Even though flashier names like Rick Pitino and Bobby Hurley have been linked to the St. John’s coaching vacancy, the best fit for the job is Iona’s Tim Cluess.
St. John’s has shown a tendency to go big-game hunting when they look for basketball coaches. Their last two hires, former UCLA coach Steve Lavin and famed alum Chris Mullin, fit that bill but failed to deliver significant results for the Red Storm.
The Red Storm have reportedly been high on Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley, who would require a significant buy out to leave Tempe, but they are also showing interest in Iona’s Tim Cluess. Cluess, who played at St. John’s in college from 1979-1981 before finishing his career at Hofstra, would be a tremendous fit for the program.
St. John’s should be concerned primarily about results, and Cluess has shown he can win at every level. After going 98-23 in four years at DII C.W. Post, including a trip to that level’s Elite Eight in 2009, Cluess was hired at Iona to replace outgoing coach Kevin Willard, who used the job as a stepping stone to land at Seton Hall.
Cluess has demonstrated remarkable consistency in New Rochelle, taking Iona to the NCAA Tournament six times in his nine years at the helm, including a rare at-large bid out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in 2012. The Gaels have gone to at least the MAAC conference title game eight times in Cluess’ nine years on the job, including the last seven, and have the longest active streak of conference tournament championships in the nation with four.
Iona has also played in the postseason every year of Cluess’ tenure, compiling a 199-108 record in his run. Even though Cluess hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game at Iona, other coaches believe he would be a great fit for St. John’s, including one anonymous D-I coach who said the following to Adam Zagoria:
"“They should hire Tim Cluess, he’s a magician. He’s the right hire for them. He’ll be in the Elite Eight. He’ll win there. Tim Cluess does not know how not to win. He’s special good. He’s a very intelligent man, he always finds a way. He’ll figure it out and he’s going to get good players.”"
Iona has done a good job landing impact players from the transfer market under Cluess, seeing former high major players like MoMo Jones, Mike Glover, and Sam Cassell Jr come to the Gaels to take part in his player-friendly offense. The Gaels play a very exciting brand of up-tempo basketball, shooting a ton of threes and executing offense early in the shot clock, something that should appeal a lot to recruits.
Cluess is a proven winner, and what he has done at Iona is definitely translatable to the Big East. Willard has demonstrated that coaching in New Rochelle can be a launching pad to success at the high major level, and if St. John’s is smart they will find a way to bring their one-time guard back to coach the Red Storm back to national relevance.