St Johns University has to be one of the most interesting stories next year. They are now coached by 1992 DREAM TEAMER and St Johns alumnus, Chris Mullin.. A legacy guy but NEVER has coached at ANY level of basketball. Yes, he knows the game but no matter what level, there is a learning curve when you deal with kids on the day-to-day as its not just about basketball but about the kid as a person.. These are teenagers, that ARENT HIS OWN KIDS, who make decisions that will make him scratch his head at times. Mullin has 4 kids of his own but this is going to be new experience, in terms of group and team dynamics. Different being a coach than a player. PLUS, he has never had to recruit against other coaches.. PLUS he is in the largest media market in the country and will have to answer the tough questions at times in difficult circumstances while being the face of that program in NYC. Probably good that he is from there. Very difficult task for a guy just getting into the profession.
Mullin's experience has been as an NBA front office guy so he has done scouting. He was smart enough to hire 2 fellow New Yorkers in Kentucky assistant Barry Rohrrsen and Iowa State assistant Matt Abdelmassih. Abdelmassih is a young assistant and comes highly recommended as an 'up and comer'.. He has MINNESOTA ties as he helped Hoiberg in the recruitment of Royce White... Plus Abdelmassih worked in the Minnesota Timberwolves front office as an assistant. A New York native who is also a St Johns alumnus.. Rohrssen is a guy that has head coaching experience and I am guessing Mullin will lean on him initially just in how to run practices and being the 'captain of the ship'. And HEAVILY on him for recruiting. Rohrssen was head coach at Manhatten University so he knows a bit about head coaching and contacts in NYC for recruiting.
Steve Lavin had geographic diversity when he left the program and it will be interesting in how many more NYC kids commit to St Johns.. I would have to think that the kids that Richard Pitino and Kimani Young will look at from the area will be the same players looked at by the St Johns staff. Hopefully there is big desire to play on the "BIG STAGE" of the Big Ten as the Big East is not what it once was. I would think that it should push the Gopher staff all the harder to 'lock down the borders' at home to keep the best here so we aren't as dependent on eastern recruiting. I just wonder the impact of that staff on NYC kids to keep them from moving out of that area.
Mullin's experience has been as an NBA front office guy so he has done scouting. He was smart enough to hire 2 fellow New Yorkers in Kentucky assistant Barry Rohrrsen and Iowa State assistant Matt Abdelmassih. Abdelmassih is a young assistant and comes highly recommended as an 'up and comer'.. He has MINNESOTA ties as he helped Hoiberg in the recruitment of Royce White... Plus Abdelmassih worked in the Minnesota Timberwolves front office as an assistant. A New York native who is also a St Johns alumnus.. Rohrssen is a guy that has head coaching experience and I am guessing Mullin will lean on him initially just in how to run practices and being the 'captain of the ship'. And HEAVILY on him for recruiting. Rohrssen was head coach at Manhatten University so he knows a bit about head coaching and contacts in NYC for recruiting.
Steve Lavin had geographic diversity when he left the program and it will be interesting in how many more NYC kids commit to St Johns.. I would have to think that the kids that Richard Pitino and Kimani Young will look at from the area will be the same players looked at by the St Johns staff. Hopefully there is big desire to play on the "BIG STAGE" of the Big Ten as the Big East is not what it once was. I would think that it should push the Gopher staff all the harder to 'lock down the borders' at home to keep the best here so we aren't as dependent on eastern recruiting. I just wonder the impact of that staff on NYC kids to keep them from moving out of that area.
