St. John's And Hewitt Talk

((HT: NYPost/Robbins))

Johnnies AD Chris Monasch and Hewitt talked in Atlanta Tuesday evening as Monasch was returning from a women's tournament game in Tallahassee, Florida.

If a deal is reached with Hewitt it could be announced before the return of St. John's president, Father Donald J. Harrington, from a meeting in Rome.

Yes... Rome, Italy...

Hewitt, who recently moved his parents and brother to Atlanta and has three daughters in school, would have to weigh the idea of uprooting his family versus the idea of a higher-salaried gig back home.

Numbers are floating around from $1.6-to-3 million per season if Hewitt were to sign a five or six year contract.

Here's more of a reminder of what Hewiit did the last time he went deep in the March tournament...
((HT: CBS Sports/NCAA))


Yes, it was six years ago...

Hewitt Being Chased By Red Storm... Who Knew...?

Actually, the HQ did... last week...

Lenn Robbins over at the New York Post stuns no one with this revelation...

Those ever-popular "sources" told Robbins that St. John's AD Chris Monasch has sent word to Georgia Tech AD Dan Radakovich that he'll be seeking official permission to talk to coach Paul Hewitt as soon as possible.

That, and the job is Hewitt's if he wants it...

"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 to Robbins. "Both sides are ready for a change."

Remember, after Tech's 2004 run to the Final Four, Hewitt was a candidate then as well. Nowadays, the HQ thinks it's a run of the message and the messenger...

Hewitt makes about $1.3-million with Tech now, and his contract just rolled over for another year. He would double that figure at St. John's. If Tech were to fire Hewitt, he'd be owed a little under $7-million. If Hewitt left, it would be half that.

Here's what St. John's thinks they'd be getting in Hewitt...
It's the end of the first National Semi-Final from 2004
((HT: CBS Sports/NCAA))


PM UPDATE: Georgia Tech has granted permission for St. John's to interview Hewitt.

Georgia Tech associate athletic director Wayne Hogan says St. John's was given the OK on Tuesday to speak with Hewitt. Hogan says he does not know when the interview will take place.

The HQ guesses "pretty soon" would be the right answer...

Donovan says no to St. John's...nobody outside New York surprised

Sometimes we hear rumors or stories about this coach is under consideration for this job or that coach wants that job and we scratch our heads and say "Why?". Classify this story as one of those.

Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan, secure at one of the better basketball programs in the country apparently politely declined a job offer from an alum of St. John's University. The alum, a co-founder of Vitaminwater apparently offered Donovan over $3 million a year to move back to the New York area. Donovan politely declined.

The story from the New York Daily News RIGHT HERE

((Billy Donovan says "No Thanks"//Courtesy: SECSportsfan.com))

Ok, so here is our question. Why would Donovan even consider leaving Florida for St. John's? Yes, we know he grew up on Long Island, but aside from that...why? Does St. John's really think that they are held in that high esteem any more? They haven't been relevant in College Basketball really since the 1980's.

Donovan by contrast has a job that he absolutely loves in a part of the world, Gainesville, where he and his family are now very comfortable. Yes, we know that coaches get restless and Donovan hasn't been able to replicate the success he had directing the Gators to back to back Championships in 2006 and 2007. But, because of that, he has carte blanche. As long as the Gators continue to win, the made the NCAA Tourney this year, he can stay as long as he wants to.

It's funny that we read a story this morning that the folks in New York are shocked that Donovan wouldn't seriously consider them. Why? Do you really think that because it is New York City that everyone will come running? Sorry, got news for you...there is a pretty large rest of the universe out there and in a lot of cases, those teams and programs are far better than anything in the Big Apple.

Here is Donovan pumping up his Gators before the NCAA Finals in 2006. Thanks You Tube: