Don’t blame Chris Mullin

[Halldan1]

Big East coach reveals biggest cause for St. John’s struggles

By Zach Braziller

February 17, 2016 | 12:15am

Chris Mullin Photo: AP

Don’t blame Chris Mullin for one of the worst seasons in St. John’s 109-year history.

In fact, one opposing Big East head coach, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mullin has done a solid job with the hand he was dealt — just three holdovers from last year’s NCAA Tournament team and a cobbled-together roster formed in a few months after he was hired in April — despite the program-record 16-game losing streak the Johnnies carry into Wednesday’s home game against DePaul.

“I don’t think it’s coaching,” the Big East coach said of the Johnnies (7-19, 0-13 Big East). “They’re running good stuff [on offense]. They’re prepared. They’re playing hard. They hang in there, but with their lack of depth, they have lineups that are difficult to win with.”

The returning players — forwards Christian Jones and Amar Alibegovic, and guard Felix Balamou — averaged a combined 4.0 points in 23.8 minutes per game last year. The two players expected to figure prominently this season — point guard Rysheed Jordan and center Chris Obekpa — left after they were unwilling to meet Mullin’s strict demands for all players. Jordan failed to stick in the NBA’s D-League while Obekpa is sitting out his transfer year at UNLV.

Mullin and his staff brought in nine new players, led by graduate transfers Ron Mvouika (Missouri State) and Durand Johnson (Pittsburgh), neither of whom played last year either because of injury or suspension. Junior college transfer Darien Williams appeared in just three games before reinjuring his surgically repaired shoulder and the crown jewel of the recruiting class — Marcus LoVett, the only true point guard on the roster — was ruled a partial qualifier by the NCAA Eligibility Center.

The Big East coach equated the Johnnies’ roster to that of a low Atlantic 10 team, or perhaps a high-end CAA program. An assistant coach said it resembles a top-end MAAC program.

“They definitely inherited a bad roster,” the assistant said.

Freshmen Yankuba Sima, Kassoum Yakwe, Malik Ellison and Federico Mussini all have shown flashes of promise, but periods of being overwhelmed, too. Mussini has played by far the most, appearing in every game and averaging 31.1 minutes per game, and he has tailed off considerably while playing out of position at point guard.

“I give the kid credit, but he’s shot,” the Big East coach said. “They have Johnson, they have Mvouika, and you have a bunch of kids who don’t know what they’re doing yet.”

Of their 13 Big East losses, six have come by 10 points or less. St. John’s has played some of its best basketball against the nation’s very best, losing twice to eighth-ranked Xavier by a combined 15 points and falling to No. 1 Villanova, 73-63, on the road Saturday night.

“It’s pretty astounding,” CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein said in a phone interview. “If you really dissect the roster, it’s not a surprise St. John’s has gone winless [in the Big East], but I think the thing that is a silver lining there is there is a culture in place of playing hard, there have been elements of sharing the ball that will be magnified when the talent level goes up next season.

“I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: It will be interesting to see what happens when Chris Mullin gets players.”

St. John’s has the top-rated recruiting class in the Big East, according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings, so that time appears to be coming.

 

[Halldan1]

Why Chris Mullin can smile during St. John’s historically bad season

By Zach Braziller

February 16, 2016 | 10:36pm

St. John's coach Chris Mullin Photo: Bill Kostroun

College basketball has been played at St. John’s for more than a century. Only twice has the program had a lower winning percentage than the current team, the winless year of 1918-19 when the Johnnies played just seven games, and the disastrous 2003-04 season under Mike Jarvis that was marred by the Pittsburgh strip-club scandal.

And, in a cruel twist of irony, the man running the show is none other than Chris Mullin, the greatest player in St. John’s history, the NBA Hall of Famer who led the Red Storm to a Final Four berth in 1985.

Mullin, however, isn’t shying away from the ugly season unfolding in Queens, a program-record 16 straight losses and 0-13 mark in Big East play entering Wednesday’s contest against DePaul at Carnesecca Arena.

Asked if he’s OK with seeing his name attached to this forgettable campaign, he said: “Hell yeah. And it’s attached to one of the best teams in St. John’s history. That’s the way it should be.

