If you're gonna coach 9 years in D1 and your major glaring downfall is a 23-11 season, a high seed in the tournament, and a first round exit with some major players injured, then I think you're doing pretty good. You can look back at just about any great coach that has coached a decade and find far worse seasons. Tom Izzo is sitting at 14-9 with a higher rated recruiting class just this year. Everyone takes their lumps in a P5 conference eventually. The longer you coach the more warts you are going to have.
2017 Coaching Carousel
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If you're gonna coach 9 years in D1 and your major glaring downfall is a 23-11 season, a high seed in the tournament, and a first round exit with some major players injured, then I think you're doing pretty good. You can look back at just about any great coach that has coached a decade and find far worse seasons. Tom Izzo is sitting at 14-9 with a higher rated recruiting class just this year. Everyone takes their lumps in a P5 conference eventually. The longer you coach the more warts you are going to have.
Are we really only able to come up with Keats, Martin and Miller? Out of all these coaches, this is what we're going with? Archie isn't coming. So, lets hope JW has some other things brewing.
Just wait. They all come around again at some point. And then we rehash the same arguments. [emoji2]
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Blmillini is right. Should that be a deterrent to hiring a particular coach or any coach for that matter? I don't think so. Groce and Weber pulled in a number of Chicago guys (Head, Richmond, Paul x2, Bertrand, Egwu, Abrams, Henry, Shaw, DJW, Tate, Nunn, etc) yet did that really translate to the winning we were looking for? Additionally, this is why you have assistant coaches. In case a head coach doesn't have ties to an area, an assistant might. Moreover, I'm content to get guys from Timbuktu as long as we are a tournament team every year.
List
You'd have to dig into his recruiting areas at Louisville, most likely. But he doesn't have any direct ties, no. I don't think it's a HUGE deal for a guy with his recruiting acumen, personally (as opposed to Krystowiak, for example, where I found it concerning). But let's dig into where he's recruited.
Looking at his UNCW classes, here's where his guys committed/signed have come from:
2017: Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri (latter two appear to be JuCos)
2016: North Carolina
2015: Virginia (from Hargrave Military -- school he HC'd at)
At Louisville, the list of guys 247 credits him as the lead recruiter for (take with a grain of salt, but this is the most measurable way I had):
2014:
Quentin Snider, #6 PG, 4*, .9842 grade (Kentucky)
Chinanu Onuaku, #8 C, 4*, .9729 (Maryland)
Jaylen Johnson, #14 PF, 4*, .9532 (Michigan)
2013:
Anton Gill, #15 SG, 4*, .9802 (Hargrave Military in VA)
2013:Chris Jones, #2 PG, 4*, .9800 (Florida)
Compare those names with the Groce top 6 (all players rated as high/higher than Jaylen Johnson):
Tilmon: .9847, JCL: .9855, DJW: .9683, Leron: .9831, Nunn: .9771, Hill: .9702
(But we don't have any talent :huh
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IlliniForTheWin
- Georgia
Offer the head coaching job to the ladder.
Philly Boy
- Deerfield IL
Lurk Long,
Thanks for doing the research on Keats' ties to our area. As you enjoy saying, at least we have some data to go on.
It would be nice to learn that maybe he's got a cousin or something that lives in the City, teaches at Simeon or Whitney Young, and/or a former coach who's still involved, now working here....
Thanks for doing the research on Keats' ties to our area. As you enjoy saying, at least we have some data to go on.
It would be nice to learn that maybe he's got a cousin or something that lives in the City, teaches at Simeon or Whitney Young, and/or a former coach who's still involved, now working here....
As far as I'm concerned, you can find assistants to have ties. You can also form ties, no school/club in the state won't at least listen at the start when the flagship university comes by showing interest. Obviously, we'd prefer he already had them, but you can fill those gaps. Same applies to Krystowiak. I don't think that (local ties) should be a criterion we should require all coaches to check off, especially with how national basketball recruiting is nowadays (everyone's second favorite player in our '17 class is from Florida!)
Any men's basketball teams have a woman as a coach?
IlliniForTheWin
- Georgia
Even if Illinois hired a ladder to be the coach, it'd be a step up.
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With respect to the former, I don't think that impacts him at all unless they somehow lose accreditation. On the latter, probably not either, but who knows.
Lovie was a Grandslam hire. Whitman's got his hands full with a Volleyball job already posted and a massive task to try and find a replacement for Groce who is able to keep the talent Groce has lined up in place.
Hiring a non-revenue coach not that big of a deal, his focus is going to be Men's bb. Hire the right guy and the talent stays, especially if we retain Walker. Walker IMHO was the best recruiter and hands on coach of the asst. coaches. Martin from Cal is my choice right now. Solid recruiter and seems his teams improve where ever he goes.
I have been mentioning him for a while but there doesn't seem to be much support but I would gladly take him in a heartbeat. Offer him the world.
illini80
- Forgottonia
Agree. JW can be making all the moves he needs to without going down that road. If it were mid December, maybe there could be a case made. Nothing to gain at this point.
Do any of us actually want to see the Illini in the NIT? Just let them completely self-destruct so we don't have to watch this garbage anymore. I will still watch and root for them but NIT? C'mon, is that how low we have become?
Cheez
- Sun Prairie WI
He'll coach the BTT, but that is it.
Agree though, it's only a matter of time. Nothing is gained by firing him now.
I'm interested in how he gets those studs to Waco. There is literally nothing there. It is noted as being the halfway point between Austin and Dallas more than it is noted for being Waco. It doesn't even have the college town feel to it like CU. That said, I've heard some things about his tactical abilities that would give some pause considering what we're dealing with now.
homesickalien
- Springfield
Even if somehow this team got selected to the NIT I'm sure we wouldn't take it. Wouldn't be worth it considering we have a lame duck coach on our hands. Better to get this thing over with and get going on the new as soon as possible.
It's pretty weird that Groce's results are inversely correlated with the talent he has. Hill/Morgan not playing an NCAA Tournament game completely blows my mind. No four-year senior should graduate from the school without at least playing in the tournament. How do you miss it FOUR YEARS IN A ROW??
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