What A Weekend

St. Johns

People are talking about the possibility of Steve Lavin going to St. Johns as Head Coach. Many love it and a few hate it. I happen to love it and feel he would bring the buzz necessary to fill Madison Square Garden again as well as sell out Alumni Hall for the season as it was years ago. This is a home run if I ever saw one. If Lavin is hired it erases all the failed efforts with Hewitt, Greenburg, etc. In fact, it could be a better hire than anyone mentioned.

I had an opportunity to sit with Lavin at the ABCD Camp years ago when he was at UCLA. He was very outgoing to all the fans who would not let him watch the game because they asked so many questions and requested so many autographs. He was a true super star and humble and personable as well. What a nice guy!

If Lavin takes the St. Johns job and convinces Dave Lateo to join him, WATCH OUT. Dave is LOVED BY EVERYONE in the NYC Tri-State area. He recruits well, and really is a good coach just as Lavin is. Now if they get any of the others mentioned they become as good a staff as West Virginia and I feel West Virginia is the best Big East Staff currently.

But the real big thing is these guys would be Fan Magnets and everyone will be drawn to them. I know I would be very excited about St,. Johns basketball with those guys aboard.

I still remain a Al Skinner fan as well as a Jim Baron fan. But Lavin and his staff would be Broadway, Carnegie Deli, Apollo Theater, Central Park, and yes Madison Square Garden all over again. In fact that staff would be so good it would only help bring back excitement to area college basketball, something that has been missing for many years.

Seton Hall Hires Willard

Hard to compare this hire with what St. Johns is talking about. I just hope it works out. I also hope this was not done because Rick Pitino pushed it? In all fairness Willard does seem like a very good coach. I am sure he will bring Seton Hall Favorite Shaheen Holloway with him. The big question is who else will he bring? Sha will do well but now Willard needs that other Big East Recruiting type with experience in GETTING IT DONE Big East style. I would hope he would also bring his Dad with him as an Assistant to help with the X and Os. Doing this makes the hire a very impressive one. Bringing the type of staff he used at Iona would be dangerous when it comes to really getting it done recruiting, Big East preparation, program management, and x and o wise.

What a huge weekend in college basketball. Butler winning and going to the final four is as close as we will get to watching Hoosiers on TV. The one real difference is Butler is a very good basketball team that has been very good for a while and has a tremendous history dating back many years. Butler in the Final Four has everyone in Indianapolis buzzing with excitement.

Still enjoy watching the Butler Head Coach, who is very good, working the sidelines. If he wins it all, Disney will definitely come calling for the movie rights. He actually looks like he is 21 years old.

West Virginia is my choice to win it all. I still feel they have the best staff in the entire country experience wise, recruiting wise, and knowing how to get it done when it comes to building a program into a TRUE national contender.

Duke............... Here we go again. After being absent from the final four for a long time they return and ............. Here we go again.

Michigan State is a great story and is coached by a true underrated SUPER COACH. I did not say underrated Coach, I said Underrated SUPER COACH! They might just be the favorites to win it all. But again I am pulling for West Virginia and if they win, Billy Hahn might just get that next Head Coaching Job he deserves. Although I am sure WVU compensates him and Larry Harris well enough for them to stay forever.