Meyers Leonard says hello
As do Brian Cook and Luther Head and perhaps Frank Williams?
Meyers Leonard says hello
Meyers Leonard says hello
Huh. Where is he going?
Staff obviously have known about this for a couple of weeks. Writing has been on the wall... next man up.
It's been a long time since I've posted. This board is fascinating and everybody here seems to have great insight and ideas. Here's my thought on this whole recruiting saga. You have to put yourself in the player's shoes. What is the goal of each of these recruits:
1)Go to the NCAA Tournament
2)Be on National TV playing in meaningful games.
3)Be in a predictable environment(regarding their roll, their expectations and with the coaching staff that recruited him.
4)Go to the NBA
As we sit here today:
1)Illinois hasn't been to the NCAA tournament for what, 4 years?
2)We haven't been a primetime game for ESPN or CBS is a long time.
3)We've had 4 different head coaches since 2000(Self, Weber, Groce and now Underwood)
4)We've had one player drafter in the first round in the last 15 years(Williams)
All Underwood can sell any of these kids right now is his vision. That's it. That's a really tough sell. We, as fans, feel that Illinois is still a destination school. It's not.
We've lost two recruits this week to Iowa State and Michigan. One person degraded Xavier. These schools carry a lot more weight right now than an Illinois program that has been stuck in the mud for 12 years. The only remedy is to win. That turns his vision into reality.
If you expected BU to come in here and land every single recruit that he was after, then you were setting yourself up for major disappointment. I understand the frustration of being the bridesmaid yet again, but I have no doubt in my mind that BU is going to get his guys. It started with Mark Smith in the spring, and it's only going to continue. Looking forward to Saturday, as I think that's when we'll add our next piece to the puzzle :thumb:
1st Round Draft Picks in last 15 years.
2003, B. Cook, 24th
2005, D. Williams, 3rd, L. Head, 24th
2012, M. Lenard, 11th
However, still too few.
It's been a long time since I've posted. This board is fascinating and everybody here seems to have great insight and ideas. Here's my thought on this whole recruiting saga. You have to put yourself in the player's shoes. What is the goal of each of these recruits:
1)Go to the NCAA Tournament
2)Be on National TV playing in meaningful games.
3)Be in a predictable environment(regarding their roll, their expectations and with the coaching staff that recruited him.
4)Go to the NBA
As we sit here today:
1)Illinois hasn't been to the NCAA tournament for what, 4 years?
2)We haven't been a primetime game for ESPN or CBS is a long time.
3)We've had 4 different head coaches since 2000(Self, Weber, Groce and now Underwood)
4)We've had one player drafter in the first round in the last 15 years(Williams)
All Underwood can sell any of these kids right now is his vision. That's it. That's a really tough sell. We, as fans, feel that Illinois is still a destination school. It's not.
We've lost two recruits this week to Iowa State and Michigan. One person degraded Xavier. These schools carry a lot more weight right now than an Illinois program that has been stuck in the mud for 12 years. The only remedy is to win. That turns his vision into reality.
Good points but there has to be more to it. How did we get Mark Smith? How did LSU get such a good recruiting class for next year?
As do Brian Cook and Luther Head and perhaps Frank Williams?
The recruiting season didn't end until April of last year when we landed 4 very good recruits. So I'm sure we will get some grad student bigs, transfer, and new 2018 that make the radar.
"Recruiting will be much better when we play and win."
How did LSU get such a good recruiting class for next year?
This Illini staff is getting paid way too much to keep whiffing like this on the recruiting front. :tsk: