[UPDATE x2] St. Johns Commits Suicide (Already Prescheduled A Home & Home w UCLA Next Season)
by Nestor on Mar 30, 2010 12:23 PM PDT
Email
PrintFrom the New York Times:
The seemingly endless St. John’s men’s basketball coaching search appears close to completion. The university is poised to hire the former U.C.L.A. coach Steve Lavin. The two sides met Monday for several hours in Manhattan and were optimistic about finalizing a deal.
"I think both parties entered the meeting with the intention of getting this done," said a person with direct knowledge of the meeting who requested anonymity because a deal had not been completed.
The person added that the two parties had "productive and positive dialogue" and would continue discussions Tuesday.
What is pretty hilarious is to see these reporters pimp Lavin as some kind of "brand" name:
Lavin is a brand name, which would help promote St. John’s in a city where the school has become increasingly irrelevant. But Lavin has not coached or recruited on the East Coast. His only coaching stops were as an assistant at Purdue and assistant and head coach at U.C.L.A.
Lavin is a "brand" for uhm what exactly? What are these guys smoking? I wonder if any of these guys actually watched the UCLA basketball games with Lavin as a "coach." If St. John's AD is dumb enough (and it appears he just might be the stupidest athletic official in the country) to hire this con artist, the only thing it will prove is the power of propoganda from tWWL which effectively marketed an incompetent bumbling bufoon as a credible head coach.
At this point, I want Lav to close the deal and get this gig. St. John's brass is idiotic enough to make them a perfect match with the dumbest doofus ever to dress up as a "head coach."
GO BRUINS.
UPDATE (N): Comedy gold from the New York Post (emphasis added):
After turning to Lavin on Saturday, as reported exclusively in The Post, the two sides came together like a Bruin to honey. Lavin has been out of coaching since 2003 after being fired at UCLA following his only losing season.
Bruin to honey? WT_? Oh it gets better:
"I haven't gone on wild-goose chases," Lavin told The Post. "It's going to take a unique situation for me to put the armor on one more time. St. John's is a tremendous opportunity: a great city, a great conference, a great talent base, great academics."
Armor? ROFL. And then here is the chaser:
"I know some people in the city don't want to believe this, but recruiting the L.A. area might be crazier than recruiting New York," said the coach. "What he went through every day out there would break a lot of coaches. But he built great relationships and he became known as a player's coach."
Yeah, we had no idea that becoming a joke in the West Coast recruiting circles was such hard work. Obviously the Post didn't contact Baron Davis to get him to comment on Lav's player relationships.
There is so much fail in this debacle, not sure how we can wrap it up all in post or even series of posts. As mentioned above, Johnies and this clown seem to be a perfect fit for all the wrong reasons. GO BRUINS.
UPDATE II (N): It's official per Andy Katz of tWWL. Here is the best part of the report:
[T]he Red Storm has a home-and-home series signed for next season against UCLA, Lavin's former team.
Game on. GO BRUINS.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Now, if we can get someone to hire Dukie V as a "coach"
I’ll be able to turn the sound back on during ESPN broadcasts.
sjh
+1
I despise Dick Vitale with every inch of my being.
"We should have a banner up there: the only team to make the tournament without a coach." -- Baron Davis, remembering his "coach" at UCLA
by inhowlandwetrust on Mar 30, 2010 8:55 AM PDT up reply actions
+1
He’s a f**cker…, still not forgiving him for being so negative on the ’95 team. Still remember all the Bruin fans chanting dickie V sucks in the Kingdome. At least he apoligized to the fans.
So true
It’s like he was pissed the ’95 team won. Musburger on the other hand, was very kind to us that year, and picked us to win it all I believe during a mid-season broadcast.
Hate Dickie V as a commentator
but I have to respect the amount of support he’s given to the Jimmy V foundation.
Bob O. (Signholder #3)
I do think
that Lavin is as close to a “brand name” as any current non-coach out there. For better or worse, he coached UCLA for 7 years, so he was in the spotlight during that time. And for the last 7 years, like it or not, he has been one of ESPN’s leading analysts which has gotten him a lot of face time. Also, I live in Illinois, and Lav does A LOT of the Illinois Big10 games, and the students in Champaign LOVE him. He has a way of connecting with young people.
I’m not arguing that he is a good coach, because there is a lot of evidence that he was shaky at best. But I’m just curious, do you leave absolutely no room for the possibility that he is mildly successful at St. Johns? It’s not like he had a losing season every year.
