Durzblog

Just was looking at the Post with some coffee and was reading some BE coverage, the paper is very kind in that regard. Full pages on Seton Hall and St John's -- proud hoops programs that are in the toilet. Go ahead and throw Rutgers in the mix -- and you have your three metro NYC programs as the worst in the 16 team league (a combined 1-17 in BE play), save USF...All three coaches will be fired within 2 or 2 1/2 seasons -- Roberts after this year (his fifth), Gonzo next and Fred Hill will go last. Hill will get some more time because he can recruit (he would be awesome on Calhoun's staff, did great work at Nova) and he has not been there long. St John's has been bad for 6 years now, not a lifetime -- but its getting to the point where kids they are recruiting can't remember them being any good or the Garden being jammed. Last night they lost to Cinci, blowing a 11 pt halftime lead, in front of 4,500 in Queens -- last week they played Uconn in front of 8,000 at the Garden (4,000 were Uconn fans)...at 1-5 in the league they are staring at 5-13 type season and Roberts will be gone. Over in South Orange, Bobby Gonzalez is having little success and he is pissing of the University all the while, the Hall was just in the dance three years ago (for the 2nd time in 3 years) and then fired Louis Orr, if Gonzo could get those results, they would name buildings after him -- times have changed. Why is that these schools cannot get it done? Assuming Gonzo and Roberts get fired (I am assuming they will and am not saying they should fyi), where do these schools turn? Who can get them over the hump. Who can set up some sort of blockade for Uconn, Pitt, Ville, Nova and even Duke and UNC (for the elite recruits) to stop coming in poaching all of the best prospects NYC has to offer?

At this point these three jobs are nothing but career killers and a road back to the mid/low major sidelines. The competition in the 16 team BE has played a role in all of this -- being average with the depth of the conference gets you nowhere, when you consider that national programs like Villanova and WVU or around the 8th or 9th best team in the Big East, you begin to understand what it takes to become a player. Rutgers is never going to get it done, but Seton Hall and St John's could come back. People always say the league is a better league with a good Red Storm squad. How does it happen and when does it happen, things have to change..A potential split of the league in 2 years will help these schools I believe, the Johnnies and Pirates will find it easier to manage in a league that is smaller and less potent, at least at that point you can start towards the middle of the pack instead of in the 12-16 holes. Gonzo could be a star coach in the "Catholic" BE league (Nova, Gtown, ND, SH, SJU, Prov, Depaul, Marq) if a split were to happen, but will he last that long?

I will wait on Fred Hill and Bobby for now (though he needs to cool it), but Norm Roberts has go to go...

St John's should look to a list that includes Sean Miller, Paul Hewitt, Tom Pecora, John Calipari, Mark Jackson and Matt Doherty. They need to make a splash, this next one really counts.