“And probably the best comeback in St. John’s history.”

Asked, exactly, what comeback that will be, Mullin smiled.

“What comes after this,” he said.

All the losing hasn’t negatively impacted the Brooklyn-bred legend. He thinks this had to happen for the program to get to where he believes it belongs, when he was a player and Lou Carnesecca was on the sideline and St. John’s was a national championship contender. Of course, there really was no choice, after he replaced Steve Lavin last April, the remaining top players in the program, Rysheed Jordan and Chris Obekpa, left, and the new staff recruited nine new players, five of them freshmen.

“In the middle is the worst,” Mullin said. “In the middle is no good. When you don’t take this path, you don’t go anywhere.”

Kassoum Yakwe helped St. John’s contend with top-ranked Villanova on Saturday.Photo: Getty Images

Mullin has preached consistency since Day 1 — consistency in effort, during practice and games. He brought discipline and accountability, never once making excuses for this season, despite how little he inherited. He made a point of not putting a number of wins on his expectations during the preseason, and he has been positive after losses, especially when the Johnnies have played well. The fan base has helped, rarely booing, which Mullin takes as their understanding of this massive rebuild. It has rubbed off on his players, who have remained upbeat despite the ugly record.

“Every day you see the same intensity, you still see people smiling, joking, laughing. You’re still hearing music during practice,” senior guard Ron Mvouika said. “After a losing streak like this, just seeing smiles on people’s faces, it shows the true character of this team. It shows the guys are still willing to work, they’re still ready to play hard and compete.”

One of the five freshmen, Malik Ellison, never had been through a prolonged losing streak before. It was unexpected. Yet, in hindsight, he said he believes it’s beneficial. It’s forced everyone to become even closer.

“I don’t regret anything that happened this year,” he said. “We’re all a family.”

If St. John’s finishes 7-26 by losing its final five regular-season games and Big East Tournament opener, Mvouika said he won’t have trouble sleeping. He knows this was a necessary evil, and he’s happy to have a role in it.

“Me, [fellow seniors] Durand Johnson, Felix Balamou, I like to see us as the bridge, from this year to what’s going to happen, the successful team they’re going to have next year,” he said. “We started that.”

It has been difficult, all the losing. St. John’s hasn’t won since upsetting Syracuse on Dec. 13. The Johnnies have been close, losing six of their 13 Big East games by 10 points or less, three times to No. 8 Xavier and top-ranked Villanova. But there have also been unsightly evenings — a 37-point loss to Vanderbilt, 16-point loss at Fordham, 22-point loss to Incarnate Wood, and a 33-point loss to Butler at home. Yet, they continue to give all they have.

“The fact we’re competing against the best teams in the nation, and just keep coming up short, that’s the most frustrating part,” Mvouika said. “But that’s also the part that makes us work every single day, because we know we’re going to get one.”

Mullin has consulted with his mentor, Carnesecca, and Jack Alesi, his high school coach at Xaverian, and both said they have been impressed with how he has dealt with the trying season. Alesi said he isn’t surprised, though. His son, Chris, remembered a message Mullin gave him in 1995, when he was with the Warriors.

It read: “Don’t get too high after a win, and don’t get too low after a loss. There’s always another game on another day.”

“You watch him game in and game out, and you watch his demeanor on the sideline, he doesn’t look like a coach that is feeling the pressure of losing 16 games in a row.” Alesi said. “He’s even-keeled. He’s still teaching. You can see he connects with his players.”

“Any coach would bleed losing like that,” Carnesecca said, and yet the wounds haven’t been too deep.

When asked if he’s had any second thoughts about taking the job, Mullin laughed. Not a single one.

“I got third thoughts about how I’m going to pay these people back,” he said with a wry grin. “I remember almost every loss I’ve had, and it’s right here [in my head]. We’re coming.”

 

[Save Continental]

I hope they get a win tonight. They have been playing better lately. Will be interesting to see how mullin does with a little experience on next year's roster. should be able to win 5~ games or so.