The analogy to Political Person is
a fair one but it should not be Sarah Palin or a Democrat/Republican. It should be the generic image of a slimy politician who is all image and talk and zero substance. A person without any beliefs or intellect but just selling himself on the unsuspecting masses.
Lavin may con a few talented naive young kids to come to St. Johns but he will leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth and will not help the kids become a better player or person. He will be shown to be a fraud as a coach.
I guess the kid will be in better shape after Lavin when he goes to buy a car as he will have heard that type of BS throughout his college career. But that’s it.
Yeah ... let's strike Sarah Palin from my comment
and insert “Brittany Spears” (or we can go with Paris Hilton) per LV’s suggestion below. Does that work?
you don't like Sarah Palin
reviving the ‘sleeping giant’ of the Tea Party after being out of an executive job for a while?
by britishbruin on Mar 30, 2010 7:50 AM PDT up reply actions
I don't like politics here
You can tell by my name where I live and can fairly guess I get enough of it “at home.”
I get that
maybe living across the river in Rosslyn I feel more immune…
More seriously, I think politicians are fair game as pop culture references, but only if the analogy is useful.
Lavin reminds me of Kiffin – someone I’d rather have on the opposition than on our side, and someone who inexplicably appears to be able to parlay positions for which he is not qualified into positions for he is equally unqualified….
by britishbruin on Mar 30, 2010 9:19 AM PDT up reply actions
Rosslyn?!
We should catch a game together sometime. Of course it would be hard to post during the game then. . .
"A person without any beliefs or intellect but just selling himself on the unsuspecting masses."
A perfect description of CHP.
Also, in defense of Brittney and Paris, both of them are reasonably likely to have some redeeming social value. CHP doesn’t measure up to their standard. Look for BSPN to come up with a new series “The Real Housewives of Bristol” featuring CHP and his clones doing … No. I can’t go on with this. It’s too painful.
It's in the job description
… the generic image of a slimy politician who is all image and talk and zero substance. A person without any beliefs or intellect but just selling himself on the unsuspecting masses.
Isn’t that all of them?
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
Lavin is nothing if not a "brand name"
Much like any number of pop music acts or fast food joints (see Britney Spears/McDonald’s), Lavin is very famous despite putting out a generally crappy product. I mean, in a world where George W. Bush can get elected twice, Steve Lavin can definitely find a D1 school willing to take him in. Feel free to leave your “Dubya” wasn’t really elected the first time joke below : )
Without the political references ...
… I know I brought it up first in this thread, I think the Brittney Spears reference pretty much nails it. He is some kind of “brand” name. The “brand” just doesn’t have anything to do with the job of “coaching” this game.
Lavin has become like Zga Zga Gabore (sp?)
No talent, no social value, and merely famous for being famous.
by bornagainbruin on Mar 30, 2010 7:53 AM PDT up reply actions
Zsa Zsa Gabor was famous for a couple of things
She was Miss Hungary of 1936 (no kidding.)
She slapped a Beverly Hills policeman who stopped her for a traffic violation. (I don’t remember what came of that.)
She was in a movie which was at least as bad as “Plan 9 from Outer Space” called “Queen of Outer Space.”
Beyond that, she was famous for being famous. I suppose you could add to the list that she didn’t make a sex tape.
I asked Mrs. Fox 71 who was more famous for being famous than Paris Hilton, and she came up with someone who I think has everyone topped, and may indeed be in a position to cut CHP out of the St. Johns gig – How about Kato Kaelin for head coach.
Now get ready
for St John’s to be on TV more than Duke (and Leave It To Beaver reruns) and for tWWL to coddle the new coach with their coverage.
It will be interesting to see how tWWL spins if it (when) the Lav flames out. You gotta see BSPN as having some bit of a stake in his success, given the support they are providing this move. To a degree, they are putting some of their own validity up as collateral. And I’d be plenty happy to see it washed down the drain, along with St John’s next few seasons.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
can you commit suicide
when you are already dead?
no contract details have been provided yet
but i read on 2 different east coast sports blogs that the rumor is he’s getting $1.8m per year for SIX years. i feel bad for St Johns.
by DoubleTroubleBruin on Mar 30, 2010 8:08 AM PDT reply actions
The most important figure
What is the buyout.
Better get that check ready.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
Oh, Lord above. Does St. John's have a BN counterpart?
If so, we should warn them about the Post-Game Drinking Game.
You know the one: Take a shot for every dumb-*ss sports cliche Lavin insists on throwing into a response instead of, you know, SUBSTANCE.
