The Illinois Coaching Search

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The Worm

CHICAGO, IL
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illynifan34

That's a winner!!
OH
Thanks for finding this. I actually do recall all of this now. I've long thought of him as being an aggressive recruiter, and maybe his slap on the wrist 5 years ago taught him a lesson.

I still think he is the type of... salesman.. that this program needs to recruit successfully.

I really like the build up job from what he stepped into.
 
#3,655      

The Worm

CHICAGO, IL
Also, how was Keatts not the obvious play for NC State to some of you? As great of a candidate as he appears to be, that fit made too much sense.
 
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Like Bryce Drew, I don't know if he's willing to leave after one year at a place but how would people feel about Brad Underwood from Oklahoma State? He's only making $6.3 million over 5 years so money can sway him big time. He's won 2 tournament games at Stephen F Austin and went 89-14 there overall including 53-1 in conference. And he really turned things around in Stillwater this year.

I would die of pure joy if we hired Brad Underwood from an x and o standpoint. Idk how well he can recruit at a high major level though. He is an INTENSE person.
 
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looks like one of the Drew brothers is looking more and more likely
 
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jmwillini

Tolono, IL
Okay, we have Cuonzo at Mo, and Keatts being interviewed. Only one hired so far. How are all of the realistic hires being gone?
 
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Also, how was Keatts not the obvious play for NC State to some of you? As great of a candidate as he appears to be, that fit made too much sense.

Yea...like I said yesterday, Keatts made a lot of sense to NCState if Archie Miller didn't want to go there. I think Archie ends up at Indiana
 
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Until demonstrated otherwise, I have confidence in Whitman to separate the Collins/Narduzzis from the Groce/Beckmans at a far better rate than his predecessor. Exhibit A: Lovie.

I generally agree with that whole post, though with less confidence, but I think this is the key point.

"Thinking outside the box" is as overused of a cliche as there is, but that's the biggest difference between MT and JW. MT is the quintessential inside the box thinker. Every coach he's ever gone after fit into the same criteria.

The whole Lovie process, on the other hand, was built out of whole cloth by Whitman. No one had ever done something like that before.

I'm confident Whitman is going to see the whole field and not just give up and settle. But I do worry that he's going to feel beholded to his prior success to try and make another splash to the detriment of the program's interests.
 
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TownieMatt

CU Expat
Chicago
Nothing in that Rothstein tweet is surprising. Why wouldn't he be a leading candidate for that job? The question is whether he's a leading candidate for our job. If so, he'll have a decision to make.
 
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Have to admire how tight of a lid JW has kept on this search. Nobody seems to know anything at this point.
Guessing he already had an agreement with someone prior to the Groce firing and could pitch the replacement the our recruits on a down low basis. Only makes sense that its seems Walker is staying on with most likely knowing who the replacement is. Replacement is in the tournament and cannot be announced.
 
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Alford is not going back to IU, he is not leaving UCLA.

I think you're right, especially with the Ball brothers committed. Hope he does though, because he's a bad coach. His rep here (SoCal) is that of a jerk who thinks he's great when he's clearly not. In fact, the whole family has that rep, and I've seen it first hand during the recruiting process. Just nasty, unhappy people. The Ball's are saving his butt at UCLA.
 
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If we find out Keatts was never contacted for our job, I'd be disappointed in Whitman.
 
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