exaggerated to claim NYC hoops is dead. It's just down from being dominant. Now other places caught up but it's still good.

One great assistant coach hired, a few more to go. Other Big East teams should be very happy...Mullin is ALL BUSINESS. There is this impression that the job was thrown at him and he was reluctant. It's quite the opposite. He essentially said he wanted it a while ago and would do whatever it took to get it. He is a man on a mission. He is a workaholic. If there's any kind of guy you bet on to succeed, it's him.

[SecureDaBall]

You think people at St. John's will turn on Mullin after 2 weeks? It's not like he's inheriting an all star team or even a full roster. Jordan and Obekpa might be gone. He might have to literally put together an entire team for next season. No one is going to expect him to win the conference next year. If we make the NCAA's it will be a huge success. Next year was always going to be a rebuilding year after losing the senior class no matter who the coach was.

Mullins leash is a LOT longer than you are suggesting.

No, I didn't say they will turn on him after 2 weeks. I said this "PR home run" will wear off after 2 weeks and after that he needs to prove his worth or the fan base will SLOWLY turn on him. Yes, 15-16 is a rebuilding year. I'm talking about after a bad first season and 2 recruiting seasons with no great recruits. Year two isn't going to be all puppy dogs and rainbows.

All fair points, Secure D Ball.

I'm focusing on the positives of this hire, of which I think there are many. Given who St. John's is at this point, it's hard to imagine that they could have gotten a more high profile hire. Given who Chris Mullin is, it's unlikely that he'll be going anywhere else if he is a success here. That's in contrast to the high energy, up and coming young coaches like The Hurleys, Masiello, etc, who would all have been a good possibility to move on if they were successful. The only candidate with successful coaching experience who would have had the same level of commitment to St. John's would have been Tim Cluess.

I understand that you have your reservations and you are on legitimate ground with them. It's not like this is without question marks.

After its official, I'm switching on the positivity!!!!

[Hoyas]

All fair points, Secure D Ball.

I'm focusing on the positives of this hire, of which I think there are many. Given who St. John's is at this point, it's hard to imagine that they could have gotten a more high profile hire. Given who Chris Mullin is, it's unlikely that he'll be going anywhere else if he is a success here. That's in contrast to the high energy, up and coming young coaches like The Hurleys, Masiello, etc, who would all have been a good possibility to move on if they were successful. The only candidate with successful coaching experience who would have had the same level of commitment to St. John's would have been Tim Cluess.

I understand that you have your reservations and you are on legitimate ground with them. It's not like this is without question marks.

St John's fans better hope this does work. Just thinking where St John's would be perception wise if it doesn't isn't all that appealing. I would think the fan base at that point would totally splinter.

[NJRedman]

All fair points, Secure D Ball.

I'm focusing on the positives of this hire, of which I think there are many. Given who St. John's is at this point, it's hard to imagine that they could have gotten a more high profile hire. Given who Chris Mullin is, it's unlikely that he'll be going anywhere else if he is a success here. That's in contrast to the high energy, up and coming young coaches like The Hurleys, Masiello, etc, who would all have been a good possibility to move on if they were successful. The only candidate with successful coaching experience who would have had the same level of commitment to St. John's would have been Tim Cluess.

I understand that you have your reservations and you are on legitimate ground with them. It's not like this is without question marks.

I agree that it's a move thats not without it's risks, my issue with Secure was that he said he couldn't see it working. How can someone NOT see positives of this hire outside of the PR side of this? The guy is a gym rat who knows the X's and O's as well as anyone around. Like I said many times before already. he didn't spend 16 years in the Association because he was the fastest and could jump the highest. He played as long as he did because he was one of the smartest and knew how to make those around him better. His connections to the league can't be over looked either. 2 of the top players in the city have already said it's a good hire and that they would like to talk to him now. Thats before he even hired a recruiter or a staff. Those are multiple positives staring us in the face.

Yes, he could fail. I fully understand that, but im a positive person in life in general and thinking negatively helps no one.

[ChestRockwell85]

If Mullin brings in the assistants that people are saying he will (things already starting to happen with the hire of the Iowa State guy) I just don't see Mullin failing at SJU. In fact, I think he can make them pretty damn scary. IN FACT, if Sampson commits again, Diallo commits, Obepka and Jordan stick around, and he brings in another late 2015 recruit, he could have them being pretty damn scary sooner than later.

If I am St. John's fan, I am feeling pretty good right about now.

DePaul on the other hand, WTF?!?!?!?!