The Illinois Coaching Search

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#3,326      

ILL in IA

ILL in IA
Iowa City
ILL in IA
If it's Drew and he is a second tier guy on a lot of lists. I don't think it's from lack of effort. I give JW credit for seeing through the B.S. that is the coaching search world and not being played and strung out for Morey money. Last time around it would have taken 3 weeks to get to Drew. Lock it up and get to work on the signed class and smith.
 
#3,327      

Deleted member 8213

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Second and Chalmers said:
Bryce Drew who will have his Bulls jersey hanging in his house when recruits pay him a visit, mind you.

All things considered I would pick Keatts as the stronger likelier recruiter, but that's all guesswork.
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Are recruits allowed to visit his house? Isn't that what got Satan in trouble last time?
 
#3,328      

Second and Chalmers

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Second and Chalmers
Buckets4days said:
Not to be too argumentative with you S&C, but what makes you think you can build with Drew? He's never really had to. His dad left him a good situation at Valpo, and he had a decent year this year at Vandy. I'm not sure if he's a coach who you win a NC with.
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4 outright conference titles in 5 years is not what he inherited. He was a difference maker there.
 
#3,330      

Deleted member 626650

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dweebs19 said:
I agree with you that Keatts is better. In fact, I've been on the Keatts train for at least 2 months now. I'm just looking at the realistic targets and I think people need to get used to the fact that Illinois may not be yet at the level to attract the likes of Archie, TB, Marshall. Keatts is from the Virginia area and may want to stay close by taking the NCState job. He's already in Carolina anyway. So that leaves us with a different tier of candidates of which I think Bryce Drew has a lot of potential.

I obviously want Keatts, but would not be mad at all with Bryce Drew. In fact, I'd be happy with a Bryce Drew. So much potential.
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I agree 100% with everything you said, except for the last sentence. I'm not sure we know how much potential Drew has. And that's what leaves me underwhelmed about the name I suppose. I don't know if he's a coach that gets you to the upper part of the B1G and high seed in the tourny on a regular basis.
 
#3,332      

OurMottoisOskeeWowWow

OurMottoisOskeeWowWow
Illinois
OurMottoisOskeeWowWow
I'd be ecstatic with Keatts. He turned around North Carolina Wilmington pretty quickly. He was a part of Rick Pitino's staff at Louisville when they won the Championship in 2013. He was CAA Conference Coach of the year during his first year at UNC-Wilmington. If he can talk Walker into staying I think he could be successful at Illinois. I realize the CAA is not the Big Ten. He also was the head coach at Hargrave in 2003 and served as the head coach until 2011. During his ten years (over two stints) as the head coach at Hargrave, Keatts had a record of 262–17, and won two national championships.
 
#3,336      

KansasIllinifan

K
KansasIllinifan
I would rather have Keatts but would be happy with Drew and The Rev.A definate upgrade over Groce and a much better coach than Cuonzo IMO.
 
#3,337      

Poe's Law

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Poe's Law
Second and Chalmers said:
Wasn't everyone falling all over themselves about this guy a year ago?

This is really about a single 8/9 tournament game isn't it?

Fans are bad.
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Could be the 8/9 game, but i've never understood why he was so near the top of other people's lists. I don't think he'll get it done in the big ten.
 
#3,338      

Deleted member 626650

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mattcoldagelli said:
That's a bit overstated. Homer Drew's last conference title was 03-04. His last four seasons at Valpo:

22-14 (CBI)
9-22
15-17
23-12 (CIT)

Bryce did serious work there.
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Yeah, I just looked up his dad's coaching record. Things went south more than I realized those last 4-5 years.
 
#3,339      

dweebs19

dweebs19
dweebs19
InterimLoyalty said:
Just a hypothetical question for fun: If Tom Crean was fired under the exact same circumstances at a place like Kansas, North Carolina or Kentucky would you as an Illini fan have him on your short list?
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depends...did he get fired for never winning the NCAAT even though he regularly got them to the elite 8? does he also have a top 10 recruiting class every year? if so, then Yes. Sign me up.

If he got fired for underachieving with the talent brought in and failing to make the NCAAT, then No.
 
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Deleted member 14522

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I would hope that if we get a coach like Drew that he would make a BIG effort to keep Walker on staff. I feel like whoever the hire is has to try to keep this recruiting class intact to have a realistic shot at having success quickly and getting us back into the tournament sooner rather than later.
 
#3,341      

Illwinsagain

Illwinsagain
Cary, IL
Illwinsagain
InterimLoyalty said:
Just a hypothetical question for fun: If Tom Crean was fired under the exact same circumstances at a place like Kansas, North Carolina or Kentucky would you as an Illini fan have him on your short list?
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Depends, did he hold a press conference to announce that he isn't interested in the Illinois job? Despite not being offered?
 
#3,342      

Deleted member 19448

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One factor with Drew I get impression that he is viewed favorably by the Chicago media from his time at Valpo. I think he'd get a fair shake out of the box from them. Ought to have some good contacts in the city and suburbs from his Valpo time also.


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#3,343      

dweebs19

dweebs19
dweebs19
I just look at Keatts and see what he has done with the talent in Wilmington. I see how fast paced his offense is, I think recruits would love to play in that kind of offense and I think he's a rising star. If he keeps Walker and the recruiting class, I could see him have a .500 or better record in the B1G conference his first year.
 
#3,344      

coryfor3

C
coryfor3
ILLHangOut said:
Damn, it says "News" in the name even. What more do you want?
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You guys are crazy. Maybe it's in the next 72 hours and maybe not. Maybe it is because Dayton and Wichita play each other and the loser might be our next coach. Even if 72 hours is correct, it could be anybody. Geez.
 
#3,345      

haasi

haasi
New York
haasi
Have we considered Harry Statham?

Pros: UI grad, winningest college basketball coach of all time, 50 years of coaching experience, high character

Cons: only experience is NAIA - not sure he wants to make the transition to D1, also he's 79 years old.

All in all, could be the off the radar pick that Whitman is keeping completely hushed. Looking forward to seeing whether it's him
 
#3,346      

Deleted member 11241

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All my Hoosier friends seem to think they are getting Billy Donovan :D
 
#3,347      

dweebs19

dweebs19
dweebs19
delusional Hoosier fans. See where they're dreaming? they looking at Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens
 
#3,350      

haasi

haasi
New York
haasi
Drew did get a solid 4 star PG out of Arizona committed to Vandy next year. So that's a good sign in terms of his recruiting.

Also in the mix for Finke and a 4* combo guard out of Ohio in 2018.

And in 2019 looks like he's done some recruitment of Okoro from Normal.

His Valpo recruiting classes didn't include any high profile gets, but that's Valpo.

In sum, I don't see any indications that he's a tremendous recruiter, but OTOH, most of his record is from Valpo, and he does appear to be recruiting at higher level at Vandy. And back in Illinois w/ Roger, if he can retain Walker and maybe add another good assistant, don't know if there's particular reason to be concerned about his ability to attract talent.
 
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