Illini Basketball 2018-2019

[Hands Malone]

I don't think losing average to below-average role players is any cause for concern. Our overall talent has increased, depth is overrated and I have no doubt we will win more games. The future is bright, better hop on the Brad bandwagon!

Agree. Other than Black the other players that left will be replaced adequately with the new recruits. And Black was good for about a half depending on his foul situation. 5ht years will show up soon and cover for what ever was lost. the talent level of the stable guards and wings are a huge improvement over last year.

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

BU runs a particular system that players need to learn. Many of us gave him a pass last year because the players were in year one of learning the system. We didn't just lose the 510th ranked player; we lost our only remaining center with system experience.

There is a good chance the upcoming year will be even uglier than the last. That's ample cause for concern.

 

[Sizzler22]

So many head coaches here. Look what Underwood was given, one year and people are saying he can’t recruit big men yet he hasn’t even had a sample to provide potential recruits with because he has been here 1 YEAR.

I still remember when people in this chat were afraid of Groce being poached by Duke when coach K retires. A lot of you are cubs fans, it took the right management to lead them to a World Series and yet it took them a few years to find the right people, I am a cardinals fan I remember a time watching a cubs game and not knowing one player on the cubs team.

 

[RIVERCITYCHIEF]

BU runs a particular system that players need to learn. Many of us gave him a pass last year because the players were in year one of learning the system. We didn't just lose the 510th ranked player; we lost our only remaining center with system experience.

There is a good chance the upcoming year will be even uglier than the last. That's ample cause for concern.

People act as if Ebo was Ethan Happ or Calib Swanigan. I think Ebos replacement will be better than him on offense, outside of the lane, and as a free throw shooter. Defensively I bet they will be as good to. I wish Ebo the best but to make him out to be so much more advanced than he actually was is confusing to me.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

People act as if Ebo was Ethan Happ or Calib Swanigan. I think Ebos replacement will be better than him on offense, shoot free throw shooter. Defensively I bet they will be as good to. I wish Ebo the best but to make him out to be so much more advanced than he actually was is confusing to me.

No! People are not acting like that.

People are alarmed that 1) we will be shockingly thin - talking in terms of just actual rostered players, not even talent - in the frontcourt next year and 2) 3 of the 5 recruits from Underwood’s first class have transferred in one year. It’s one thing for the players you inherit to head for the exits (see Smith, Lovie), and quite another for the guys you are actively choosing to be bailing.

 

[Ryllini]

People act as if Ebo was Ethan Happ or Calib Swanigan. I think Ebos replacement will be better than him on offense, outside of the lane, and as a free throw shooter. Defensively I bet they will be as good to. I wish Ebo the best but to make him out to be so much more advanced than he actually was is confusing to me.

You might be right, but we need bodies right now and I don’t know where you are going to find them at this point in the game.

 

[foby]

:violin:

 

[Second and Chalmers]

In the interests of being productive, here is what I would do now if I were in Underwood's shoes:

1. See if Ebo and Matic are willing to entertain coming back. That may be unrealistic, but it's worth a shot. He should want both guys to return and be willing to address their concerns from their first year here.

2. If you can't get one or both of those guys back, hit whatever is left of the grad transfer market and find at least one big man who can soak up 10 minutes without getting annihilated on defense or fouling out. Two would be better still. It's totally unrealistic to expect Kane and Giorgi to give us much of anything as raw, fringe-y true freshmen who aren't even native English speakers.

3. Call Erik Pastrana, Underwood's assistant at SFA now at Florida Atlantic, and Stephen Gentry, also an SFA assistant who was our DOBO before leaving for the same position at Gonzaga, to see if they would be willing to join as an assistant. Failing them see if there is anyone else who is familiar with our offensive style in particular with experience who would be willing to take the job at this late juncture. If so, let go of Jamall Walker tomorrow. We need Chin to keep Ayo, Antigua has the big man coaching challenge of his life ahead of him, Walker's clearly the chair you open if you have to open one, and we really really do to get someone with a background in UnderwoodBall.

