Mullin, SHU and Metro Area BB

[anon_4htvdezyfe7k9]

09 - I haven't looked at the individual matchups that constituted the 7-2 record against the A-10. I just think they are a solid league and I watched a lot of the conference tournament games and the NCAAs and there just seems to be a huge gap from a size and athleticism standpoint between the power 5 conference teams and the BE. I know the kenpom ratings and RPI tell a different story, but I also know what I witnessed and the results we had in the tournament. I think someone posted an article about Nova's recent struggles that alluded to this as well.

 

[Halldan1]

Kenpom

1 Big 12 Conference .8129

2 Atlantic Coast Conference .7949

3 Big East Conference .7809

4 Big Ten Conference .7736

5 Southeastern Conference .7495

6 Pac 12 Conference .7425

7 Atlantic 10 Conference .6067

 

[Pirate64]

New York, New York is a helluva town and always will be. But's it's not for the feint of heart type of college kid.

You want smooth? Happy Valley, Chapel Hill perhaps, Ann Arbor.

You want your heart to beat fast? New York more than any other City I've been to. London comes close but it's veddy British. lol

A Minnesota gal who worked for me once said: " I see more in one walk to the office from Grand Central then I did in my whole life living in Minnesota." But guess what, she moved back there.

Different strokes.

We just have to get the best athletes who want to be close to the Big Apple and love it there.

Tony B, Sara Doell ( golf) Paige Smith ( softball) are finding them.

To be specific, look who our ladies volleyball coach Allison Yaeger has coming in as freshman in the Fall !

Sophia Coffey (Sierra Madre, Calif.), Grace Forren (La Jolla, Calif.), Cherise Hennigan (Corona, Calif.), Miranda Higginbotham (Dallas, Texas), Caitlin Koska (Franklin, Wis.), Abby Thelen (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) and Amy Vandegriff (Saginaw, Texas).

All from far away. Now that's national recruiting.

 

[Flnj86]

SG Brandon Sampson just picked LSU as his college choice to continue his basketball career.

 

[Bud Boomer]

Originally posted by JIMSOULS:

It's not wins and losses that count; it's the money. Over the next several months, the Power Five will be making money hand-over-fist, with their schools getting all kinds of mention on TV.

So it's college football revenue and exposure that makes programs like Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Arizona, North Carolina, Indiana, UCONN, and UCLA so great? Sorry, but you're going to have to do better than that.

 

[Seton75]

NYU was named #1 dream college for kids recently (a couple of times). The 2015 list has NYU at 3 and Columbia at 4.

And Brooklyn is probably the hottest spot for kids in the nation. I think you are out of your mind if you think any place is higher on the cultural scale than NYC.

 

[Halldan1]

St. John's suffers first setback under Chris Mullin

Brandon Sampson Photo: Kelly Kline/Under Armour

It took almost three weeks, but Chris Mullin finally got a dose of bad news Monday morning.

One-time St. John's recruit Brandon Sampson announced his decision to attend LSU over St. John's, joining a stacked Tigers recruiting class that includes overall No. 1 prospect Ben Simmons and McDonald's All-American Antonio Blakeney.

Sampson, a four-star recruit and consensus top-50 player, committed to the Red Storm in January, but opened up his recruitment when coach Steve Lavin was let go.

It is a major loss for the Johnnies, who graduate their entire backcourt of D'Angelo Harrison, Jamal Branch and Phil Greene IV. The status of point guard Rysheed Jordan remains uncertain, though he has announced on Twitter he is returning for his junior year. Losing Sampson was a possibility when Lavin was let go, and it came to fruition.

Sampson met with Mullin and assistants Matt Abdelmassih and Barry Rohrssen on Saturday night. Sources said the meeting went very well, but the new staff just didn't have enough time to win Sampson over. LSU was viewed as Sampson's favorite all along, but it was believed the Tigers were tepid in their interest after landing Blakeney, a shooting guard like Sampson. When Sampson reopened his recruitment, that changed, coach Johnny Jones pitching him on being part of a powerhouse recruiting class.

The decision still came as a surprise considering Sampson has talked about how important playing right away would be in his college choice. At LSU, he likely is ticketed to come off the bench as a freshman, while at St. John's he would have started right away. He was also attracted to St. John's because of the opportunity to play at Madison Square Garden and in a large media market, but staying home trumped those things.

St. John's now will look elsewhere to fill out a decimated backcourt. Chicago four-star point guard Marcus LoVett Jr. tweeted the Red Storm are at the top of his list, though he remains a qualifying question mark, and Italian guard Federico Mussini recently visited St. John's. Mullin and Co. are looking at a number of transfers and reportedly will meet with the father of three-star New Jersey shooting guard Malik Ellison on Tuesday.

 

[Burnsly]

If NYC is in decline why are the ACC & B1G holding their tournaments there.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Originally posted by Burnsly:
If NYC is in decline why are the ACC & B1G holding their tournaments there.

