I do not think money was any concern. my guess would be more of who filled a bigger need. Now you have a Chi guy, a STL guy and your all over guy. Now lets see if it works out and we get players from either Chi or STL
Illini Coaching Staff
I do not think money was any concern. my guess would be more of who filled a bigger need. Now you have a Chi guy, a STL guy and your all over guy. Now lets see if it works out and we get players from either Chi or STL
PhillyIllini
- Los Angeles
What evidence suggests that?
We could've hired Coleman 2 weeks ago and didn't.
TownieMatt
CU Expat
- Chicago
Recruited Dikembe Dixon to UIC, who was Horizon league freshman of the year before getting hurt. He also helped Bradley grab a bunch of Chicago kids, although it didn't lead to much on the court.
Good story on Chin from his Bradley days: http://www.pjstar.com/article/20140510/SPORTS/140519952
Look, Chin will open doors and build relationships that could lead to recruiting wins in the city. Don't forget that Antigua has recruited in Chicago as well. Winning will be the key, but this Chin will only help in Chicago.
Always glad to be reminded that I live in a world which has been graced by a man named Dick Versace.
If I ever release a rap album, it will be under that name.
PhillyIllini
- Los Angeles
Haha, again... what evidence do you have that suggests this is true?
I'd honestly hope that if posters on this board have learned anything throughout this hiring process it's that JW/Coach Brad Underwood zig when loyalty expects a zag.
They had better not needed to come up with more money for this. Very lackluster finish to the rumors. He is OK as a third assistant. Not anything to get excited about. Hope he can learn from BU. He hasn't really won at any school he has been at (Chin). Maybe this will be the one.
My opinion of Martin and Coleman are vastly different.
My opinion of Martin and Coleman are vastly different.
To know him is to love him.
This is really the gist of it.
Smith (or perhaps Liddell) for Walker, and Ayo for Coleman. If those guys aren't delivered by the time next offseason rolls around, we should be going back to the drawing board on this staff.
If you hire guys to get you players, they have to get you players.
PhillyIllini
- Los Angeles
Just going to take a wild guess here, but something tells me that Whitman and Coach Brad Underwood may see a bit more than a simple "Coach X gets me Player Y" when they make these hires. Yup...going to give them the benefit of the doubt here.
Easy, he wasn't the No. 1 guy on BU's list because Jamall Walker was retained and Orlando Antigua was hired a week ago.
Don't know if this will end up being a great hire a few years from now, but I like it mainly because his last name is not Ford or Parham
Well, he brought some pretty good Chicago talent to a very backwater program at Bradley. Josh Cunningham was a top 100 player who chose to attend Bradley over some P5 schools if I remember correctly. Beats the heck out of what paris Parham did for us
PhillyIllini
- Los Angeles
Ha, playing semantics there a bit. I believe the original intent was #1 guy for the remaining spot, but if you're indeed being genuine, than point taken. Otherwise, I'm going to assume that there's a bit of hyperbole to that initial statement and we should trust JW and Coach BU on this one. Haven't given us a reason not to yet.
TownieMatt
CU Expat
- Chicago
No kidding. Although you could make a comparison between Coleman and Parham.
Coleman is pretty much Parham, we'll see if it works out. I don't hate it, but it's a let down.
Could not agree more. I am optimistic that because these guys are not "Underwood's guys" in the same way that Ford/Parham were "Groce's guys", we will move on if they do not produce.
That said, I also sign on to the idea that a lot of our losses in these recruiting battles have been due to the fact we haven't been winning on the court (nor have we looked pretty while losing.) Underwood and Gentry need to make these guys' jobs easier by showing some forward progress there, too.
Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
Underwood
Walker
Antigua
Coleman
Groce
Walker
Parham
Ford
I'm pretty happy.
Walker
Antigua
Coleman
Groce
Walker
Parham
Ford
I'm pretty happy.
BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
Absolutely. We covered all bases with this staff. Orlando is a big prize, though. I never would have thought we could have gotten him on staff at Illinois.
Or perhaps that's exactly what a savvy program would do.
I don't think anyone could say with a straight face that ties to known recruits and high school/AAU programs wasn't a primary consideration in the assembly of this staff.
I am dubious that that will work, and bummed at the road not taken. But away we go I guess.
Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
Absolutely. We covered all bases with this staff. Orlando is a big prize, though. I never would have thought we could have gotten him on staff at Illinois.
I keep waiting for the other Illini shoe to drop. Sudden change of heart. Ends up back at UK with Cal. Jerrance finally decides he wants to be a head coach at a mid-major, so Bill replaces him with Orlando. Goes fishing, falls off the boat. Goes hunting, gets eaten by Bigfoot. Something bad is going to happen.
PhillyIllini
- Los Angeles
OSU overpaying Lamont Evans out of pure spite was the Illinois nut punch moment you're looking for.