Geez, just look at his quote, “I haven’t gone on wild-goose chases … It’s going to take a unique situation for me to put the armor on one more time. St. John’s is a tremendous opportunity: a great city, a great conference, a great talent base, great academics.”
“Wild-goose chases… unique situation… put the armor on… tremendous opportunity.” All the Quagmire was missing was his tired old “boat races” crack and you’d have thought it was 2001 all over again.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
they do not have a BN counterpart on SBNation
but I’m guessing “LoseTheLavin” is probably still available as a blog name if they want it
by britishbruin on Mar 30, 2010 9:50 AM PDT up reply actions
someone want to hazard a guess
as to who is meant by
Lavin wants to fly his family, some colleagues and former players in for a press conference that could happen as soon as tomorrow afternoon.
?
Colleagues and players? I'm thinking Sean Farnham, Rico Hines, and Billy Knight.
Yep — a non-ESPN sideline reporter, a rabbit’s foot, and a former Globetrotter.
All of them Bruins, but man…
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
Those are "musts"
He will need their “luck” since that is what his coaching career was based on.
What a clown
LOL at the exercise bike story.
Speaking of recruiting stories, how about this one from 2000:
Lavin went to the World Series as a guest of Malone [former Dodgers GM Kevin Malone], and while that’s a twosome sure to draw giggles in this city, the pair sat together in Shea Stadium discussing UCLA basketball recruiting.
Lavin expressed disappointment at losing Mater Dei center Jamal Sampson to California, and said he had hoped for more help from Pat Barrett [Sampson’s AAU Coach], an influential area youth coach, who at one time wore an NCAA championship ring—a gift from former Bruin coach Jim Harrick that was a part of NCAA sanctions a few years ago.
Malone told Lavin he went way back with Barrett, and offered to call him and give him a hard time. Lavin took a cell phone, and supposedly dialed Barrett’s number.
Malone got an answering machine.
According to a tipster, Malone allegedly left the following message, which the tipster said has now been heard by several other people: “Why is that big Sampson going to Cal? How come you didn’t steer him to UCLA? We needed him and you blew it for us.”
Instead of leaving the message on Barrett’s answering machine, however, Malone had actually left it on Sampson’s, because Lavin had dialed the kid’s telephone by mistake.
“I didn’t hear the message,” Sampson said when reached at home Saturday night. “But my mom did. She got that message on the answering machine.”
…
Here’s the problem for UCLA: Lavin had made it no secret to everyone that Sampson was the Bruins’ most-coveted recruit
Sounds like the “great” relationships with Barrett and Sampson really paid off.
doh
omitted Mom’s reply:
After Sampson’s mother came to the telephone Saturday night, she said, “I don’t care to comment on that [incident].”
by truebluebruin on Mar 30, 2010 9:56 AM PDT up reply actions
Guerrero's next move (provided this goes through)
is to schedule a home and home with St. John’s. How tasty would that be?
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
Only thing that worries me
is playing Lav in a second round tourney game (if he ever gets that far with St. Johns talent … which he might be able to in first 1-2 years with the talent he is inheriting and the BS he is going to sell in his first 2 years).
I sincerely doubt
that he will ever get St. John’s even a sniff of the tourney. Not in that conference. Not with St. John’s. He will be exposed, quickly.
Provided this goes through, I predict that Lavin will be “taking off his armor” for the last time sometime around 2013.
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
Hope you are right
Once the clown gets into second round … some kind of magical, mystical power takes over him!
What does it matter what he does, one way or the other ?
Much as we despised the guy, what he chooses to do for himself, as long as it does not affect UCLA’s well being, what do we care, really.
All that rehashes, rebashes won’t erase those seven years of mediocrity, pain and unimaginable disappointments. They were the culminations of personal animosities, inflated egos, naive judgements etc all rolled into one colossal mistake, unspeakably sordid in hindsight.
St’ John’s suicidal wishes is purely St. John’s choice, nothing to do with anybody. If this is the guy they want, then don’t dither and hesitate, go for it. End of story.
I feel like that so called good samaritan in Canton, China who actually pushed a destitute, suicidal man off the ledge of a bridge because, as he told Chinese police later, that the now dead man hesitated too much. The spectacle caused widespread commotions, held up busy morning traffic in the vicinity. So he just needed to help the victim fulfill the death wish by stepping forward and did the appropriate thing.
There you have it. My take of the situation and the right way to perceive it without aggravating our collective psyche. This is spring vacation time. We have better things to do then talk about some cadaver issues.
Oh we are not getting aggravated at all ...
