I was surprised that the University of San Diego hired Steve Lavin as their new basketball hc. USD is a small private Catholic school that competes in the WCC along with Gonzaga, St. Mary’s and BYU. This is big name, high profile hire for the small school that locally is in the shadow of the SDSU basketball program.
OT: Steve Lavin to USD
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I was surprised that the University of San Diego hired Steve Lavin as their new basketball hc. USD is a small private Catholic school that competes in the WCC along with Gonzaga, St. Mary’s and BYU. This is big name, high profile hire for the small school that locally is in the shadow of the SDSU basketball program.
That is surprising, but I had the pleasure of touring that campus and it is really pretty.
Though Catholic, USD is not your typical urban Jesuit university, like Loyola, Saint Louis University or Marquette. 9000 students. Kris Bryant played baseball there.
By comparison, Villanova, another Catholic (non-Jesuit) school in the high-end suburbs of Philadelphia, has about 7000 students and more highly-regarded academics. USD slots in near Saint Louis U academically, which is to say, somewhat above Loyola and Marquette, but that "just outside of downtown San Diego" location is a big plus for recruiting.
On paper, Steve Lavin is an impressive hire. They have to be excited.
Though Catholic, USD is not your typical urban Jesuit university, like Loyola, Saint Louis University or Marquette. 9000 students. Kris Bryant played baseball there.
By comparison, Villanova, another Catholic (non-Jesuit) school in the high-end suburbs of Philadelphia, has about 7000 students and more highly-regarded academics. USD slots in near Saint Louis U academically, which is to say, somewhat above Loyola and Marquette, but that "just outside of downtown San Diego" location is a big plus for recruiting.
On paper, Steve Lavin is an impressive hire. They have to be excited.
I've always wondered why the majority of the Jesuit Universities were relatively pedestrian academic institutions. Is BC their shining star? They have high schools around the Country that are some of the very best.
GOUNUII
USD does have a scenic campus not that far from Old Town and downtown San Diego. I would say the academics are above SDSU but below UCSD. The school has some respected graduate professional programs in law and real estate. USD has benefitted in the past from big name donors like Joan Kroc (Ray Kroc’s wife) and weight loss icon Jenny Craig (the campus arena is nicknamed the “Slim Gym” because she was a major donor). With his hiring as USD basketball coach came some positive stories about Lavin’s personal relationship with his players. USD’s program has struggled for years so this big name hire should help recruiting and elevate the public’s awareness of the program. Cross-town hoops rival SDSU has had considerable success with their program after the Steve Fisher hire followed by his long-time assistant Brian Dutcher. Lavin will be hard-pressed to match the success of the SDSU program esp with USD competing in West Coast Conference dominated by top-rated Gonzaga year after year.
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Georgetown and BC are 1,2 for the Jesuits.
Notre Dame and Villanova are Catholic but not Jesuit.
I would say the Jesuits' philosophy of urban campuses has held their schools back to some degree.
Location, location, location! Less green space, urban blight nearby..
And not the most progressive... a little more emphasis on social responsibility...
I'd say there are a lot of good Jesuit colleges, just not many great ones.
Here's an excerpt from an ESPN article in 2011, when Lavin was resurrecting Saint John(s)
"If you sit in on a Steve Lavin news conference, you're practically guaranteed to hear one catchphrase in particular -- likely on multiple occasions. 'Hammer to rock' has become a mantra of sorts for St. John's. It's Lavin's metaphor for the hard work he asks for and expects from his players on a daily basis."
So now we know where Collins got that.
Did NU know Lavin was looking to get back into coaching? Because, you know...
I had no idea Jim Harbaugh coached there. Had to look it up.What other former USD hc ended up in the BigTen?
USD...University of Spoiled Daughters......and I know....I was just going to bring up Hargaugh....but I dont think San Diego is a big sports town cuz everyone is doing something else....if you can put a wheel on it..or it floats people are riding it...and those that arent are chasing the golf ball or the volleyball around.
Yep- Harbaugh was the USD football HC from 2004-2006 before he moved on to Stanford. His connection to San Diego also includes his time playing for the Chargers (back in the days when we had a pro football team!
)What about Lavin made you think he would have been a good fit at NU? Watched him up close at UCLA and he seems like a similar fit to CCC, so I suppose one could use his tenure as a measuring stick for Lav. Fantastic recruiter who has typically been fantastic at connecting with players and fans, but not a huge X's and O's guy. A terrific NCAA tournament coach.
When he did NU games, he always came across as a guy who had a lot of respect for the program. Just felt he would be a descent fit
Also he has had significant experience as a HC at different programs. All of CCCs background had been as an assistant. As far as Xs and Os. he would have a number of assistants. As you say solid recruiter and lot of guys he had made it to the pros but most of them were second rounders so while they were good, not necessarily the lottery picks that they were used to getting at DUKE
Steve Lavin decided, while in college, that he wanted to make a career as a basketball coach. His dad was a hall of fame basketball player for University of San Francisco back in the 1940s who became a revered AP English teacher for 40 years.
While still finishing college, Steve Lavin reached out to Bobby Knight, Gene Keady, Jerry Tarkanian and Coach K and took unpaid positions with Keady and Knight, to learn the game. He spent about 7 years earning next to nothing with Purdue and then UCLA. He paid his dues, got promoted to assistant and lucked into the head-coaching job at UCLA when Jim Harrick got fired for lying about expense reports.
The similarities with Collins were that they were both young head coaches who came from major programs.
And their fathers both were excellent basketball players. And both were criticized for not being great in-game coaches.
Collins played a lot of basketball. Lavin wasn't much of a player, but loved the game anyhow.
Collins was coddled or at least protected when he started in coaching. Lavin was not.
Lavin seems to have some personal depth to him... with an old school philosophy... and his teams tend to win.
A long article about Lavin from 1997.
While still finishing college, Steve Lavin reached out to Bobby Knight, Gene Keady, Jerry Tarkanian and Coach K and took unpaid positions with Keady and Knight, to learn the game. He spent about 7 years earning next to nothing with Purdue and then UCLA. He paid his dues, got promoted to assistant and lucked into the head-coaching job at UCLA when Jim Harrick got fired for lying about expense reports.
The similarities with Collins were that they were both young head coaches who came from major programs.
And their fathers both were excellent basketball players. And both were criticized for not being great in-game coaches.
Collins played a lot of basketball. Lavin wasn't much of a player, but loved the game anyhow.
Collins was coddled or at least protected when he started in coaching. Lavin was not.
Lavin seems to have some personal depth to him... with an old school philosophy... and his teams tend to win.
A long article about Lavin from 1997.
Thanks for digging that up! SI's website now should just be a rotation of their greatest hits, instead of being another SB Nation.
No problem.
I love reading old articles because they usually capture the "now" (from back then) and sometimes things don't go the way they anticipate.
I’ve noticed NU recruits posting fake SI covers on social media and wonder if licensing their logo is yet another money-making scheme. I hate what’s happened to so many of the publications I grew up reading.