Steve Lavin came to Queens in 2010 offering promises of bringing St. John’s back to its glory days, of turning the long-suffering school into an annual Big East contender, of building a program high-level recruits would want to call home.
Lavin’s five-year tenure ended Friday afternoon with the coach having brought St. John’s back to relevance, but having fallen short of delivering on the enormous potential his teams had.
Lavin and St. John’s mutually agreed to part ways, with the school announcing a national search for his replacement is underway, capping a see-saw week of speculation about his job status following the Red Storm’s opening-round NCAA Tournament loss to San Diego State.
“We thank Coach Lavin for his leadership and all of his contributions to the University,” St. John’s athletic director Chris Monasch said in a statement. “He infused excitement back into the program, brought us to the postseason four times and recruited student-athletes who excelled on the court, inside the classroom and within the community.”
St. John’s already has compiled a list of candidates it plans to speak with, including Johnnies legend Chris Mullin, Rhode Island coach Dan Hurley and Manhattan coach Steve Masiello. Sources believe Mullin, the program’s all-time leading scorer, is the school’s favorite despite having no coaching experience at any level. Hurley and Masiello are both experienced at rebuilding programs — St. John’s is losing, at minimum, its star-studded senior class — and are interested in the opening, sources said.
Former St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca told The Post hiring Mullin would be “a wonderful choice.”
“He lives and sleeps basketball,” Carnesecca said. “The guy is from this area. Loves New York. And one thing I can say — he’d be a very good teacher, because he knows the game. How many years has he been around basketball? Look at all the great coaches he’s played for in the pros. He’s got a great basketball background, you know?”
Lavin, 50, expressed confidence last Saturday he would remain the team’s coach and receive a contract extension. Several sources then said they believed he would be let go, adding Lavin had spoken to television networks about employment possibilities. But as the school remained silent, sources said Lavin met with higher-ups Wednesday about an extension. Multiple sources said Lavin, who had one year remaining on his contract, was looking for more money than the school wanted to offer. Lavin has “strong interest” in the Arizona State opening, AZCentral.com reported Friday.
“In life, change is inevitable, so I take the long view. I’m grateful for my time teaching at St. John’s University,” Lavin said in a statement. “I’m proud of our results both on and off the court — in particular our memorable runs to the NCAA Tournament in 2011 and 2015. Most importantly, I take pride in our performance in the classroom having graduated our student athletes who will represent the institution in a first class manner.”
In five seasons, Lavin led the Johnnies to two NCAA Tournament berths, three 20-win seasons and compiled an 81-55 mark. Before his arrival, the Red Storm had gone nine years without making the NCAA Tournament.
But Lavin’s teams struggled in the postseason, posting a 2-8 mark, and went 6-13 in March. Lavin went 1-4 in the Big East Tournament, and after his latest setback, said he was a “poor conference tournament coach,” when asked about his struggles.
Lavin missed all but four games of his second season after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer.
Furthermore, Lavin’s greatest strength — recruiting — came into question. His third-ranked 2011 recruiting class didn’t reach the NCAA Tournament until their final year, with the coach unable to replace Moe Harkless and JaKarr Sampson, who left early for the NBA. His already underwhelming 2014 recruiting class had two of his three signees fail to qualify, creating a short bench this past season. He also turned off many local coaches with his aversion to showing up at area gyms and his reluctance to recruit their players.
Lavin repeatedly talked about the importance of the 2015 recruiting class, yet he had only one impact player — four-star Louisiana shooting guard Brandon Sampson, who re-opened his recruitment in the wake of Lavin’s departure.
There is much work ahead for the next coach, inheriting a potentially barren roster with little time to rebuild before next season. Seniors D’Angelo Harrison, Phil Greene IV, Sir’Dominic Pointer and Jamal Branch will depart. Rysheed Jordan’s and Chris Obekpa’s statuses are unknown, with Jordan considering a jump to the NBA. Those remaining in the program are considered role players at best.
And so, St. John’s is starting over again.
— Additional reporting by Steve Serby