Norm Roberts fired, continues bad week for the Big East....

Whew! It just really hasn't been the best of weeks for Big East Basketball now has it? First Seton Hall fires Coach Bobby Gonzalez, then the 1st day of the NCAA Tourney sees Notre Dame, Marquette and Georgetown all lose in their 1st game and now this.

As we had told you last week, St. John's made it official today and parted ways with Head Coach Norm Roberts. The Red Storm did make it to the NIT Tournament, but lost their 1st game at the buzzer to Memphis.

More on the firing from the New York Daily News RIGHT HERE

((Norm Roberts//Courtesy: Cataffo/NYDaily News))

Roberts does leave the Red Storm in better shape then when he got there. However he was unable to get them to the NCAA Tourney, with this years NIT bid being their 1st Tournament action during his tenure. He had an overall record of 81-101.

There will be lots of speculation on who will take over the job since the cupboard is not bare. With a good young squad led by Anthony Mason Jr. (yes, the son of the former NBA guy), the talent level isn't bad. We had speculated last week that Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt might be the guy, however, Hewitt's contract just rolled over at Tech and it would be an expensive proposition for him to leave Atlanta.

Here again is Lloyd Bridges from the Movie Airplane talking about a bad week: Thanks You Tube....

St. Johns to make Norm Roberts go...Who will be next?

Success can be fleeting and in some cases it may not ever be. In the case of St. Johns University, they had success many years ago and have been trying to recapture it for many, many years. They haven't been very successful.

According to reports eminating from the New York area. The Johnnies are going to part ways with their current head coach, Norm Roberts. Roberts who has a career record of 81-100 hasn't exactly stirred the echoes in the Big East...or for that matter anywhere else. The Red Storm finished this season with a 17-15 record after losing to Marquette in the Big East Tournament. Though well liked and well respected by the schools administration and in coaching circles, it looks like that won't be enough for Roberts to stick around.

More on what is going down from the New York Post RIGHT HERE

((Norm Roberts is coaching//Courtesy: Jason Szenes/NY Post))

Undoubtedly there will be speculation on who will be the next coach to step into the chair. We at the OSG and our sources say that one name that will be high on the list will be Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt. Hewitt who had a lot of early success at Tech has struggled over the past few seasons. He has many ties to the Big East and the New York area from his time at Siena and would be an excellent fit. Should Tech lose in the ACC Tournament to North Carolina and fail to make the NCAA Tourney with a very loaded team, Hewitt may find himself in some trouble and will undoubtedly explore his options. It will be something we'll keep an eye on.

In the meantime, enjoy a clip from vintage St. John's basketball...the national semi's from 1985 when Chris Mullen led them against Patrick Ewing and Georgetown. Thanks You Tube: