Marvin Lewis, John Cranley, others react to Chris Mack's record win
Pat Brennan
It seems like everyone around town has something to say about Xavier basketball head coach Chris Mack ascending to the top of the program's all-time head coaching wins list.
Mack and his 11th-ranked Musketeers on Wednesday beat St. John's University, 88-82, to improve to 17-3 overall this season and 5-2 in Big East Conference play.
The win was also No. 203 for Mack. The victory allowed him to slip past his former coach at Xavier, Pete Gillen, for the top spot in program history in terms of overall wins.
More:Chris Mack claims record win No. 203 versus St. John's
In the aftermath of the momentous occasion, all manner of luminary figures on the Xavier campus and public figures from around Greater Cincinnati stepped forward to express their thoughts on Mack's accomplishment.
Here's a sampling of some of the remarks sent Mack's and Xavier's way in the wake of the record-breaking win:
• "Chris, I want to congratulate you on being the winningest coach in Xavier University history. It's a great achievement as someone who has grown up in Cincinnati, played ball there at Xavier and now continues to lead the program to be a Top 10 program each year. I'm just excited for you and think you've just done a tremendous job so, again, I appreciate all you do. Best of luck. Go Xavier. Keep it up. – Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis
• "Congratulations, Chris Mack. I remember watching you play basketball at St. Xavier high school and now you're the winningest coach in the history of Xavier University. Congratulations." – Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley
• "Congratulations on passing Pete Gillen as the all-time winningest coach at Xavier. You've had some amazing coaches and even better people at Xavier, but nobody has been better on and off the court than Chris Mack." – ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas.
• "It's all over, Pete. There's a new man in town. Coach Chris Mack – what a great job he's done at Xavier over the years. One of the premier coaches in the country and it's, I'm sure, gratifying for all the fans and followers not only for his success, but the type of kids he's turned out over the years. So, congratulations. Keep it going. Hope I'm around for you to get that 500th win at Xavier." – Bill Raftery, Fox Sports college basketball commentator/analyst.