Mike Anderson

[WichitaSooner]

Going to St. John's. Says something that he apparently had no better offers than a job that was turned down by, among others, the Loyola Chicago and Iona coaches.

 

[WaymanFan]

Going to St. John's. Says something that he apparently had no better offers than a job that was turned down by, among others, the Loyola Chicago and Iona coaches.

Most fired head coaches aren't going to get better offers a month after being let go from their previous job. This was a best-case scenario for Anderson. Also, the expectations will not be as great as Arkansas. If he can make it to the Dance every couple of years, he'll keep his job for awhile. The AD wanted Mullin gone because he simply could not coach...but was a terrific recruiter. No doubt Anderson can coach, but he won't get the recruits Mullin got.

I would imagine most St. John's fans aren't too excited by the hire, but also realize they could have done a lot worse. Since Skyvue lives in that area and probably interacts with his fair share of their fan base on a regular basis, he'll correct me if my assumption is incorrect.

 

[vbdad]

Certainly not a place that you would picture Anderson going since his whole career has been in this area of the country. With all the population in NYC he may find some under recruited guards and recreate the fast pace and pressing basketball. I for one would love to see it.

 

[thebigabd]

I think this is a good move for St. Johns, but due to his complete lack of connections to the area could be risky for Anderson. Also, in the article I read about this they have 7 scholarship players. They have no committed players in the 2019 class.

They had two REALLY good junior guards, Shamorie Ponds (1st team all league) and Justin Simon (Big East Defensive player of the year) declare for the NBA draft.

The roster is completely depleted. Very tough situation.

Anderson needs to sign 3-4 players at the 11th hour, with no connections whatsoever. The only thing he has to offer is playing time, which is big but its so late in the game.

 

[CoachTalk]

Needs to hire a NY guy quickly.

 

[skyvue]

I don't really know any St. John's fans. They've been out of the spotlight for so long (and then there's the fact that NYC really is a pro sports town) that they've really not gotten much attention in the local media for a good long while.

I did hear a sports talk radio guy the other day saying that the next coach has to lock down some solid local recruits if he hopes to succeed. The top area prospects have been leaving the city for years -- decades, really.

It really is telling that the Iona coach turned down the job. Not only shouldn't Iona be seen as on the same plane as St. John's, but that coach actually played at St. John's -- he should have been an easy get, one would think.

 

[Eielson]

Porter Moser isn't exactly a scrub candidate, seeing as he went to the Final 4 in 2018.

St. Johns is probably one of the better non-P5 jobs. A lot of potential there. Reminds me a lot of UH when Sampson took the job.

 

[CoachTalk]

doug gotlieb caught some heat for weighing in on this issue... but I think he was right.

NY hasnt produced much top talent in the last few years.

 

[Eielson]

doug gotlieb caught some heat for weighing in on this issue... but I think he was right.

NY hasnt produced much top talent in the last few years.

NY is lightyears ahead of Arkansas and Missouri. They might not be pumping out lottery picks every year, but he'll have more D1 talent within walking distance of his arena than he's ever had in his entire state. Playing in MSG has nation-wide appeal.

 

[thebigabd]

Looks like his first team at St. Johns is set...... Got some athletes and a pair of very good guards in Figueroa and Heron... They lost an All-American in Shamorie Ponds to the NBA a year early, otherwise he may have the best guards in the Big East. The big guys are both D1 transfers but are unknown because they didn't play. Both highly rated though.

PG: Bryan Trimble (6'3'' 220) - Played in 32 games as a rookie reserve for the Red Storm … averaged 3.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per contest … 26 of his 34 makes on the year came from three-point range … made six of his seven free-throw attempts on the season … exploded for a career-high 19 points at Marquette, connecting on seven of his nine shots from the floor and five of his seven tries from beyond the arc

SG: LG Figueroa (6'6'' 195) - ranked third on the team and 14th in the BIG EAST in scoring at 14.4 points per game…led all first-year BIG EAST players in scoring… topped the team and ranked 10th in the conference in rebounding (6.4 rpg)… placed second on the team and third in the conference in steals per game (1.8 spg)… played in all 34 games and made 32 starts… shot a team-best 51.3 percent from the floor, including a 38.3 percent effort from beyond the arc

SG: Mustapha Heron (6'5'' 210) - ranked second on the team and 13th in the BIG EAST in scoring with 14.6 ppg… shot 44.0 percent from the field while leading the team and ranking seventh in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (40.3%)… shot 75.4 percent from the charity stripe and grabbed 4.6 boards per game

PF: Sedee Keita (6'9'' 235) - Transfer from South Carolina. A consensus four-star, top-100 recruit in the Class of 2016 … rated the no. 22 power forward in the nation coming out of high school

C: Ian Steere (6'9'' 260) - Transfer from NC State. Four-star recruit according to ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports..