I don't see why that's the case. If he's retaining Jamall Walker it's because he wants to win right now.
I don't think any next coach is going to want to tear this thing down.
2017 Coaching Carousel
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I don't see why that's the case. If he's retaining Jamall Walker it's because he wants to win right now.
I don't think any next coach is going to want to tear this thing down.
I think almost any realistic candidate is a gamble to some extent. Cuonzo due to his perceived limited ceiling. Williams due to not having ever coached at the college level. Keatts due to lack of P5 head coaching history.
Cuonzo is the short-term move, imo. Somewhat of a splash hire, will have a better chance of maintaining existing commits, etc. But will he ever take us back to the level of success we had pre-2007?
Monty would be a splash hire in the sense of his NBA connections and persona. Again might retain some or even most of the existing commits, but it's going to take some time to get his feet wet in the college game. We'd be looking at a 2-3 year program rebuild period and not sure many have the patience for that at this point.
Keatts is the long-term play. A rising star who's performed at every stop he's been in so far. You'd have to think recruiting might suffer a bit in the beginning, but if he can bring a seasoned recruiting staff and get the players who will succeed in his system, he'll have us winning games lots of games again before any of the others. His floor is probably lower than Cuonzo but his ceiling is astronomical. I guess that's why I'm still on the Keatts Train. I feel like he's the man who can get the Illini Train back on the rails.
Choo! Chooo!:thumb:
Keatts
Can you name this coach?
- As an assistant recruited top ranked classes that would eventually yield a national title
- Would go on to coach exactly 3 years in the CAA and finish first in all 3 years
- Two NCAA tournament appearances
- One win in the NCAA tournament
- Two wins against P5 programs (including Duke)
- Would eventually move on to a P5 program after his third year in the CAA
Anthony Grant?
-Connections in ESL and the Chicago Public League
-Was forced out at Tennessee because they are morons
-Cal is not exactly a powerhouse in Basketball and he is bringing in great recruits
-May have went far last year in the tournament but his best players were injured, one of which was the #3 overall pick.
-His coaching is head and shoulders above Groce
-Has the ability to keep all the recruits including Trent Frazier more than other coaches that you could bring in
-He has coached at a P5 school so the spotlight won't phase him
I think Martin is about as close to a great fit as you can get. What HR hires are people dreaming of? The only guy that really intrigues me is Keatts but he is 2 years away and I don't feel our fanbase can stomach a UNCW type coach coming in even if he is the next Bill Self. We've been burned and it's hard to go back to that well(right or wrong).
I assure you our fanbase can stomach a UNCW type coach coming in if he's the next Bill Self.
We don't even remember what winning feels like anymore, do we?
He's not really doing anything unprecedented at Cal as compared to Mike Montgomery, unless we compare recruiting, but then the question is why we're not luring Mike Montgomery out of retirement who did more when adding considerations for talent level
The fanbase will be fine with whoever provided they win and make the tournament in (ideally) year 1, and an expectation that whoever it is is in in the first two years. The disappointment and or excitement will be the same based on results, the "splash" effect of the name at the time of hiring is fleeting.
Yes sir. Almost identical to Keatts, but with a couple extra signature wins. It gives me pause.
midastouch11
- New York, New York
I'm of the opinion that I'd rather Whitman hire the best coach, and let the 2017 class take care of itself. But I think a lot of the early buy in will be tied to retaining Tilmon and Frazier.
Two things.
1. The difference is that Grant inherited VCU in fine shape with an NBA point guard on the roster, whereas UNCW was flat on its back.
But more importantly:
2. There is uncertainty. Accept that. John Groce could have succeeded. Bill Self could have failed. Life is not predictable. All you can do is the best you can.
monty williams
I don't understand all the angst about Monty Williams. I think there's a real reason he's respected at the highest level. It's hard to succeed there especially if you don't have a great deal of control over your roster makeup. Also, it's not like Calipari, Kruger, nor Pitino knocked it out the part in the NBA. I bet every last poster in here would take those guys if they said they'd come.
I don't understand all the angst about Monty Williams. I think there's a real reason he's respected at the highest level. It's hard to succeed there especially if you don't have a great deal of control over your roster makeup. Also, it's not like Calipari, Kruger, nor Pitino knocked it out the part in the NBA. I bet every last poster in here would take those guys if they said they'd come.
Exactly. Anyone who's not instantly on board for hiring the next Bill Self needs to go watch Eastern Illinois or something.
