Lavin makes comfort a fashion statement
St. John's head coach Steve Lavin wearing his lucky sneakers during a game earlier this season. (Feb. 10, 2011) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
Here is the biggest mismatch to watch for in the NCAA Tournament: Whenever St. John's plays, its head coach and staff will be wearing fancy suits and white sneakers.
As a fashion statement, it is the kind of look that will make you hold your nose and say "P.U." rather than hold your breath and think GQ. But it works for Red Storm coach Steve Lavin, who feels very comfortable accessorizing with Nike Air Force Ones.
Comfort, in fact, is the reason he is a changed man. Lavin, like other coaches across the country, wore sneakers with his suit the last weekend in January. It was part of a Coaches vs. Cancer awareness effort. It turned out that St. John's beat Duke before a packed house at the Garden. It also turned out that Lavin liked the way his feet felt.
"It dawned on me after that game that the functional, practical aspect of being in your sneakers made sense. Better traction. You're not slipping on your Florsheims," he said this week during the Big East Tournament, wearing a precisely tailored navy blue pinstripe woolen suit and the stark white Nikes.
That is quite a departure for a guy who was known for style when he made a name for himself at UCLA and ESPN.
"I know. That's what [coach] Jay Wright said before the Villanova game. He said, 'What's the deal with this?' I said it's just comfort," Lavin said, adding that he also feels liberated by no longer wearing a necktie during games.
Wright, also a fashion-conscious guy, "could not believe it," Lavin said. But Storm watchers had better get used to it. Of his old traditional look, the St. John's coach vowed, "I'm never going back."
