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Thank you but, no thank you.
Bobby Hurley dropped out of St. John's after Chris Mullin stepped down as head coach, accepting a five-year extension of his stay at Arizona State, a source confirmed. The question is, how will the St. John's Sports Director and Mike Cragg now turn to the fact that their first option is no longer being considered.
St. John's began talking to coach Iona Tim Cluess on Wednesday night and Thursday, sources said. The discussions gave Cluess the impression that he was the main target in St. John's, although school sources said the research was still open.
St. John's had spoken to Hurley, considered by many to be Cragg's first choice since rumors began that Mullin was leaving. But Thursday night, Hurley tweeted he was in negotiations with Arizona State for an extension of his contract, which was not over after the 2022-23 season. The 47-year-old won $ 2.6 million last year and made an expensive buyout. A source close to the Jersey City national said that he liked living in Arizona and that he would need to be taken away to leave the Pac-12 school for a reconstruction job in St John's (he was supposed to be looking for $ 3 million a year), although he's really interested in coming home.
"My family and I are proud to be Sun Devils and want to stay long in the state of Arizona" Hurley tweeted.
As for Cluess, it was Wednesday in Iona to lead the team training sessions, but sources said he was very interested in the job. He recently enlisted the services of agent Jordan Bazant, the first time he was represented, according to a source. Cluess, like Hurley, has a large buyout, but his price would be more modest. One source said it earned between $ 600,000 and $ 700,000 last year.
Even before the Hurley news, the rumor in St. John's revolved around Cluess, although it is not expected that the research will be resolved on Friday, sources said.
If it's not Cluess, Cragg could target a person with whom he worked in the past at Duke, such as Harvard coach Tommy Amaker or Blue Devils Associate Coach Jon Scheyer. Assistant coach Greg St. Jean stayed to help current players in St. John's during this transition. He has received a lot of social media support from current and former St. John's players, although his best bet is likely to be the one hired by Cragg.
Cluess, 60, from Long Island, has led Iona to six NCAA tournaments in the past nine years. He has an impressive record of 199-108 at the MAAC school and is universally respected in the tri-state region. He has risen through the ranks of coaches, high school, college II and Iona. He played for St. John's from 1979 to 1981 before being transferred to Hofstra. His three brothers and sister all played in St. John's.
Area high school students and AAU coaches expressed their attachment to Cluess, believing that he was the solution to the problems, since St. John's, who did not participate in NCAA tournament only four times in the last 18 years, has not won an NCAA tournament match since 2000.
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