Hewitt to St. John’s? New York tabloids are abuzz (Updated!)
Paul Hewitt during the NCAAs. (AP photo)
Lenn Robbins of the New York Post reports that St. John’s, which fired coach Norm Roberts last week, plans to pursue Paul Hewitt. This would not constitute a shock.
This wouldn’t be the first time St. John’s has targeted Hewitt. The Red Storm had an opening six years ago, but it coincided with Hewitt’s one extended NCAA tournament run. Worried that another school — or an NBA team — would steal the coach that had just led the Jackets to the title game, then-athletics director Dave Braine awarded Hewitt the perpetual rollover contract with its $7.1 million buyout. St. John’s hired Roberts instead.
Hewitt’s contract also includes a buyout on his end: Should he leave for another college job, he would be obliged to pay Tech $3.5 million. But there have been recent indications that Tech would not hold Hewitt to that figure.
Wrote Robbins:
Sources told the Post that [St. John's AD Chris] Monasch has gotten word to Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich that he’ll be seeking official permission to talk to coach Paul Hewitt as soon as possible …
“The word is it’s his job and Georgia Tech won’t stand in the way,” said a highly placed source in college basketball circles. “Both sides are ready for a change.”
After Georgia Tech lost to Ohio State in Milwaukee on Sunday, Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News asked Hewitt about the St. John’s job. Wrote Rubin:
When he was asked whether St. John’s can return to glory, the man lit up.
“Do you remember what it was like in New York when the Yankees finally won the World Series again in 1996, the way it electrified the city? St. John’s could definitely do the same thing,” said Hewitt, who grew up in Queens and Long Island. “I remember going to the building they call Carnesecca (Arena) and seeing huge crowds embrace the team. I remember going to the Garden and seeing it full. And I remember the winning. The right coach could do all that again and it would be a sight.”
This man doesn’t belong at a poker table. His words sound like “not interested,” but his face says “intrigued.”
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216 comments Add your comment
WonderDawg
March 23rd, 2010
11:34 am
If Dora comes, will Backpack and Swiper be assistants?
David
March 23rd, 2010
11:34 am
how about hiring that certain College of Charleston coach that some of us remember. He seemed to do allright down on the flats.
Aero Jacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:34 am
Good riddance. Hewitt had become the bball equivalent of Chan Gailey.
How about Mark Price? He is smart, can coach, and the team FT percentage should go up.
Delbert D.
March 23rd, 2010
11:34 am
Bobby Knight is available. He was last seen schmoozing Bobby Cox at spring training.
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:34 am
No to Tubby Smith. And, Hell No!
Finebaum
March 23rd, 2010
11:36 am
Matt, are you kidding?? This is more than a year long problem. Hewitt’s teams have consistently underachieved. The only thing they have been consistent with is making mistakes and setting records for turnovers. They looked confused every year because we rarely have a nucleus of kids on the court that have been there for more than 2 years. You sound like you are not even a fan. Watch the club for a couple years before you start backing the coach.
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:37 am
St. Johns will offer more annual salary, but not the automatic rollover/lifetime gravy that his current contract does. IF Hewitt starts (for once) to read the writing on the wall, he’d realize he’s only got a couple of more years at best here on the Flats, unless he turns around the program.
Hewitt is a Joke
March 23rd, 2010
11:37 am
yeah, from the sounds of some of the morons on this blog, Tech is the equivalent of the Atlanta School of the Deaf and Blind. Tech has always gotten big time recruits, with or without hewitt. And while we’re not an ELITE team like UNC or Kansas, we’re still a top tier program in a city that will always be attractive to quality players.
NoCoach Blewitt
March 23rd, 2010
11:37 am
Could it be the best early XMAS gift EVER!!!!!!!! Please oh please make it happen Mr. Monasch, it will definately be the best move you have ever made
Techwood Hard
March 23rd, 2010
11:38 am
Let him go.
Maybe Tubby Smith can come back home to Georgia.
We’ll take you since The Farm School in Athens didn’t want you badly enough to keep you, Coach Smith.
