FanPost

An Open Letter to Chris Monasch and the St John's Administration

USA TODAY Sports

Dear Mr Monasch,

I'm writing to you as a St John's basketball season ticket holder to express my support of Steve Lavin.

I firmly believe that he is the perfect coach for St John's and its "commitment to academic excellence and the pursuit of wisdom which flows from free inquiry, religious values and human experience."

Mr. Lavin is more than a basketball coach. He is a teacher -- just like his father -- and a disciplinarian imparting values and life lessons learned from mentors such as John Wooden and Gene Keady.

The St John's basketball program has made steady progress under his watch and he should be retained long-term with a contract extension to continue his excellent work.

There have been setbacks along the way, none greater than the season he missed due to prostate cancer. Mr. Lavin's illness led directly to recruit Ricardo Gathers, one of the nation's leading offensive rebounders at Baylor University, to renege on his commitment to St John's.

One could make the arguement that if Lavin did not get sick the fortunes of this year's team would have been radically different with Gathers on the roster.

There is a lot of negativity out on twitter and the blogospheres. However, I don't believe this reflects the faith of true fans like myself who actually attend the games (since the 1977/78 season) and contribute to the program and the university.

Sincerely,

Andrew Patapis

Thanks for posting! Let's keep it clean, fun, and high quality in here, as in the comments. Share your perspective, add something new and relevant, and start a discussion. Take a breath before posting something you (or the readers) will regret.