SJHooper wrote:Great get for DePaul...as a fan of essentially all losing teams i.e. Mets, Jets, Knicks, SJ, Isles, etc. it's nice to see things like this happen. So sick of the same boring UK, Kansas, UNC, Duke, Arizona signings. You don't have to go to those schools to make the NBA, you can make a bigger name for yourself as "the man" on a team instead of being one of many studs. Look at Kris Dunn. Very refreshing. Even if the reason is due to hiring his coach, who cares? I know some look down upon it as being desperate, but look what it did for Willard at Seton Hall. He sold his soul to get Whitehead and he's had lots of success since then. Getting Whitehead is what turned that program around...they went on to win the Big East and have been recruiting well since they started to win. The consensus seems to be that hiring a major recruit's coach just to secure them never works, but Willard is proof that it can.
I love your use of hyperbole when you attempt to drive home a point. First of all, Williard hasn't had "lots of success" since bringing in assistant coaches for Whitehead (and company) and Delgado. I know that's subjective, but I don't see the ton of success. He's had some success (ie, winning the Big East Tournament and having winning seasons), but he's yet to even advance past the first round of the NCAA Tournament. His recruiting hasn't been any better than St. John's since Mullin was hired with the exception of this year. Let's see how Williard fares after he loses the class where he supposedly "sold his soul." The 2018 class is just as critical for Williard as it is for Mullin.
I don't have an issue when a coach or program bring in an assistant coach. But, if it's out of desperation to keep their job, then that particular coach better be able to ride that train for the duration or get some great mileage out of that ride. Otherwise, it could come to hault after a handful of seasons, and then you're back to square one.
Regardless, I don't have a problem with it one way or another. It was you who was screaming "bloody foul" when Seton Hall did so to bring in Whitehead. You was claiming (paraphrasing), NCAA violations, based on your beliefs of Seton Hall's "supposed" transgressions. You must've forgot your apesh_t-like behavior. But, now it's all good because in your mind Williard has been "highly-successful" with this act and you use it as an indirect jab at St. John's.
The only thing I agree with you about here is I like seeing highly-rated kids choose other schools outside of the usual blue-blood's. I don't have anything against DePaul, so it's good for their program and the conference. IMO, this was a desperation move by Leitao, as his seat is probably slightly heating up and the school is opening up a brand new arena. So, he needs some momentum, and what better way to gain it by hiring coaches of top-notch talent. Hopefully, he can springboard it into some success and get the overall fanbase interested again. If the program truly takes off, then he'd get the casual fans in the area to take in games.
Nevertheless, kudos to Leitao and their program for their two solid commitments yesterday.