In the chaos of New York sports it is no less important to be on the back of the tabloids than at the front of the pack. Steve Lavin thus put his new employer in an enviable position even before he was officially hired.

'LOVIN' LAVIN' was the headline in Tuesday's New York Post, above a huge photo of the man, a correct implication he would be the new basketball coach at St. John's, which he became a few hours later.

If the school acquired him as much for the attention he might elicit as the success he might generate, things got off to a brilliant start.

College basketball is a coach's game, purely and simply.

In the NBA, those who dominate are those who play; Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo, Dwyane. They control the ball, the boards and the results.

But for the undergrads, it's all about the guys who do the talking and make the substitutions, guys such as Mike Krzyzewski or Tom Izzo. Think of Duke. You think of Christian Laettner? Or Coach K?

Players come and go, these days in a seeming instant, all those superb freshmen, Diaper Dandies according to Dickie V., entering the draft almost the moment their team is eliminated from the tournament.

The coaches, however, are constants. And if they're any good they are the reason their schools are famous. Carolina was Dean Smith until it became Roy Williams. Connecticut is Jim Calhoun. And now for better or worse, St. John's is now Steve Lavin.

Lavin, "Lav'' as he came to be called, is both a curious and an understandable choice by an institution trying to regain the glory of Lou Carnesecca, and the kid from down the block, Chris Mullin, as well as the attention of the Gotham media.

He is a 45-year-old product of the West Coast - please do not use the term "Left Coast'' - born in San Francisco, raised in Marin County north of the Golden Gate Bridge and guided by a father, Cap Lavin, who was a star player for the late, great Pete Newell at University of San Francisco and subsequently became both a coach and a college (Cal-Berkeley, San Francisco State) and high school English teacher.

Steve is a whiz with words, verified by his rapid-fire discussion of college hoops for ESPN, artful, theatrical analyses which did not go unheard or unnoticed. And, oh, that hairstyle.

The consensus is Lavin was not quite as adept with X's and O's when he became the accidental head coach at UCLA, where there were six good years (if not by John Wooden-established standards) and one awful year (by anyone's established standards, 10-19).

Lavin is a charmer, a philosopher, a psychologist, an historian, a sharp guy, and most of all an individualist. After inviting dozens to his scheduled 2007 marriage to actress Mary Jarou in Southern California, the couple sent emails that the wedding party was too large. They would be eloping to Europe, and thanks for your interest.

UCLA is interested only in the room at the top, which when he was coach Lavin could never locate. In a city without an NFL franchise, winter consists of the Lakers and Bruins basketball. The scrutiny is unrelenting. In a way, so was Lavin.

Steve was an assistant to Jim Harrick in 1995, as the Bruins won their 11th, and last, national title. When Harrick was caught lying to the university about the expenses from a recruiting dinner in November 1996, he was bounced, a few days before the season. Lavin was elevated to head coach.

The job is almost impossible. The legend, Wooden, still is around, having turned 99 in October. The banners still hang at Pauley Pavilion. The ghosts still linger.

Lavin could recruit, bringing in Baron Davis, Jason Kapono, Matt Barnes, Trevor Ariza and Earl Watson. Lavin got the Bruins to the round of 16 in five of six seasons. UCLA under Lavin upset No. 1 Kansas, but UCLA under Lavin had 10 losses by 25 points or more and was beaten by Cal State Northridge at home.

When in 2002-03 UCLA had its first losing season in 55 years, 10-19, despite an upset of the nation's then top-ranked team, Arizona, in the Pac-10 tournament, Lavin was fired. Yet he remained fired up with enthusiasm.

His work at ESPN, even this past weekend, deservedly made him a star. He knows the game, although sometimes it didn't appear that way when he was at UCLA.

"You've got no plays," a fan screamed during a timeout when the Bruins were about to lose to rival USC.

Baron Davis, now with the Los Angeles Clippers, said a couple years back while working out at Pauley, "We should have a banner up there: We are the only team to make the tournament without a coach."

But, criticism to the contrary, St. John's now has a coach named Lavin. Who knows what he might do, but if you check the New York Post, you'd surmise Steve Lavin already has accomplished a great deal.