I'm not really excited about Greg Marshall. not to say he's not a good coach, but he's used prior interest to parlay 3.3 mil. form Wichita St. over the last few years. he's take 3 star and juco talent to extremely high levels at a school that hasn't really attracted the 4 and 5 star kid. I wonder if he can get the higher ranked kid with the Illinois resources? if he's our choice I hope its a quick sell form Whitman and either he's in or he's out and move on. but maybe that's my high school rejection impulse from high school rearing its ugly head again!
Marshall parlaying interest into a huge raise shows that he is smart. I have no issue with that.
At mid-major, you will not get 5* other than total exceptions here and there. But the level of talent that schools like Wichita State, Butler, VCU, Gonzaga, Xavier, etc. get is higher than schools in their conference. They have become a very viable alternative to mid-level high-majors in P5. I can go to Illinois (at current stage) or I can go to one of these schools and be in the NCAA pretty much my entire career. It is a strong value proposition.
If you look at a common aspect on these programs, they have built their reputation through many coaches over the years, not just one.
Personally, I think Marshall will have problems recruiting at a P5 rebuilding situation like Illinois, so I think he will look for a more stable situation, or a school with a stronger brand name that can give him a recruiting boost.