I don’t find this disconcerting at this point. I think … this is going to be fun to watch! And I don’t feel sorry for the Johnnies b/c no one will be able to say we didn’t warn them.
St. John's fans
should hope that this is just some early April fools joke. I would only wish this type of pain on one program out there.
"I don't forget very much" Rick Neuheisel, 11/28/09
This will definitely be entertaining
It’s too bad it’s not a Pac 10 school — that would’ve been really sweet — but to see Lavin match wits with those Big East coaches will be truly fun. And a lot of those games will be on ESPN. Would make a lot more games interesting to me than otherwise.
Taken from that same website, just started browsing all the comments
He had committed the sin of not being John Wooden at UCLA and it is time for redemption on the opposite coast.
I feel no pity now.
Go Bruins!
Re: quote from Lute
I’m sure Lute would have said anything to keep the Lizard employed in Westwood.
by Give me a B... on Mar 30, 2010 6:55 PM PDT up reply actions
And why they made him coach of the year
Notice he did not win for his Elite 8 year.
It's one reason I liked Monty
He was always pretty frank and often couldn’t hide his disdain for Lavin. He thought of Lav as a total clown who always kept getting lucky at Maples to save his job riding the sheer talent that came in during his first two seasons.
I think they're off by two days..
It’s actually going to be" the crucifixion", as in the NY media is going to crucify him, once they see what he’s all about. Sure, they’ll build him up now. But if he thought the LA media was tough, he’s in for a rude awakening.
Its true the NY media concentrates mainly on pro sports. But St. John’s is the de facto college program in the city. He won’t be able to hide from the tabloids. His antics will be splashed on the back page.
by Give me a B... on Mar 30, 2010 7:08 PM PDT up reply actions
Class of 66, Dick Vitale was hired one time
If I remember correctly, Vitale coached at the University of Detroit in the mid 70’s. Then he became the coach of the Pistons for a little while. His idiosyncratic antics on the sidelines, not to mention those wild, agitated hand gestures and flailing body language so drained, exhausted him both mentally and physically that he lasted barely a season.
Even now, old as he is, whenever he was on camera doing pregame stand up commentary, you can still tell traces of his hyperactive body language lurking, barely suppressed when he was in his " baby this , baby that " frenzy.
He was fired
Dickie V. defends all coaches because he was fired once. I use to get mad at him for being such a big Lavin defender, then I realized he did that with every coach. He never thinks it is the coaches fault.
And they've officially commited suicide according to the front page of
BSPN!!!!
"We should have a banner up there: the only team to make the tournament without a coach." -- Baron Davis, remembering his "coach" at UCLA
by inhowlandwetrust on Mar 30, 2010 12:18 PM PDT reply actions
"Coincidentally, the Red Storm has a home-and-home series signed for next season against UCLA, Lavin's former team"
We play Lavin’s team next year? I hope the student section gives him a proper welcome
Retards
Even if we didn’t go through this disaster, this is a MUST WIN for CBH or it’ll be another black mark on him. I’m going to poke myself in the eye with a pen if we lose to this douchebag.
Beware of his schemes...
… wait until Lavin busts out a hockey-style line change or starts playing his “quicksand” defense.
Go Bruins!
LOL
I forgot about the line changes! Too funny!
Quicksand is a great example of why he should never have Coach by his name
Lavin said
Charles (O’Bannon) would say, ‘What are we in?’ And two guys would say, ’We’re in quicksand,’ and the other three would say, ’We’re in man-to-man.’ I’d say, ‘Good. That’s how we want it."’
Wait REALLY?
We actually have to play them next year? My stomach just turned over. I am at work and just skimming this thread so sorry I’m late! :) If we lose to that rahtard, I’ll literally be ILL.
"The entire world that bleeds blue and gold ... they have been dying for this." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
Lavin and Floyd
being employed on the same day? Are we sure this isn’t April 1st? I know its 2 days early, but really…
"The entire world that bleeds blue and gold ... they have been dying for this." - Coach Rick Neuheisel
WOW
My patient was laughing at this, his quote “I want him to go to St. Johns, so we don’t have to listen to him anymore.”
I bet his official press conference goes something like this...