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:40 am
The NY spotlight would flatter his ego, but the local media would get under his thin skin. Hewitt isn’t going anywhere, until we fire him. Then he’ll still have the chance to sign on with someone else and collect some of Tech’s money (though he won’t get the full payout if he’s working.)
NoCoach Blewitt
March 23rd, 2010
11:40 am
And he thought the media in Atlanta was tough???? He was a little baby about it, what the he!! is he gonna do about the NY media?? Can’t wait to read his tweets while in tears, just as long as he isnt in GA anymore
Ben
March 23rd, 2010
11:41 am
Christmas must be coming early this year…
Hewitt is a Joke
March 23rd, 2010
11:42 am
Backpack and swiper would make better assistants than the “yes men” hewitt has sitting on the bench now. I also believe Backpack might come stocked with a Map who could possibly help us draw up an inbounds play every now and then. Swiper would serve his purpose to by stealing the team’s cell phones so they could focus on basketball.
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:42 am
What is all the talk about Tubby Smith? No way is he a good match for Tech. His personality and his Petrino-like penchant for changing jobs is not conducive to Tech.
Delbert D.
March 23rd, 2010
11:42 am
No, we want a coach with a good record of putting players into their sophomore year.
Mark Bradley
March 23rd, 2010
11:43 am
Swiper, no swiping!
Dale
March 23rd, 2010
11:44 am
Oh please take the job!
GT Fan
March 23rd, 2010
11:45 am
Thats been my prayer for years………..maybe just maybe the Lord is fixing to answer it. Forget the $$$$ and let him go, please.
I'm Buzzed
March 23rd, 2010
11:46 am
Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Hey Hey Hey Good Bye!!! (I am sure he will do well at St. John’s its simply time for a change).
Need a new Coach
March 23rd, 2010
11:49 am
Yahoooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Liam
March 23rd, 2010
11:49 am
Make them fire you CPH. Everyone has opinions, but none of these idiots (including me) on this thread have a $7 million buyout clasue. This is business. Pi$$ on an opinion.
Henny
March 23rd, 2010
11:52 am
Take my coach … please!
Then, hire Tubby.
Hewitt is a Joke
March 23rd, 2010
11:52 am
Hey Liam, Pi$$ on you.
Liam
March 23rd, 2010
11:52 am
Mark Bradley, is your resume up to date?
Jackets2010
March 23rd, 2010
11:54 am
The problem with mediocre coaching is that we tend as fans to get on a player.
The best example of this is Reggie Ball.
Criticism of him angers me every time.
With Freigen as O coordinator, Reggie would have been far better.
Without Freigen, George Godsey wouldn’t have been half the player he was.
I say this because I want to criticize Shumpert but we should have had someone to coach him into how better to run the team.
Mark Bradley
March 23rd, 2010
11:54 am
I got no resume, Liam.
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:54 am
Hewitt’s going of his own accord is too good to be true, but I’d be the first to open the exit door and wish him luck. The new coach should be younger, accomplished, and affordable. Not many out there with that third characteristic.
Liam
March 23rd, 2010
11:55 am
I don’t have a $7 million buyout clasue and now I’m being pi$$ed on. Why are some people so angry?
Paul Hewitt Fan
March 23rd, 2010
11:55 am
Hewitt should go…St. Johns is a better job than GT any day of the week…..Atl fans are the worst in the world..they always turn on they teams…they never win championships….He would also be able to get out of the ACC, where the game is decided by who is on the sidelines rather than on the court….The big east plays great basketball.The ACC is an wrestling match…..The ACC is only allowed to be won by Duke or NC…..No matter what…Duke shoots 3000 more free throws a year than any one else..Thats why Favors will leave, I know him and his family, he hates the way the game gets call in the acc..Lawai would have left but he isnt ready..Also he can get away from the AJC and Mark Bradley…Hell isnt Bradley the same guy who wrote an article saying we were entering the Christian laettner era….He has convinced you guys that Hewitt has 8 or 9 NBa Players…But really he has only 1.Favors..maybe Rice jr….His best starting five was 1.shumpert(soph) 2.oliver(fresh)3.rice jr(fresh)4.Favors (fresh) 5. lawai(junior) and u blame the coach if they throw the ball out of bounds? We were young..Regardless who Tech hires as coach, On the road in the acc he will not get any calls, Singler will shoot 40 free throws and Hewitt will turn the St johns program around, because his teams always plays hard and defend…He just needs his guards to stay in school longer than they have at tech..the one year we had veteran guards he almost won the whole thing……
Ps….Mark Bradley
u convincing these idiots that this was a final 4 team will go down in history, u even said we were better than OSU even though they won their confrence and has the player of the year! u should be a lawyer..
