Illini HC Poll
Don’t care about any of those that are coaching elsewhere.
Self and Kruger are standouts IMO. I went with Kruger, as I think his teams are fun to watch. He's got final fours at 2 different schools, EEs at 3 different schools, and even though he didn't do that at Illinois, he set the stage nicely for Self. Even his last place Illini team of freshman almost won the BIG tournament that year.
Bill Self is the best recruiter. Bruce Weber was the best coach (just not the best recruiter). Brad Underwood is here now and I wouldn't trade him for anyone.
Notice I said better...not best. If it is best it is Lou by a landslide so I didnt include him
After the late 60's and early 70's problems with the mens basketball program, I think Lou Henson did more to get Illini basketball back than any of the other coaches mentioned.....Lou was loyal to the university and the program....he and his wife were and still are class acts....have we had better recruiting coaches...maybe....have we had better X and O's coaches.....probably.....but getting the program back to national prominence ....it's gotta be Lou.....heck the orange blazer alone should easily put him in the top spot
Hands down? By what metric do you rate Lou above Harry? Harry had a better winning % (.678 vs. .654), more B10 titles (4-1) and more final fours (3-1). Harry coached Illinois for 20 years vs. Lou's 21.
My apologies. Didn't quite go back that far...didn't mean to offend you
No problem. This is a good place to share information.
Harry and Lou are big reasons Illinois is #11(12?) of all-time top college basketball programs.
Side note, Harry was a phenomenal coach at Champaign high school prior to the Illini years.
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
I voted Lon, and not just because he was the one who was coach during most of my time in school. Those were glory years, though. He put us back on the map, gave us players like Frankie, Cookie, Sergio, Lucas Johnson, and Arch, and was an excellent X's and O's coach. He set the stage for the Self and early Weber years that followed.
Your profile pic looks like Harv Schmidt. Harv played on some very strong teams under Harry.
Yes, it's Harv, probably at a post-game presser. I'm guessing the cigarette and pained expression is from trying to explain another loss.
OurMottoisOskeeWowWow
- Illinois
I'm sure this subject won't be controversial at all. It is kind of unfair though considering Underwood didn't have a chance to show what he could do with his team in the NCAA tournament this past season. I think he's proven to be a better recruiter than Weber and Groce. I also think there were games that could have turned out differently had we had Dosunmu. That said it was unfortunate what happened with Weber. As bad as things ended with him, he did lead Illinois to a Championship game. You can't deny that. Groce well....sometimes a job is just too much. He's a better fit at a mid major.
BU is smart enough to surround himself with people with complementary abilities and then listen to them. He is probably not the greatest recruiter or the greatest X and o guy but he is an excellent manager. He has built a staff to compete and we hope win at the highest level. We did win!
Sadly, we've moved down that list in recent years. 14th now.
That
That's changing. I picked Underwood because I believe that when he retires he will be known as Illinois greatest basketball coach.
Hoping that's the case...the arrow is definitely pointing up right now.....just hope the 20-21 season is played entirely without interruption.....we seem to have some momentum going with the program right now....let's get a full season in this coming year and hopefully reap the benefits!