 

[garyshu71]

I'll give him credit. Not many of his stature would be willing to walk in to that mess and take the beat down he had to know was coming. Not doubt he loves his school and wants to get back to what they had. The Big East needs St. John's to get back if they want to hang on to FOX.

 

[Section112]

St Johns mismanaged things so badly the last few years and went back and forth on Lavin that they killed their recruiting for the future. They made their bed. Mullen will get some good players and it should be interesting how fast he can rebuild them.

 

[SJUBall]

Already you are going to see an infinitely more talented roster next year. This year has been near impossible as SJU is starting at times 4 freshmen, with no true PG. SJU is still giving teams a hard time which is a good sign considering the lack of talent this year. SJU will have a lot more talent next year, and I think it will start to get more interesting. SJU adding 2 Top 40 guards, the best JUCO wing in the country, an A-league German forward amongst others. I'm not saying SJU will be world-beaters next year, but the team will be on a lot more level playing field talent-wise.

 

[shu09]

I'll give him credit. Not many of his stature would be willing to walk in to that mess and take the beat down he had to know was coming. Not doubt he loves his school and wants to get back to what they had. The Big East needs St. John's to get back if they want to hang on to FOX.

I don't doubt your info as you're one of the best posters on this board, but what does St. John's have to get back to? They've made only two NCAA's since the Mike Jarvis era. If you're expecting the mid 1980s St. John's to return, I think you'll be waiting for quite a long time. St. John's has been a poor program for the last 15 years.

 

[Halldan1]

SJU is still giving teams a hard time which is a good sign considering the lack of talent this year.

Not criticizing Mullin. If you read the board you know I have given him a 100% pass on this season.

But be careful about the comments I am reading regarding SJU playing teams relatively close.

There's a reason. No one takes the Red Storm seriously and rarely are you seeing the best the opposition has to offer.

 

[hallgrad80]

Two years from now SJU will be a team in the top 4 of the BE just about every year. Mullin gets tons of positive media hype, he's got a great staff of assistants who recruit well, his program is lavishly funded and Fox and the Conference are all pushing for SJU to do well because having a successful team in the media capital of the world is crucial to the Conference's success and the deal with Fox sports.

 

[Bud Boomer]

From what I've seen this year (very small sample obviously) Mullin is not a good coach. Hopefully for SJU fans he improves or recruits out of his mind (or both). Either way SJU won't be competitive for another 2-3 years.

 

[garyshu71]

I don't doubt your info as you're one of the best posters on this board, but what does St. John's have to get back to? They've made only two NCAA's since the Mike Jarvis era. If you're expecting the mid 1980s St. John's to return, I think you'll be waiting for quite a long time. St. John's has been a poor program for the last 15 years.

Well, I'm not expecting anything. But, I'm sure the glory days are on Mullen's mind just like they are on ours. Once you've tasted it the craving continues on and on..........

 

[HallX2]

Not criticizing Mullin. If you read the board you know I have given him a 100% pass on this season.

But be careful about the comments I am reading regarding SJU playing teams relatively close.

There's a reason. No one takes the Red Storm seriously and rarely are you seeing the best the opposition has to offer.

Let's hope we take them seriously

 

[Seton75]

We don't like to admit it. But the future of the BE is waaaaaay better with a good St Johns.

 

[SHUSource]

We don't like to admit it. But the future of the BE is waaaaaay better with a good St Johns.

No doubt. I don't think there is any getting around it.

 

[HALL85]

Very difficult to judge Mullin on anything at all this year with that roster. That's D3 talent with what left and what never made it. His recruiting looks very solid. I wouldn't bet against a guy like that for sure and wouldn't be surprised by an NCAA bid in 3-4 years.

 

[MBF72]

I like Mullin and wish him well. There is no indication, though, that he can coach. Here is the question I ask: What would St. John's record be this year with this team if Lavin were the coach. Although not suggesting he should have stayed, I'd bet they would have several more wins.

 

[Bud Boomer]

We don't like to admit it. But the future of the BE is waaaaaay better with a good St Johns.

