Ex-coach Roberts happy for his players
Norm Roberts was fired last March after six seasons, with an overall record of 81-101. Credit: SNY
Attending St. John's basketball games at last has become fashionable again. But Norm Roberts has not been to a single one this season.
"That would be difficult for me to do," he said Monday.
The former coach has both watched and talked about the Red Storm on television, though, in his role as a first-year analyst for SNY. What has that been like?
On one hand, he said, "a lot of pride and happiness."
And on the other . . . "Frustration, because I knew we were right there on the cusp. I knew we were right there."
Roberts, 45, was fired last March after six seasons, with an overall record of 81-101 but having revived a program largely bereft of Big East-caliber talent, mired in scandal and saddled with probation.
Most difficult to accept was that after several narrow losses and untimely injuries last season, St. John's was poised to return to relevance behind a senior-dominated team recruited by Roberts.
Sure enough, it has happened, in a big way - without him along for the ride.
"This is what we had built to," he said. "This was the first real, big recruiting class we had. I really felt when we got all these guys, it was going to happen."
Roberts' tone suggested no bitterness. He called the Rev. Donald Harrington, St. John's president, "a dear friend" who gave him "ample opportunity."
And he said, "I always enjoyed the people at St. John's, but I understand the business, too."
More than once, Roberts praised the work of his successor. "I think coach [Steve] Lavin and his staff have done a great job continuing the process," he said.
Still, it is impossible not to wonder what might have been.
"I am a little disappointed in that we didn't have a chance to finish it out, because I felt we were right there to do it and had all the pieces in place to do it," he said.
Roberts said that disappointment is softened by how happy he is for his former players, and for the fact that after years of bad luck with injuries and unfortunate bounces, the tide has turned.
"The thing I really loved about all those kids is that when they came in, it wasn't fashionable to come to St. John's, from the turmoil of investigations to not winning much, but they came," he said.
That, combined with experience and tough previous battles against the likes of Pittsburgh and Duke, left him unsurprised when St. John's (20-10, 12-6 Big East) found ways to beat such teams this season.
Roberts said he has enjoyed watching it all from his perch at SNY, where he will analyze the Big East Tournament every night this week. No. 5 seed St. John's plays the Seton Hall-Rutgers winner Wednesday at 2 p.m.
The television gig "kind of fell into my lap," he said, and he is unsure whether he will continue next season or seek to get back into coaching.
The job has kept his hand in the game while also giving him more time with his two sons, including Niko, a freshman walk-on at Kansas, where Roberts used to be an assistant.
How might St. John's fare in the Big East and NCAA Tournaments? Roberts said they pose matchup problems for many opponents and have a resolve born of experience.
"They're on a mission," he said. "It's one thing to be on a mission when you have two or three seniors; it's another thing when you have nine or 10 of them."
If that results in a deep run into late March, Roberts won't hesitate to root for the Red Storm.
"If anybody deserves it, it's St. John's," he said, "and those players deserve it. They really do."
