New coach Lavin seeking gradual climb for St. John's

About halfway through his introductory monologue, new St. John's coach Steve Lavin admitted he was drifting into an infomercial. He was professing his newfound love for the university, its institutional virtues and proud tradition in basketball.

"It's a 'pinch yourself' moment,'' he said, as if this was a dream. But he stopped himself. He knows this isn't Kansas, especially in a basketball sense, or the ESPN studio in Bristol, Conn., where the former UCLA coach talked the talk via the analyst route the last seven seasons.

Lavin decided to make it real Wednesday by getting to the point and staying on it. Everyone knew Lavin had style; ultimately he won the news conference by showing he also has substance.

St. John's basketball needs a makeover and Lavin knows it. "It's one thing to talk about it, it's another thing to get it done,'' he said. "I'm well aware of that. I'm by no means naïve or bright-eyed and bushy-tailed about what is going on in the college basketball landscape.''

University president Rev. Donald J. Harrington, who approved Lavin's six-year contract for more than $9 million, added his own bottom line.

"I would really hope within the next year or two to be competitive in the NCAA Tournament,'' he said. "Maybe that will be three, maybe one. But clearly I would want to see us in the top half of the Big East, I really would. Maybe that's a dream, but I would hope.''

Lavin, 45, was engaging, pointing out some relevant basketball history and giving props to Lou Carnesecca on the dais. But Lavin became more focused on what needs to be done to make some new history.

Lavin anticipated questions about his lengthy time away from coaching - he was fired by UCLA in 2003 - and the inference that his West Coast roots would make him a stranger to recruiting in New York. He quashed that by saying "Protect your backyard No. 1 and the Northeast No. 2.

"I've studied it, watched it, know the trends,'' he said of the sport. "I know the people, I can see what is going on. I'm not wandering around the gyms of New York without knowing anybody or sitting on the sidelines like a shrinking violet afraid to talk to anybody. It's not as if I'm Mr. Magoo.''

He used the word incremental several times in predicting progress for a team that has not been in the NCAA Tournament since 2002.

"The first goal is to get into the tournament, the next goal is to win some games,'' he said. "[Then], if you could win a Big East championship at some point. Again, incremental. Don't get carried away . . .

" overnight, not a one-hit wonder, but trying to build something gradually, and that in itself adds momentum and takes on a life of its own. It's a tall task, some may say daunting. I look at it as the glass half full.''

Athletic director Chris Monasch said of Lavin, "He's old enough to have had a significant amount of experience, young enough to be hungry and have a long future.''

Lavin promised to assemble a top-flight staff, and that may start with his mentor, Gene Keady, the former Purdue coach. Lavin hopes to bring him to New York as an adviser. Lavin also will quickly formulate an offseason program for his new players, nine of whom will be seniors.

"What we do in the next six months,'' Lavin said, "will determine whether we can win games in February and March,''