I agree with this. Same (maybe more so) for Georgetown. They, along with Nova, are the big brands. It's not good that 2 of the 3 have been disappointments so far, and St. John's is the equivalent of a bad low major.

 

[Section112]

Their recruiting is going well. Thon Maker and Rawle Aiken seriously considering them. If they get one of those it would be good but both and forget it. They got the shark Slice who can recruit and Mullen's name/reputation.

 

[dehere23]

We will destroy them on Saturday. SJU's guards and wings do not have anywhere near the quickness or physicality to play with IW/Carrington/Desi & Co. Yes, they play hard (credit to Mullin, with how the season has gone), but the talent level just isn't there. A couple of their freshman (Yawke/Sima) would get some burn on our squad, but that is it.

I read the St. John's boards, and Lavin's contract situation wasn't the issue with recruiting. He had a commitment going into this season from Brandon Sampson, who was a top 35 kid last year and is now at LSU. Lavin's problem was that after his first big recruiting class (which was very good), he seemingly stopped working on the trail except to focus on a few big fish like Isiah Briscoe, the Beasley kid at FSU and Cheick Diallo. Instead of having solid plan B's, he put all of their eggs in a few baskets and missed badly. They were left scrambling for replacements who had academic issues or were reaches for the BE level. And he made the mistake of placing heavy emphasis on Rysheed Jordan and Chris Obekpa, who were major head cases. Once the Briscoe ship sailed, the Lavin era was officially done.

Had Lavin recruited consistently like he did with the Harkless/Harrison/Pointer/Sampson class, SJU would still be very good and Lavin would still be the coach. I truly think everything changed once he was diagnosed with cancer. The recruiting fell off dramatically after that, when it should have been on the upswing, with Lavin bringing getting them ranked his first year and bringing them to the tourney for the first time in like 10 years. As it was, he won 20 games 3 out of 5 years and made 2 tourneys. Not bad.

SJU fans are happy that he's gone, either way. The squad Lavin left them with is a joke. But look at their commits for this year - #1 recruiting class in the Big East right now. There staff will get them cooking before long.

Their recruiting is going well. Thon Maker and
Rawle Aiken seriously considering them. If they get one of those it would be good but both and forget it. They got the shark Slice who can recruit and Mullen's name/reputation.

 

[dehere23]

Also, and interesting for tomorrow's matchup, is that had Lavin agreed to place Tiny Morton on his staff, Whitehead would be running the point for SJU against us. It's funny how stuff works sometimes. I expect our NY kids to have big games tomorrow.

We will destroy them on Saturday. SJU's guards and wings do not have anywhere near the quickness or physicality to play with IW/Carrington/Desi & Co. Yes, they play hard (credit to Mullin, with how the season has gone), but the talent level just isn't there. A couple of their freshman (Yawke/Sima) would get some burn on our squad, but that is it.

I read the St. John's boards, and Lavin's contract situation wasn't the issue with recruiting. He had a commitment going into this season from Brandon Sampson, who was a top 35 kid last year and is now at LSU. Lavin's problem was that after his first big recruiting class (which was very good), he seemingly stopped working on the trail except to focus on a few big fish like Isiah Briscoe, the Beasley kid at FSU and Cheick Diallo. Instead of having solid plan B's, he put all of their eggs in a few baskets and missed badly. They were left scrambling for replacements who had academic issues or were reaches for the BE level. And he made the mistake of placing heavy emphasis on Rysheed Jordan and Chris Obekpa, who were major head cases. Once the Briscoe ship sailed, the Lavin era was officially done.

Had Lavin recruited consistently like he did with the Harkless/Harrison/Pointer/Sampson class, SJU would still be very good and Lavin would still be the coach. I truly think everything changed once he was diagnosed with cancer. The recruiting fell off dramatically after that, when it should have been on the upswing, with Lavin bringing getting them ranked his first year and bringing them to the tourney for the first time in like 10 years. As it was, he won 20 games 3 out of 5 years and made 2 tourneys. Not bad.

SJU fans are happy that he's gone, either way. The squad Lavin left them with is a joke. But look at their commits for this year - #1 recruiting class in the Big East right now. There staff will get them cooking before long.