4. Reach out to both Kipper and AJ and gauge their comfort and willingness to totally redefine themselves as a full-time starting 4. Pick one of them (AJ is a guy who will do anything for the team so he'd put his heart and soul into it, but if Kipper is eager for it he probably has the more natural skillset for the role), and assign them all of the nutrition, weight training, and one-on-one coaching they can handle to make that transition. Rather than juggle nine million guys playing out of position, sacrifice one to the cause full-time.

5. Retaining as much terminology, base concepts, base skills and whatnot as possible, ease up on the pressure D for the time being. Do pre-emptively what OSU did on the fly during his year there. We just don't have the personnel for it physically or experience-wise, and it would be demoralizing for all these young kids to just get posterized over and over again.

6. Get your team together and level with them. As the coach, it's your job to make a balanced roster, and you've failed. You've put them in a bad position, and put them in a spot where they're going to face a lot of havoc and make a lot of mistakes. You coach hard, you're not going to change the way you coach, but you also understand that you have not put the pieces together in a way that can make everything fit the way it does in your head. Create some sort of a pathway outside of regular practice and meeting times where each player can discuss the way they're being coached and their concerns. Nurture those lines of communication. Make clear that if they're willing to work for you and willing to stick with you that they have not just a scholarship but a playing role on the team for the duration of that scholarship.

Then you have to go coach and recruit your behind off of course. But that's just my short-term idea to stop the bleeding.

 

[SescIllini]

There was talk early on that the staff didn't feel like Ebo was good enough to play here. That talk was leaked on here. This isn't a shock, it isn't a huge loss. We will win more games next year than last. Now you have to expect a tourney run in the 3rd at least the 4th year and if that is not here, bring out your cries and whines.

Ebo was good enough to be in the rotation. BU hasnt landed enough big men to chase Ebo away.

 

[AEX]

No! People are not acting like that.

People are alarmed that 1) we will be shockingly thin - talking in terms of just actual rostered players, not even talent - in the frontcourt next year and 2) 3 of the 5 recruits from Underwood’s first class have transferred in one year. It’s one thing for the players you inherit to head for the exits (see Smith, Lovie), and quite another for the guys you are actively choosing to be bailing.

I'm with you, man. I really can't believe how many people are trying to downplay this. "Ebo wasn't that good." "Ebo was just going to be recruited over." I mean, have they looked at this team lately? Have they read the recruiting page? My mind is boggled. Straight. Up. Boggled.

 

[skyIdub]

 

[DReq]

Guys.....We will be alright. The sky is NOT falling. Have faith in the Orange and Blue, Coach U, and the System.

Hey guys, this fellow is the only one on this board not wildly speculating about what is happening. Faith. Listen to the man.

 

[alexander58]

BU runs a particular system that players need to learn. Many of us gave him a pass last year because the players were in year one of learning the system. We didn't just lose the 510th ranked player; we lost our only remaining center with system experience.

There is a good chance the upcoming year will be even uglier than the last. That's ample cause for concern.

By what Ebo said, it may have little to do with basketball. He may not feel comfortable with the other players.

 

[Deleted member 631370]

Listen, I am well aware that I have richly earned a reputation for pessimism around here. And I probably fight a bit too hard against the Loyalty hivemind's gobsmacking combination of never, ever EVER having any expectations whatsoever for performance in games combined with brainless certainty that the 5-star pretty girls are going to all ask us to the dance just around the corner (see? I'm doing it again ). Fair play on both counts.

But the facts are that I am more pro-Lovie than most of our fanbase, I was pro-Groce for longer than most of our fanbase, I am more pro-Whitman than loud elements of our fanbase (not here, but check twitter), I was way more pro-Mike Thomas than most of our fanbase, I was more Cubit-curious than most of our fanbase and to my continued great shame I was supportive of Tim Beckman longer than pretty much anybody outside his immediate family. I do not accept and it would be a mistake to assign me some convenient label as Mr. Hate-The-Coach.

