Accountability at St. John's

[Bill Marsh]

In my mind how he has done in the ACC has been where he has under-performed. Each year he's gotten worse: 3rd, 5th, 6th and now 7th. The ACC is not a particularly strong conference IMO. I expected them to dominate that conference from day one.

Fair point.

There are a couple of factors that mitigate that to some extent.

1. UConn has not been a dominant team in regular season conference play in either conference for the past decade regardless of the coach. Had they not come from nowhere in both NC runs, no one would be thinking of them as a dominant program in recent years. In contrast to their postseason success, here are their conference finishes in Calhoun's last 6 years in reverse order - 9th, 9th, 12th, 3rd, 3rd, 12th.

2. The AAC has improved in its depth of teams every year since it was formed.

The AAC is fine but it lacks quality depth at the top like the old BE. Not only would the BE put 7-10 teams in each year but many were very high seeds. L'ville, Cuse, Nova, G'town, Marq., Pitt, ND. It was a tough, tough league year in year out. Other than maybe SMU a couple years ago, I don't think there has been one dominant team in that league yet.

I'd never compare the AAC with the old BE. Just saying that it has been improving since 2013. I just think that has to be factored in when you say that their standing in the league has been declining.

Interesting I went back to look at RPI average between Ollie in 4 years and Calhoun the last 10.
Ollie = 70 avg. RPI
Calhoun = 33.3 avg. RPI

I don't know where you got your RPI numbers, but I get very different numbers when I go to NCAA,org, their official website. Here's what I come up with for UConn's last 10 years:

2016 - 33
2015 - 81
2014 - 5
2013 - 47

2012 - 33
2011 - 6
2010 - 65
2009 - 5
2008 - 23
2007 - 112

Average Ollie (4 years) = 41.5
Average Calhoun (6 yrs) = 40.7

[NJRedman]

Lol...ugh keep getting drawn back in...it's also important to point out that UConn's standards are relative. A 20 win season making it to the Round of 32 is good by St. John's standards...very good even. But by UConn standards, it's disappointing. I never said Ollie was a bad coach, but he's a clear step back from Calhoun so far, but of course he has a lot of time to prove his worth. To quote Obama, "you didn't build that". The foundation was set by Calhoun both physically in players and also prestige. UConn fans are very disappointed with Ollie, read their forum. Calhoun made UConn a blue blood. Taking Calhoun out of the equation for UConn is like taking Belichek out of the equation for the Patriots. By the way Gumby, I assume you meant AAC not ACC UConn is in a very different place now.

SJ needs a game-changing coach to take us to new heights.

This has to be my favorite post of all time from you, Hooper! "Ugh, keep getting drawn back in" Are you kidding? You're like Stever in that when someone disagrees with you, you come back with the same statements as if repeating them makes them more true (Stever uses stats). Long paragraph after long paragraph after long paragraph ranting about how terrible Mullin is and about how if SJ doesn't get great game-changing Coach X to come in next year, no decent recruit will ever come to SJ again. The AD didn't respond to a message from you (an alum? a booster? a BIG booster?), and you interpret that as if they don't care about winning. Incredible. Do you think the SJ AD should respond to all fan inquiries about the direction of the program? On and on and on. Give it a rest and come in off the ledge.

To be fair - I certainly don't think this is the norm but I've heard that SHU's AD, Pat Lyons, will respond to any and all respectfully worded emails. I can't say how promptly as I'm sure he's busy and I've never sent an email myself, but SHU is lucky to have an AD who is openly willing to communicate with and receive feedback, both positive and critical, from fans and alumni.

So again, I doubt it's the norm for college AD's, but the thought that SJU's AD could take a minute to respond to Hooper, even just a "Thank you for your support and concerns" isn't all that crazy. Do I think no response means SJU doesn't care about winning? Of course not, but as long as Hooper didn't sound like a ranting lunatic is his email, a response would have been nice.

The guy has been on the job 2 months and we've been without an AD for almost 2 years. I'm sure he is plenty busy.

[SJHooper]

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.

[sciencejay]

Hooper: your insights into 'what will happen' next year are incredible (and ridiculous and tiring). Do those talents extend to the stock market? I'm in need of some good tips....

[SJHooper]

Hooper: your insights into 'what will happen' next year are incredible (and ridiculous and tiring). Do those talents extend to the stock market? I'm in need of some good tips....

How are they "incredible"? I'm not saying I'm talented at all in predicting...in fact I hope I'm wrong and have a feast of crow to eat after making the NIT next year and having some solid bigs come to help. There is hope and there is reality. I truly hope it happens, but in reality the program is not in a good place right now. One of my big concerns is LoVett leaving after this year. I've heard staff is trying to convince him not to, but if he really does leave that will be killer. Just because you hope a team does better doesn't mean they have a good chance to. Also, bad comparison...the stock market is much more fickle than college basketball teams. Generally, you can predict how a team will perform within reason. Writers predicted us to finish 8th to 10th for the most part and that's where we are right now and will likely finish. We all knew Nova would likely be the top team before the season and they are. We knew Creighton would likely be good and they are. Without Mullin hiring an assistant coach with real experience and with only 1 serviceable big in Owens, what makes you so confident things will be peachy in Queens next year? There was real reason to believe we'd see vast improvement from last season to now based on all the talent coming in, but that hasn't materialized in W/L significantly. I know many of you cringe at my posts, but you have to remember, I may very well be correct. Next year will tell us for sure. I have a right to my opinion as well and I don't have a good feeling about our direction as I have given tons of supporting reasons for.

[NJRedman]

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.

What rumors about Lovett? More Redman BS? Wheres he going pro? Hungary? Turkey? Korea? GTFOH

[Bill Marsh]

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.