Jan. 12, 2019 (3) Big East Games....

[adoraz]

Because St. John's played such a pathetic ooc schedule, they have much less room for error than a team of their quality should have. They better hope Pond's injury isn't anything that lingers.

Nah, no excuses. If we can't get to 10+ BE wins, with or without Ponds, then consider it a blessing. Mullin won't be brought back if we don't make the Tournament and we'd be better off in the future.

I'm not giving up on Mullin quite yet, but we have to consider life without Ponds next year. This is year 4 of Mullin and anything less than 10 BE wins would be unacceptable.

Actually I don't even care about wins or losses, my only concern is making the NCAA tournament.
But, year you're right, to do that, we need 10+ wins.

Sticking with my 11-7 prediction. Must win for sju, and creighton's. It should be a dogfight.

Yep, exactly. Years one and two were "freebies" with zero expectations, but he certainly didn't overachieve. Years three and four are different. If he can't get to 10 BE wins once in a four year period, he definitely shouldn't be extended.

Ewing's first year was last year, and in his second season he might get to 10 Big East wins. I'd be shocked if he doesn't get to 10 wins at least once during the next 3 years. They're going to be really good next year.

[Hall2012]

Just throwing this out there. Kevin Willard's best conference record over his first 5 years was 8-10. He's made 3 of 3 NCAA tournaments since. Sometimes patience with a head coach is better than the "4 years to dance or you're gone" method

[adoraz]

Just throwing this out there. Kevin Willard's best conference record over his first 5 years was 8-10. He's made 3 of 3 NCAA tournaments since. Sometimes patience with a head coach is better than the "4 years to dance or you're gone" method

Willard didn't have any talent on his roster until 5 years in, right? He was kept because around year 4/5 he had a top 10 class coming in.

The talent years 2-4 under Mullin I'm pretty sure is way above what Willard had his first 4 first years. Year 5 Willard was given a one year pass due to his team being (very talented) freshmen. Year 6 he went 12-6 with a roster of sophomores.

We're not asking Mullin to win the BET... but there's no excuse not to make the Tournament with all these upperclassmen and the BE pre-season player of the year. Ponds is out just one game and we lose to DePaul at home. Not only that, but we looked awful and unprepared.

It's just one game so I won't overreact, but as I've always said I 100% want Mullin gone if we don't make it this year. Go after the Buffalo coach or someone similar.

[SJUBBALL]

Just throwing this out there. Kevin Willard's best conference record over his first 5 years was 8-10. He's made 3 of 3 NCAA tournaments since. Sometimes patience with a head coach is better than the "4 years to dance or you're gone" method

That’s a good point. But also, correct me if I’m wrong, was Willard’s first couple of years in the old big east? He might’ve been given a couple extra years because a new, less daunting conference was forming.

It’s a shame with mullin cause I think we will be pretty good with Nate Tabor and several other additions coming in. But Shamorie Ponds is one of the best players in the schools history, and if he never makes it to a ncaa tournament it looks awfully bad on the staff

[Hall2012]

Just throwing this out there. Kevin Willard's best conference record over his first 5 years was 8-10. He's made 3 of 3 NCAA tournaments since. Sometimes patience with a head coach is better than the "4 years to dance or you're gone" method

That’s a good point. But also, correct me if I’m wrong, was Willard’s first couple of years in the old big east? He might’ve been given a couple extra years because a new, less daunting conference was forming.

It’s a shame with mullin cause I think we will be pretty good with Nate Tabor and several other additions coming in. But Shamorie Ponds is one of the best players in the schools history, and if he never makes it to a ncaa tournament it looks awfully bad on the staff

Yes, but the best 2 of those 5 years were his first two when he was working with an actually pretty talented roster inherited from Bobby G that included Jeremy Hazell, Jordan Theodore, Herb Pope, Jeff Robinson, and Fuquan Edwin. He had some headcases on the team for sure, but he had some talent - a luxury Mullins didn't have to start with.

Many fans felt Willard underperformed with those rosters and were then vocally calling for his head when the team fell off hard due to his recruiting struggles.

SHU kept with him however, because he was never hired to oversee a quick turnaround. The reason they went with Willard was to break the 4 year revolving door cycle by hiring a young coach who would take his lumps learning on the job in the Big East all while providing stability and building a program. It took a lot of patience, but even during some really rough years they stuck to the plan and it finally started to pay off.