I am grateful to the entire St. John’s family (1) for being given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. (2)
Working at ESPN was a special time in my life (3) and I will always cherish the time (3) I spent with my broadcasting family. (4) They took me under their wings, (5) a wet-behind-the-ears (6) rookie, a baby chick venturing out of the nest (7) and let me spread my wings and fly (8) before a nationwide television audience (9) in the fishbowl of college basketball (10) and March Madness (11), the Big Dance (12), and let me watch every Cinderella team (13), every mid-major sleeper (14) play until their glass slippers broke (15). It was a humbling experience (16) and one I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. (17)
But, as they say in the movies (18), you know, life really is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. (19) College basketball is a feast or famine business (20), it’s not for the faint of heart (21). It’s a real roller coaster (22), full of twists and turns (23), ups and downs (24), and you never know what’s around the corner. (25)
I’m going to take it one day at a time. (26) I just want to help the ballclub. (27) I’m going to give 110 per cent every day (28), and the Good Lord willing (29), we can do some real good things here (30). We’re going to play some real exciting basketball (31), a lot of up-and-down (32), a lot of boatraces (33), but we’ll always play the game the right way. (34) We’re going to emphasize defense (35), because defense wins championships (36), no rebounds no rings (37), making every possession count. (38)
Seriously, if CHP doesn’t get out at least 35 meaningless cliches in the first 5 minutes of his press conference, then the dude is just slipping.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
by Meriones on Mar 30, 2010 1:43 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Wow, I wasn't that far off (numbers added).
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime (1) to be able to return to the sidelines (12)coaching college basketball at a school like St. John’s that has such tradition and heritage in terms of the history of basketball,” Lavin said. "Then you add the academic dimension, as well as New York City and Madison Square Garden, it’s as good as it gets. (3)
“The veteran, senior-laden team is a real advantage in terms of having the experience of playing in the BIG EAST and competing at the highest level,” (4) Lavin said. “I look forward to getting to know each of the players individually, being able to sit down and watch some game film from last year, putting together a staff and starting to have our school sessions in terms of planning for next season.”
4 cliches in the official statement alone. Not bad… but he’ll be back up to speed in no time.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
The only way this makes sense
is that St. Johns wanted to get mentioned on ESPN. tWWL loves to self promote so having one of their former “analysts” coaching in NY is good for them. Lavin’s only somewhat redeeming quality was that he attracted some talented recruits. However, I just dont see NYC players buying any of his smooth talking and dont see this turning out well at all for St Johns.
I'm interesting on where/how ESPN got this Baron Davis quote:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=5041205
“I wish Coach Lav nothing but the best,” former Bruin and current Los Angeles Clipper Baron Davis said. “He’s always been so supportive of his former players, and I know he truly cares about anyone that plays for him, both personally and professionally. I can easily say I think his new team will instantly take to his personality and passion for the game. He has had time since he last coached to build his gameplan for his style. I love Coach Lav and St. John’s is a great fit for him. I am totally on board to support him and I think its great for college basketball to have him on the sidelines again.”
I guess Baron was just trying to avoid making any waves.
You just KNOW someone at ESPN had gotten wind of BD's prior comments.
In all, though, it’s smart for BD to just take the high road now and wish him well.
M
"In this program your passion bucket must be full to play SC." -- CRN, to Dan Patrick, 1/2008
Maybe
Still better to take the high road and “kill people with kindness”.
B Diddy might genuinely like Lavin the dude
I bet he had more fun playing for Lavin than he did playing for any coach since elementary school. Being a winner and being player friendly are two very diffrent things. This quote sounds like Baron looking back fondly on the coach that used to throw the ball out there and say “go”.
The dig is here:
“He has had time since he last coached to build his gameplan ". How many years? Hopefully it’s enough time for him to develop a game plan!
Go Bruins!
Home and Home
I’d much rather see St. John’s in a Home and Home than in the NCAA’s. Lav loses in the regular season and then “magically” wins games he has no business being in during the tournament. Hopefully UCLA will play the Johnnies early in the season during the “Lavin screwup” portion of the season.
No Due Diligence?
Read the threads Nestor cites.
Are these people crazy?
The recruiting fallacy front and center.
And, the quote Lute Olson’s “compliments” of the lizard — never quite understanding that so long as the lizard was at UCLA, Az could claim to be “the standard”.
So, does the lizard have a picture of the Saint John’s chancellor with a goat? A very attractive goat?
The hire is the hire.
What baffles me is that there is no reporting, anywhere, that challenges the mystique that surrounds the lizard.
Wouldn’t you think someone would do that?
Like how about visiting here?
Me, I’m thrilled about the hire. But, not to happy with the game next season. It’s a total risk for us. They return some talent at a time when we seem very disorganized and in need of a total rebuild.
sjh
i hope we play them at nyc
cause ill probably be going to grad school at columbia.
by maccabita4life on Mar 30, 2010 10:26 PM PDT reply actions
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