Roberts, now in his seventh year has been credited with getting his kids to play hard but the wins have still been hard to string together for the “little school from Queens,” as Roberts likes to describe the university. The questions about his job security have grown as his teams continue to be outclassed and out-recruited by other Big East schools.

Roberts is well aware of the buzz over whether St. Johns will offer him a new contract but he feels he’s gotten the program back on track. He took over a decimated program on the verge of NCAA penalty, is 60-76 overall and only 23-52 in Big East play. He said he spoke to Father Harrington, St. Johns’ President, as recently as about two weeks ago at a board of directors meeting and that the university president was 100-percent supportive.

“I feel better about my team than I ever have,” said Roberts. “We’ve taken major steps to getting better and we’re going to be pretty good next year. We just have to continue to grow.”

“I don’t think anybody could forsee six years up the road and tell where a program will be,” he said. “I think we’re further along than when I first got here. We were rock bottom playing in the best league in America. I think we’ve got a chance to be one of the better teams in the league next year.”

St. Johns, under legendary coach Lou Carnesecca, was able to hold onto kids like Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, Walter Berry, Bill Wennington, Malik Sealy and many others who went on to productive NBA careers. Under Roberts, they have yet to produce an All-American or an NBA-caliber player.

“Everybody thinks that St. Johns got every New York City kid, they never did,” Roberts said. “I say this all the time and people don’t want to listen to it but it’s right. Ed Pinckney went to Villanova, we got Walter Berry. So nobody worried about Ed Pinckney going to Villanova. Kenny Smith went to North Carolina, we got Mark Jackson so nobody worried about Kenny Smith going to Carolina. Pearl Washington went to Syracuse.

“What we have to do is get the kid that fits us and then when we get him, we have to make him as good as he can possibly be. Then nobody will be asking those questions anymore. You can’t keep them here in NY just like you can’t keep all the great players in Chicago. The landscape of basketball is totally different than it was 20 years ago. With AAU basketball, by the time they’re 18, they’ve been to North Carolina and L.A. 15 times, so it’s no big deal. So for a kid to go there for college, it’s no big deal. When I was growing up in Brooklyn, and I know I’m dating myself, when someone would tell me to go to New Jersey, I would say I don’t know those people over there. I’m from NYC and I wanted to stay home. So, it’s a totally different landscape.”

Roberts does have the respect of his coaching bretheren in the Big East. After St. Johns blew out Jim Calhoun’s Connecticut team, Calhoun went public with his admiration for the job Roberts was doing. At the same time, the wily Calhoun had to know his public support for Roberts could have a positive affect on St. Johns’ decision-making when it comes to retaining Roberts.

After today’s game, Buzz Williams, Marquette’s head coach supported Roberts as well, at the post-game press conference.

“Coach Roberts doesn’t get the credit he’s deserving of for how hard his team plays,” said Williams. “Not that I’m old, but I always trust our players to tell me the truth about other players. If you were to ask our players who is the hardest playing team in the league, they would tell you St. Johns. I thought they were the hardest playing team today.”

It sucks.

A lot of other words describe the emotions as well, words that are unprintable in respectable places such as this.  But let’s say you’re a fan of the Detroit Tigers.  You had the post-season wrapped up and your team blew it.  To make matters worse, you even had tickets for the Division Series in your cracked & frayed hands.  Suddenly, out of the blue, the Twins got hot and your guys got cold and there was a playoff.  And you had a lead and blew the lead and blew your chances and ultimately lost the game.

Yeah, that sucks.

Now put yourself in the shoes of the guys on the field.  Mets fans can do this too, based upon 2007 and 2008.  These sudden cease & desist orders to your seasons is hearbreaking.  For the players, it’s even worse.

If you’re a player who was in the race until the bitter end and now sits watching another team play in your playoffs, well, man you ain’t feeling so good.  It’s like losing a girlfriend and watching some other guy marry her.  Sure you blew it with her.  But it doesn’t stop the pain from eating away at your arteries.

Even worse, think about the Twins players.  They had Cinderella Story written all over them.  The great late-season comeback, the comeback within the playoff game, the series in New York against the Goliaths of baseball, circa 21st century (and pretty much 20th century as well).  And you blew it.  Hell, you even had a lead in the 9th in Game 2.  You had your shot at infamy.  And you blew it.  Now you’re sitting on the same couch as the Tigers, watching other teams play in your playoffs.  It’s not fun.

And it really, really sucks.

The wound can run very deep.  There’s blame everywhere, from the teammate who blew the big game or made the colossal error to the manager who made the bonehead decision to the teammate who suddenly forgot how to run the bases to everyone but yourself.  Because one way to get over the season fast is to flip the Denial switch and put your self-criticism into hibernation with the bears and donkeys.

When you finally take responsibility, it will be later in the winter.  It will be when all the baseball games are done and the free agents are signing and you’re looking at the way your team is shaping up, or new team if you were traded or waived or released.  Then you’ll get a sense of how you can possibly improve or get over the hump next year.  Then you’ll get that sense of regret that is so hard to admit to yet so hard to fight.

And you’ll look into a metaphorical mirror and tell yourself that you had a hand in organizing the couch party last October.  You were an accomplice to the drop in season ticket sales as the off season progressed.  You had something to do with the fan base on the attack and the hot-seat status of your manager.  And you’ll think about how you watched the post-season from your couch instead of playing in the post-season while other guys watched you and how much you envied those who played and wished you could stuff a pillow into their faces.  You’ll wish the pennant-winning, World champion style champagne had a small amount of poison in it so those guys could feel as lousy as you the day after.

The problem is, your hangover started the first Tuesday in October and theirs didn’t begin until November and yours was the terrible, awful kind where you remember certain things you did and said and wish you hadn’t done or said those things while theirs is the kind of hangover that brings a smile to their faces because, damn, every throbbing pain in the brain was worth it.

Watching from the couch sucks.  Maybe next year, they’ll get to share your pain.  And you’ll be throbbing in the brain.

You can only hope.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy and guests Desi Relaford, Eric Valent & Cassidy Dover.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Rollie Fingers, Desi Relaford, Brent Mayne and MLB Umpire Hunter Wendelstedt.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.