Steak
March 23rd, 2010
11:55 am
It’s your fault Mark for sticking it to him by mentioning all the talent.
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:55 am
With any coach other Chan Gailey, Reggie Ball would have been sitting on the bench for three years.
Jerry
March 23rd, 2010
11:56 am
The Tech Nation wants to love you, Hewitt. You’ll have us at “goodbye.”
Liam
March 23rd, 2010
11:56 am
No significant experience huh… That explains it.
TROTTINGHOME
March 23rd, 2010
11:57 am
Yea lots of quality recruits go to GT…and as soon as the finish their 100 level courses they leave…if not before.
Being a top tier program in the Atlanta area ain’t exactly rocket science…or is it?
NoCoach Blewitt
March 23rd, 2010
11:57 am
Heck I will personally offer up my 2007 Acura TL to ol Blewey and fam for a ride down to Hartsfield …. I will even carry their bags for them to check in
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:57 am
Mark, just as a strictly hypothetical exercise, who would think would be a good match for a head coaching position at a place like, say, Georgia Tech, if, for example, the current head coach were to leave?
NoCoach Blewitt
March 23rd, 2010
11:58 am
even buy their tickets
Ree Roe
March 23rd, 2010
11:58 am
As long as this stops all the “Tech is the most talented team in the universe” articles I’m all for it. Your credibility on college bball took a major hit with your overstatement of Tech’s talent day in & day out in the AJC & I say this as a fan of your work Mark.
-REEturn of Roe!!!
FullMetalJacket
March 23rd, 2010
11:59 am
Heck, if Hewitt takes another job we’ll even get another flyover from the Navy for him….
NoCoach Blewitt
March 23rd, 2010
12:01 pm
ticker tape parade ….. champagne jam
rob graner
March 23rd, 2010
12:01 pm
Let him go…..Bout time too! How many times has he lost to UGA in the last 5 years? How many average records with NBA talent on the floor? Time to move on and don’t let the door hit you on the way out!
willie
March 23rd, 2010
12:02 pm
I agree with Jackets2010 on Schumpert. That kid has serious talent but has shown zero improvement…where’s the coaching? Also, everyone gets onto the head coach, but what exactly are all of those other guys in suits on the bench doing?!? I still like Hewitt so I am OK either way, but a change seems like it would be best for everyone.
bulldog bubba
March 23rd, 2010
12:02 pm
Tubby say NO to the pencil pushers!!!!!
btgt69
March 23rd, 2010
12:03 pm
Mark what about Donovan turning dowm 3.5 mil from St John’s: is that correct,, then Hewitt would be second choice?
tekman
March 23rd, 2010
12:03 pm
WE WILL GET TUBBY SMITH!!!!
BartBuzz
March 23rd, 2010
12:05 pm
It’s time to start looking for a replacement. Maybe Bobby Cremins can help with search.
Bobby
March 23rd, 2010
12:06 pm
If Paul Hewitt leaves, maybe we can talk Bobby Cremins into coming back.
WonderDawg
March 23rd, 2010
12:07 pm
Paul Hewitt Fan, since you’re giving out “should haves”……… you should have paid attention in English class.
James
March 23rd, 2010
12:08 pm
Can he recruit enough ONE-AND-DONEs at St. John’s to win something?