What I am is someone who refuses to not call a spade a spade. Brad Underwood is in over his head in this job. This is not a rebuild, this is not a culture change, this is a chicken with its head cut off.



To be clear, neither am I.

Those shrugging this off or suggesting that it's all part of the process are definitely refusing to look reality in the face. Our basketball program is in a bad place right now, and it doesn't look to get any better anytime soon.

But the bolded gives me hope, seeing as how frequently you are so catastrophically wrong about things like this. I jumped off the "Team Beckman" bandwagon after the opening press conference, but you seemed to ride that train for years. You were the guy advocating for George Conditt over Ayo. You were the guy singing Bill Effing Cubit's praises.

So I guess there's hope after all :thumb:

(and while I think the Underwood honeymoon is absolutely over, it's silly to suggest that he's in over his head. The reality is, he's looking a whole lot more Frank Martin than Bob Huggins, and the problem with Martin is that the kind of turnover he generates creates quite a few mediocre seasons with an occasional great one mixed in.)

 

[AnticipatedSerendipity]

To try to be the voice of reason, and probably will fail. Losing Ebo sucks because we are incredibly thin in the frontcourt. If Kane and 1 transfer produce at a solid level we are better than last year but still struggling.
Now Underwood, is a better coach than Groce or Weber. To say he can't handle a program like ours is nonsense. We will be more than fine with BU in charge

 

[AnticipatedSerendipity]

But the bolded gives me hope, seeing as how frequently you are so catastrophically wrong about things like this. I jumped off the "Team Beckman" bandwagon after the opening press conference, but you seemed to ride that train for years. You were the guy advocating for George Conditt over Ayo. You were the guy singing Bill Effing Cubit's praises.

So I guess there's hope after all :thumb:

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

[rtbritt]

No! People are not acting like that.

People are alarmed that 1) we will be shockingly thin - talking in terms of just actual rostered players, not even talent - in the frontcourt next year and 2) 3 of the 5 recruits from Underwood’s first class have transferred in one year. It’s one thing for the players you inherit to head for the exits (see Smith, Lovie), and quite another for the guys you are actively choosing to be bailing.

This. Obviously, Ebo was not a big-time B1G starting big man. He could've been okay on a team loaded with talent everywhere else.

Kane or Giorgi playing 10-20 minutes a game between the 2 of them was doable. Each of them playing 20 minutes is NOT realistic. I guess we'll see.

 

[rtbritt]

In the interests of being productive, here is what I would do now if I were in Underwood's shoes:

1. See if Ebo and Matic are willing to entertain coming back. That may be unrealistic, but it's worth a shot. He should want both guys to return and be willing to address their concerns from their first year here.

2. If you can't get one or both of those guys back, hit whatever is left of the grad transfer market and find at least one big man who can soak up 10 minutes without getting annihilated on defense or fouling out. Two would be better still. It's totally unrealistic to expect Kane and Giorgi to give us much of anything as raw, fringe-y true freshmen who aren't even native English speakers.

3. Call Erik Pastrana, Underwood's assistant at SFA now at Florida Atlantic, and Stephen Gentry, also an SFA assistant who was our DOBO before leaving for the same position at Gonzaga, to see if they would be willing to join as an assistant. Failing them see if there is anyone else who is familiar with our offensive style in particular with experience who would be willing to take the job at this late juncture. If so, let go of Jamall Walker tomorrow. We need Chin to keep Ayo, Antigua has the big man coaching challenge of his life ahead of him, Walker's clearly the chair you open if you have to open one, and we really really do to get someone with a background in UnderwoodBall.

4. Reach out to both Kipper and AJ and gauge their comfort and willingness to totally redefine themselves as a full-time starting 4. Pick one of them (AJ is a guy who will do anything for the team so he'd put his heart and soul into it, but if Kipper is eager for it he probably has the more natural skillset for the role), and assign them all of the nutrition, weight training, and one-on-one coaching they can handle to make that transition. Rather than juggle nine million guys playing out of position, sacrifice one to the cause full-time.

