He's been out of coaching for what 5-6 years now? I'm not sure that's a good thing.
Someone called him the pride of Marin County the other night on Espn News. I thought Phil Lesh was...
He's been out of coaching for what 5-6 years now? I'm not sure that's a good thing.
Someone called him the pride of Marin County the other night on Espn News. I thought Phil Lesh was...
(trying to manage my bias on this guy)
I think he will do fairly well here.
I am not sure on the recuiting end but seriously how much success will Lavin have to have in order to keep the folks there at St. Johns happy? Lavin himself won't be able to fill MSG, but if the media continues to hype the Big East, receives some buzz for the hire, obtain some quality wins, does fairly well in the Big East Tournament, and gets them to the NCAAT then I think it would be considered a success.
The thing is I see this move as simply a way to get back into the game for Lavin. Has he kept himself out this long? Or has their just not been any interest? The reason why he was the coach at UCLA was pure luck itself. If he does accomplish the things mentioned above I see him jumping ship for a more a school with more potential.
(not trying to manage my bias)
I hope that Lavin and K can put something together to keep the series alive for Duke vs. St. Johns. I would love to beat up on Lavin. I remember playing UCLA when Lavin was there, pretty sure Kapono was there main guy, but I was only like 14 at the time and I could not stand the way Lavin had his hair. Looked like a jerk. But now, that I acutally have had the opportunity to hear his anaylsis on the college game and how he sees it, I really can not respect him.
However, I wish him good luck and hope that his tenure in coaching college basketball is a bit more successful this time around.
Last edited by Duke of Nashville; 03-30-2010 at 05:20 PM. Reason: grammer
I love it!!!!
This makes the hiring of Matt Millen by the Lions the SECOND worst decision in the history of sports!
I thought I read somewhere that the St. John's series was ending, but perhaps I was wrong. I kind of hope it does end, because it hasn't been all that competitive lately (although the Johnnies have got some wins, painful as it is to remember) and I don't think Lavin will turn the program around, at least not in the right direction.
Lavin will have to recruit well in the NYC area, and to my knowledge he little experience there. Maybe he has a tie in with World Wide Wes or the Pump Brothers or something that will help him.
It will be interesting to see how what kind of staff he assembles.
He will be able to go to alumni groups and talk about Lou Carnesecca, Chris Mullin, Joe Lapchick, Walter Berry which will make them happy. He will throw in some John Wooden UCLA references as well.
He will it harder to recruit to St. Johns than to UCLA and unless he hires a great staff will have to coach.
SoCal
Hope NYC is stocked up on "Dapper Dan Hair Gel"... for Steve "Do I look like Fred Flintstone to you?" Lavin ... Yaba Daba Do!
The only better possibility woulf be for him to bring in the Herricks to help him!
The timing of this hire gives Lavin time to order some suits tailored for his new role.
Alumni groups may temporarily be happy to be reminded of the old guys, but they really want to see the 17 yo McD's A-A's.
My favorite quote is from Baron Davis: Davis told The Contra Costa Times in 2007 during an N.B.A. shootaround at Pauley Pavillion: “We should have a banner up there — the only team to make the tournament without a coach.”
But from my perspective, it's a great hire just because it gets a jerk out of the press box and puts him on the sideline where he can lose 20 games/year. Maybe he can recruit, but it's a tough sell in a tough league...