Hypothetical Coaching Changes

[Savannah Jay]

Because Rick Pitino is a HOF HC. He wins and kids want to play for him. He, like Calipari, has not been found guilty of anything...regardless of issues at their schools.

I'd Take Pitino Sr. in a heartbeat, if we could muster the salary at Creighton.
(we'd probably have to switch to Adidas...)

Thank you gtmo, exactly.

Pitino is coaching in Greece right now. Taking the St John's is basically the perfect place to make his comeback. He's a NY guy. He's a Big East guy. He's a Garden guy. He'll win. He'll recruit. He'll get asses in the seats. He'll get the Johnnies ranked. He'll get the Johnnies deep in the tourney. He'll play fun basketball. He'll create great TV. He's 66 and can coach another 8 to 10 years. It's such a perfect situation for him to make his comeback. And he's said that he anxiously wants to coach again.

It's irrelevant that no other team has taken a bite at Pitino. No other job makes sense for him outside of a couple of schools, including the Johnnies. St. John's. UCLA. End of list.

I mean, he's not going to take the Colgate or Canisius jobs. It has to be a blueblood or former blueblood that has had multiple frustrations over many years with an impatient pissed off fanbase, with tradition, that is ready to freak out.

Again, UCLA and St John's fit that perfectly. NC State probably fits too. Maybe UNLV. Marquette if they had sucked this year. That idea. A team like Oregon State would not be a good fit. Crazy enough, a wildcard team like San Francisco if they had sucked this year.

The only other oddball scenario would be if a school in Massachusetts was desperately trying to get into the Big East... they would hire Pitino on a 10 year contract and get our attention. So like, if Boston University gave a f-ck, hire him back after 38 years away, get asses in the seats, and get a Big East invitation. Same goes for Northeastern if they wanted to be bold. To a lesser extent Holy Cross too.

Gotta disagree with you on the Pitino hire...I would be shocked if he gets hired at a Catholic university. He had sex with a woman that was not his wife in a restaurant in Louisville, gave her money for an abortion, convinced his equipment manager to marry her. None of this is rumor. It's fact that came to light when the woman tried to extort him.

Then, of course, is the famous "assistant coaches hiring hookers for recruits" deal. Not sure that would play well at any Catholic school. Finally, the payment to Bowen's dad that FINALLY got him fired. And those are just the things we know about...the things he did and got caught red handed.

Yes, hall of fame coach. Also a hall of fame piece of shit. If CU ever hired him, I would quit watching and quit giving until they got a respectable person as head coach. My $.02.

[billyjack]

I think the discussion is branching out in several directions: [my guesses are in brackets]

For Pitino:
- would St John's hire him? [50% chance, call Vitamin Water guy]
- would Pitino accept the St John's job? [yes]
- would Pitino win at St John's? [yes]
- ceiling for Pitino at St John's? [National Championship]

For Donovan:
- would Donovan accept the St John's job? [30% chance]
- would Donovan win at St John's? [yes]
- ceiling for Donovan at St John's? [National Championship]

For Bobby Hurley:
- would Bobby H accept SJU job? [50% chance].
- would Bobby H win at SJU more than Mullin? [ehh, 50% chance]
- ceiling for Bobby H at SJU? [hmm, Sweet 16 maybe?]

Pitino would win at St John's (it's more probable than Dan Hurley winning at UConn... Pitino could take the current UConn roster and get them in the NCAA's this season). No question in my mind. He or Donovan could take any 5 guys and build them into winners.

[billyjack]

By the way:
2019 common opponent:
Mullin 2-0 vs Marquette, one blowout, one nailbiter.
Nate Oats 0-1 vs Marquette, got flattened.

[adoraz]

By the way:
2019 common opponent:
Mullin 2-0 vs Marquette, one blowout, one nailbiter.
Nate Oats 0-1 vs Marquette, got flattened.

Percent of St. John's fans that would take Buffalo's resume: 100%
Percent of Buffalo fans that would take St. John's resume: 0%

Buffalo's NET is #22 while ours is #49. Your post actually works against the staff in my opinion. Buffalo is undefeated at home, while we can't get up for seemingly inferior opponents at MSG.

Nobody is denying that St. John's has a lot of talent and can beat most teams. I believe all 353 teams in the nation would get up to play vs a ranked opponent (even though most would lose due to talent). The problem is St. John's doesn't play hard unless they really NEED to or they're an underdog. The second we get an ounce of success, we throw it away. The entire year has been up and down. Even OOC when we were winning (against opponents we needed to beat and were far superior to), it was mostly super ugly last minute comebacks. In Big East play you can't get away with half assing it for even five minutes, like we were able to OOC.

[billyjack]

By the way:
2019 common opponent:
Mullin 2-0 vs Marquette, one blowout, one nailbiter.
Nate Oats 0-1 vs Marquette, got flattened.