Speaking of Eastern, we could have hired the mother of all milquetoast candidates for AD in Tom Michael and people would have been whelmed. But instead, we hired the Hype Train engineer Josh Whitman who came in with the Lovie grand slam and is about to hit the Keatts bases clearing double. Yea it only scored 3 runs compared to Lovie's 4, but he's still in scoring position and the... train... is still on the tracks... ready for... liftoff...
KEATTS HYPE TRAIN
haasi
- New York
Just want to remind everyone at this time - when everyone seems to counting him as dead man walking - that while extremely unlikely, still not completely impossible Groce keeps his job. It's been a year of historic upsets and overcoming impossibly long odds (Cubs, Cavs, Pats, Trump). At one point in the game the other day, Falcons had 99.6% chance of winning.
Groce in all likelihood gets canned. Just something to keep in back of mind until he is fired or season ends. Let's say he goes on tear, starting with Northwestern tonight and builds enough confidence that he manages to get Mark Smith. Or he finishes season poorly but doesn't get fired before conference tourney, then goes on lucky run, wins tourney, makes the Sweet 16, gets Smith, and has vocal support of the whole incoming class. Not likely, but worth remembering that long odds =/= fait accompli. Also not saying he'd deserve to stay, but until season's over he can still make it very tough to fire him.
Groce in all likelihood gets canned. Just something to keep in back of mind until he is fired or season ends. Let's say he goes on tear, starting with Northwestern tonight and builds enough confidence that he manages to get Mark Smith. Or he finishes season poorly but doesn't get fired before conference tourney, then goes on lucky run, wins tourney, makes the Sweet 16, gets Smith, and has vocal support of the whole incoming class. Not likely, but worth remembering that long odds =/= fait accompli. Also not saying he'd deserve to stay, but until season's over he can still make it very tough to fire him.
Those were all lead pipe locks compared to Leicester City winning the Premier League. 5000-1 odds, the same as a 16 seed winning the entire NCAA tournament. The biggest upset in sports history by a mile.
It bothers me that they aren't getting mentioned in all these "year of crazy outcome" takes.
haasi
- New York
Ya that was insane. Definitely should have been included in my hot take.
Yeah, that's been the big attraction point to Keatts. He turned a team 9-23 before he got there into a CAA champ in his first season.
As others have said, all of our coaching targets have various uncertainties and degrees of uncertainty, but Keatts has done incredibly well against his level of competition in all areas, both at Hargrave and at UNCW. "He's just a winner". Hard to discount the man's results.
This is probably true of the hardcore recruitnik message board jockeys. Though we are also people who are prone to cults of personality around whoever the coach is. We buy in easy.
The majority of the Illini fanbase has just tuned out and nothing is going to bring them back except winning. Luckily, unlike football, there is an immediate, obvious, and historically well-traveled path to doing that. Illinois basketball has a ton going for it, whoever the coach may be. But the fan apathy that's settling in is a terminal disease if you let it fester.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
Keatts Hype Train is my favorite thing on this board since #TeamShield
What's the buyout on the new extensions ?
I can't find the actual document. Not sure. Given his below-market salary I would be shocked if it were prohibitive.
My only question with Martin is his lack of tourney success, especially last year (I get injuries can derail a good team, but still you'd expect a better outcome.) His Tennessee tenure is needs to be taken with a grain of salt given how he was viewed there--plus the S16 app makes up for any deficiencies. He should've performed better last year, hard to argue that. The only thing that turns me away from him is really how the state of Missouri State and Tennessee were after he left. State went downhill fast and has been a middle of the pack team since his departure. Tennessee has done nothing since he left.
Take that how you want, maybe it was Cuonzo holding these programs up, but the Tennessee decline is kind of startling considering Pearl had them rolling--ignoring the fact UT has practically zero historical relevance.
Still, he has the highest floor and a pretty decent ceiling, as its been said UI is where he's gonna be at his best. If we dont land Bennett or Archie, which i dont see either happenning, its gonna come down to Cuonzo, Keatts, or the field. 5 years ago, Keatts would've been a much safer pick, but he seems too risky right now. Cuonzo isn't the sexy pick, but he's safe and hes got enough upside and youth to bring us back to early 2000's level.
Take that how you want, maybe it was Cuonzo holding these programs up, but the Tennessee decline is kind of startling considering Pearl had them rolling--ignoring the fact UT has practically zero historical relevance.
Still, he has the highest floor and a pretty decent ceiling, as its been said UI is where he's gonna be at his best. If we dont land Bennett or Archie, which i dont see either happenning, its gonna come down to Cuonzo, Keatts, or the field. 5 years ago, Keatts would've been a much safer pick, but he seems too risky right now. Cuonzo isn't the sexy pick, but he's safe and hes got enough upside and youth to bring us back to early 2000's level.
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