5. Retaining as much terminology, base concepts, base skills and whatnot as possible, ease up on the pressure D for the time being. Do pre-emptively what OSU did on the fly during his year there. We just don't have the personnel for it physically or experience-wise, and it would be demoralizing for all these young kids to just get posterized over and over again.

6. Get your team together and level with them. As the coach, it's your job to make a balanced roster, and you've failed. You've put them in a bad position, and put them in a spot where they're going to face a lot of havoc and make a lot of mistakes. You coach hard, you're not going to change the way you coach, but you also understand that you have not put the pieces together in a way that can make everything fit the way it does in your head. Create some sort of a pathway outside of regular practice and meeting times where each player can discuss the way they're being coached and their concerns. Nurture those lines of communication. Make clear that if they're willing to work for you and willing to stick with you that they have not just a scholarship but a playing role on the team for the duration of that scholarship.

Then you have to go coach and recruit your behind off of course. But that's just my short-term idea to stop the bleeding.

Good post here. Highly doubt he's looking at firing Walker, but I wouldn't be upset if he did.

 

[Hands Malone]

Hey guys, this fellow is the only one on this board not wildly speculating about what is happening. Faith. Listen to the man.

No Kidding. Some here need a dose of Paxil.

 

[Second and Chalmers]

You were the guy singing Bill Effing Cubit's praises.

Hey, I wasn't Bob Asmussen calling to sign him long-term the morning after Nebraska choked against us. So I've got that going for me

 

[Seagee]

In the interests of being productive, here is what I would do now if I were in Underwood's shoes:

1. See if Ebo and Matic are willing to entertain coming back. That may be unrealistic, but it's worth a shot. He should want both guys to return and be willing to address their concerns from their first year here.

2. If you can't get one or both of those guys back, hit whatever is left of the grad transfer market and find at least one big man who can soak up 10 minutes without getting annihilated on defense or fouling out. Two would be better still. It's totally unrealistic to expect Kane and Giorgi to give us much of anything as raw, fringe-y true freshmen who aren't even native English speakers.

3. Call Erik Pastrana, Underwood's assistant at SFA now at Florida Atlantic, and Stephen Gentry, also an SFA assistant who was our DOBO before leaving for the same position at Gonzaga, to see if they would be willing to join as an assistant. Failing them see if there is anyone else who is familiar with our offensive style in particular with experience who would be willing to take the job at this late juncture. If so, let go of Jamall Walker tomorrow. We need Chin to keep Ayo, Antigua has the big man coaching challenge of his life ahead of him, Walker's clearly the chair you open if you have to open one, and we really really do to get someone with a background in UnderwoodBall.

4. Reach out to both Kipper and AJ and gauge their comfort and willingness to totally redefine themselves as a full-time starting 4. Pick one of them (AJ is a guy who will do anything for the team so he'd put his heart and soul into it, but if Kipper is eager for it he probably has the more natural skillset for the role), and assign them all of the nutrition, weight training, and one-on-one coaching they can handle to make that transition. Rather than juggle nine million guys playing out of position, sacrifice one to the cause full-time.

5. Retaining as much terminology, base concepts, base skills and whatnot as possible, ease up on the pressure D for the time being. Do pre-emptively what OSU did on the fly during his year there. We just don't have the personnel for it physically or experience-wise, and it would be demoralizing for all these young kids to just get posterized over and over again.

6. Get your team together and level with them. As the coach, it's your job to make a balanced roster, and you've failed. You've put them in a bad position, and put them in a spot where they're going to face a lot of havoc and make a lot of mistakes. You coach hard, you're not going to change the way you coach, but you also understand that you have not put the pieces together in a way that can make everything fit the way it does in your head. Create some sort of a pathway outside of regular practice and meeting times where each player can discuss the way they're being coached and their concerns. Nurture those lines of communication. Make clear that if they're willing to work for you and willing to stick with you that they have not just a scholarship but a playing role on the team for the duration of that scholarship.