Percent of St. John's fans that would take Buffalo's resume: 100%
Percent of Buffalo fans that would take St. John's resume: 0%

Buffalo's NET is #22 while ours is #49. Your post actually works against the staff in my opinion. Buffalo is undefeated at home, while we can't get up for seemingly inferior opponents at MSG.

Nobody is denying that St. John's has a lot of talent and can beat most teams. I believe all 353 teams in the nation would get up to play vs a ranked opponent (even though most would lose due to talent). The problem is St. John's doesn't play hard unless they really NEED to or they're an underdog. The second we get an ounce of success, we throw it away. The entire year has been up and down. Even OOC when we were winning (against opponents we needed to beat and were far superior to), it was mostly super ugly last minute comebacks. In Big East play you can't get away with half assing it for even five minutes, like we were able to OOC.

I don't want to be a pain in the neck, and you may be right about Oats, but i think just be careful what you wish for...

Last 5 games for Buffalo:
- L vs Northern Illinois.
- W over Kent State but Buffalo was losing at the half.
- W over Ball State
- L vs Bowling Green.
- W over Central Michigan but Buffalo was losing at the half.

Also, Oats has 4 seniors that start and score most of the points.
These guys were recruited by Bobby Hurley.
Oats... i have no idea what kind of coach he is, but hopefully this isn't like Tim Crews following Majerus.
Buffalo has a good win at Syracuse, and win over struggling West Virginia. Besides those two games i don't see anything too impressive on their resume.

And Bobby Hurley as I've mentioned has some seriously ridiculous losses (along with some great wins), which on paper sounds a lot like Mullin.

[adoraz]

By the way:
2019 common opponent:
Mullin 2-0 vs Marquette, one blowout, one nailbiter.
Nate Oats 0-1 vs Marquette, got flattened.

Percent of St. John's fans that would take Buffalo's resume: 100%
Percent of Buffalo fans that would take St. John's resume: 0%

Buffalo's NET is #22 while ours is #49. Your post actually works against the staff in my opinion. Buffalo is undefeated at home, while we can't get up for seemingly inferior opponents at MSG.

Nobody is denying that St. John's has a lot of talent and can beat most teams. I believe all 353 teams in the nation would get up to play vs a ranked opponent (even though most would lose due to talent). The problem is St. John's doesn't play hard unless they really NEED to or they're an underdog. The second we get an ounce of success, we throw it away. The entire year has been up and down. Even OOC when we were winning (against opponents we needed to beat and were far superior to), it was mostly super ugly last minute comebacks. In Big East play you can't get away with half assing it for even five minutes, like we were able to OOC.

I don't want to be a pain in the neck, and you may be right about Oats, but i think just be careful what you wish for...

Last 5 games for Buffalo:
- L vs Northern Illinois.
- W over Kent State but Buffalo was losing at the half.
- W over Ball State
- L vs Bowling Green.
- W over Central Michigan but Buffalo was losing at the half.

Also, Oats has 4 seniors that start and score most of the points.
These guys were recruited by Bobby Hurley.
Oats... i have no idea what kind of coach he is, but hopefully this isn't like Tim Crews following Majerus.
Buffalo has a good win at Syracuse, and win over struggling West Virginia. Besides those two games i don't see anything too impressive on their resume.

And Bobby Hurley as I've mentioned has some seriously ridiculous losses (along with some great wins), which on paper sounds a lot like Mullin.

Fair points. I just feel there have to be some better options out there than Pitino.

[MullinMayhem]

Every time we assume a coach will leave the NBA, they don't...at least for us. Donovan, Stevens, etc. they aren't coming back. We can't pay what they make in the NBA and they win in the NBA. It's not like they're terrible franchises. They have legit teams. Our realistic shots would be Oats or Hurley. I'd be willing to give Hurley 5-6 years to give results. He has the pedigree and he would recruit. Yes he may be mediocre at first, but he does very well when he gets his guys experienced. Oats would be good but recruiting would be a concern. If we get a top notch recruiter for him I like it.

[gtmoBlue]

Well Adoraz/SavannahJay,

Tell us how you really feel.

[GoldenWarrior11]

Another Duke connection for St. John's could be Johnny Dawkins. UCF's attendance this year, despite its pretty impressive season, is still under 5k per game. Dawkins is an East coast guy (from D.C.) that went to a Catholic HS. There could be a common fit there. Would also wonder if Tommy Amaker could be in play there. If they wanted to look at younger guys, Nate James could also get a look.

[Savannah Jay]

Well Adoraz/SavannahJay,

Tell us how you really feel.

I did say he was a hall of fame POS...not just some regular ole POS.

Honestly, I cannot understand why anyone would hire him, although I know someone probably will. I just do not believe it will be a Catholic university.