I was recently discussing college basketball with my father who was a Wooden era UCLA alumnus. I always wondered what it would be like to attend a school whose basketball program was as good as its academic program. I wanted for St. John’s to once again be one of those schools. That is why I was so tremendously thrilled to hear during the off-season last school year that Steve Lavin was pronounced the new head coach.
Like Lou Carnesecca and Joe Lapchick were, Coach Lavin will be the new face of St. John’s and I believe that it will be the fresh new look our historic basketball program and university needs.
With Lavin’s successes in gaining top national recruits in a matter of months of formally taking his position and drawing coaching staff from the likes of Rico Hines and Mike Dunlap, it would be almost impossible to say that Lavin is not going to be one of the most competitive coaches in the Big East this season.
Our basketball team has a tremendously tough road ahead of them but they also have the support of the university and New York City community behind them. St. John’s has been waiting a long time for this fortune and I can honestly say that if there is one great decision that St. John’s has made to begin the decade, it was choosing Steve Lavin as their 19th head basketball coach.
Daniel Bresee
Sophomore