Those events are primarily for adults with money, as well as fans, alumni, and students of those particular schools. They don't necessarily connect with local college students, who care more about things like the arts, live music, and discovering new things. Going to college isn't only about learning how to make money when you get out. It's about the experience you have while in school, both on and off campus.

Some of you are looking at New York City through an older eye. This isn't the '60s or '70s, when New York both inspired and encouraged creativity. Thanks to high rents, most of the fun places for college-aged people are long gone. It used to be that kids would get the Village Voice when it came out, and then plan the upcoming weekend around the events listed in it. That doesn't seem to be happening anymore. While I'm no longer in the area, I have plenty of friends who are. Some are artists, and some have children who either dabble in the arts or are interested in being around it. They speak of how the city has been drying up, and how frustrating it is for both themselves and their children.

The linked video of singer/songwriter/poet Patti Smith is short (under four minutes) and insightful. In it, she speaks of how her New York experience in the '70s was quite different from her daughter's in the 21st century. It's interesting that Smith mentions Newark, in passing, as an interesting place to go. A friend of mine who works at Rutgers-Newark was recently telling me about Newark's growth, and how it is becoming more of a destination for college-aged people and young adults. I don't know how true that is, but, if accurate, then perhaps Seton Hall should be pointing that out to recruits. College kids like to experience something stimulating, and, for a potential Seton Hall or St. John's basketball player, spending time in Newark can possibly hold advantages that venturing into Manhattan does not. I don't believe that St. John's is the far better choice of the two. Seton Hall has its advantages when comparing the two. Those advantages just need to be hammered home.

Patti Smith on New York's Cultural Decline

 

[LFBall]

Say what you wish, and I am a Chris Mullin fan and them not having a coach of color on their staff did not help as the young man went to a rising program with 3 coaches of color. People can fool themselves all they wish, but diversity is very important. Also helps that LSU has a heck of a war chest for recruitment purposes like ahem ah um travel and refreshments. Most likely this deal was sealed as soon as there was a SJU coaching change.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Originally posted by LFBall:
Say what you wish, and I am a Chris Mullin fan and them not having a coach of color on their staff did not help as the young man went to a rising program with 3 coaches of color. People can fool themselves all they wish, but diversity is very important. Also helps that LSU has a heck of a war chest for recruitment purposes like ahem ah um travel and refreshments. Most likely this deal was sealed as soon as there was a SJU coaching change.

Yup, and Sampson held his press conference the morning after his meeting with Mullin and his staff. His mind clearly must have been made up before the St. John's people even got on the plane to Louisiana.

 

[Seton75]

I assume his mind was made up and it was still worth it for SJU to visit and try to change his mind. No better time to meet with someone than when they are ready to decide.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Originally posted by Seton75:

I assume his mind was made up and it was still worth it for SJU to visit and try to change his mind. No better time to meet with someone than when they are ready to decide.

Always better to be in the game than not. Car sales people experience this type of rejection on a daily basis. You've got the car sold and the customer changes his mind at the last moment.

While Division I coaches make a nice salary, I would hate to make my living by trying to get impressionable teenagers to come play for me. You need to put out a zillion feelers because, even if you're successful, most of them are going to go elsewhere.

Imagine how confused Cheick Diallo must be regarding Slice?

Slice, two years ago: C,mon, Cheick, Pittsburgh is the best place to play your college ball.

Slice, last year until just recently: C'mon, Cheick. Kentucky is the best place to play your college ball.

Slice, this month: C'mon, Cheick. St. John's is the best place to play your college ball.

The kid's head must be spinning, and he probably never wants to see the guy again.

 

[Seton75]

It has always boggled my mind at kids following assts. (Thank God they do...lol)

 

[Muggsy Blue]

Point.

 

[Bobbie Solo]

Originally posted by Seton75:

NYU was named #1 dream college for kids recently (a couple of times). The 2015 list has NYU at 3 and Columbia at 4.

And Brooklyn is probably the hottest spot for kids in the nation. I think you are out of your mind if you think any place is higher on the cultural scale than NYC.

this, completely. Especially the Brooklyn part. People in their 20's & 30's have been flocking to Brooklyn, part. Williamsburg, Greenpoint, DUMBO, Bushwick for almost 2 decades,and now as far east as places like Bedstuy . Brooklyn is super gentrified, and has so many college kids & post-grads moving there all the time. The music scene is arguably the strongest in the country (ymmv on it obviously, part. you older guys, but you can't argue with the amount of artists & venues coming out of there all the time, for practically all popular genres). Everyone goes out to bars in Williamsburg or Greenpoint now, not as much Manhattan (LES is still lively) & there are tons of clubs & bars that cater to the hip hop scene that most kids that would play basketball for SHU/SJU are into. I know this for a fact, as I work for Hot 97 & see the parties that we promote daily.

This post was edited on 4/20 11:50 PM by Bobbie Solo

 

[HALL85]

One of my daughters lives in Williamsburg. Great neighborhood...Good excuse to go visit her

 

[donnie_baseball]

I think you are out of your mind if you think any place is higher on the cultural scale than NYC.

I couldn't have put it better myself. LOL!