Then you have to go coach and recruit your behind off of course. But that's just my short-term idea to stop the bleeding.

Thoughtful, constructive post S&C !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FC Illiniman]

In the interests of being productive, here is what I would do now if I were in Underwood's shoes:

1. See if Ebo and Matic are willing to entertain coming back. That may be unrealistic, but it's worth a shot. He should want both guys to return and be willing to address their concerns from their first year here.

2. If you can't get one or both of those guys back, hit whatever is left of the grad transfer market and find at least one big man who can soak up 10 minutes without getting annihilated on defense or fouling out. Two would be better still. It's totally unrealistic to expect Kane and Giorgi to give us much of anything as raw, fringe-y true freshmen who aren't even native English speakers.

3. Call Erik Pastrana, Underwood's assistant at SFA now at Florida Atlantic, and Stephen Gentry, also an SFA assistant who was our DOBO before leaving for the same position at Gonzaga, to see if they would be willing to join as an assistant. Failing them see if there is anyone else who is familiar with our offensive style in particular with experience who would be willing to take the job at this late juncture. If so, let go of Jamall Walker tomorrow. We need Chin to keep Ayo, Antigua has the big man coaching challenge of his life ahead of him, Walker's clearly the chair you open if you have to open one, and we really really do to get someone with a background in UnderwoodBall.

4. Reach out to both Kipper and AJ and gauge their comfort and willingness to totally redefine themselves as a full-time starting 4. Pick one of them (AJ is a guy who will do anything for the team so he'd put his heart and soul into it, but if Kipper is eager for it he probably has the more natural skillset for the role), and assign them all of the nutrition, weight training, and one-on-one coaching they can handle to make that transition. Rather than juggle nine million guys playing out of position, sacrifice one to the cause full-time.

5. Retaining as much terminology, base concepts, base skills and whatnot as possible, ease up on the pressure D for the time being. Do pre-emptively what OSU did on the fly during his year there. We just don't have the personnel for it physically or experience-wise, and it would be demoralizing for all these young kids to just get posterized over and over again.

6. Get your team together and level with them. As the coach, it's your job to make a balanced roster, and you've failed. You've put them in a bad position, and put them in a spot where they're going to face a lot of havoc and make a lot of mistakes. You coach hard, you're not going to change the way you coach, but you also understand that you have not put the pieces together in a way that can make everything fit the way it does in your head. Create some sort of a pathway outside of regular practice and meeting times where each player can discuss the way they're being coached and their concerns. Nurture those lines of communication. Make clear that if they're willing to work for you and willing to stick with you that they have not just a scholarship but a playing role on the team for the duration of that scholarship.

Then you have to go coach and recruit your behind off of course. But that's just my short-term idea to stop the bleeding.

Whitman called asked if you stop by his office tomorrow to get more of your enlightenment.

 

[goillini30]

In the interests of being productive, here is what I would do now if I were in Underwood's shoes:

5. Retaining as much terminology, base concepts, base skills and whatnot as possible, ease up on the pressure D for the time being. Do pre-emptively what OSU did on the fly during his year there. We just don't have the personnel for it physically or experience-wise, and it would be demoralizing for all these young kids to just get posterized over and over again.

I wondered why he didn't do this last season. My best guess is that once BU realized that the talent wasn't here to make the tournament he decided to stick with the pressure to install the system and mindset. But losing most of the players who gained that experience kind of negates that.

 

[bobbob]

The class of 2017 247sports composite 510th ranked player decides to transfer, resulting in a meltdown.

Nobody is concerned that the 510th ranked player of 2017 has transferred.

People are concerned that the 510th ranked player of 2017 was penciled in to be our best big man, we weren't able to keep him, and there is no apparent contingency plan.

We had a bad plan with no back up plan and it is going to bite us in the !!!.

 

[Sizzler22]

There is a press conference tomorrow @ 2, let’s hear what the AD and the head coach have to say