IlliniDent
- Chicago, IL
You realize you are posting on a message board that's sole purpose is to discuss these kids ad nauseam and are complaining about giving them attention when they ask for it...By all means IlliniDent send him flowers.
You realize you are posting on a message board that's sole purpose is to discuss these kids ad nauseam and are complaining about giving them attention when they ask for it...By all means IlliniDent send him flowers.
I ain't sending OT any love on instagram. He's either coming or he ain't. These kids need to get over themselves.
I think most of us are jacked up about BU's coaching ability. Some number then don't want to really look at his recruiting ability. But you're absolutely right. Coaches are for closing and we've gotten in plenty of doors. I place more value on other items than you do, but I totally agree that at the end of the day it's about the coach.
I'm still optimistic that it will all come together. But if it doesn't, it won't be the fault of the assistants.
Don't ask how I got there, but somehow I ended up reading an article on Syracuse basketball. It sounded oddly familiar. To wit:
Recruiting is rough. There’s no other way to slice it.
Coaches court a top-flight talent for years. Analysts peg your school as the front-runner. All signs point to a commitment.
Then, on decision day, the prospect puts on another program’s hat or t-shirt.
Your heart is broken.
We know this common tale all too well. It happens with unfortunate frequency, to the Syracuse basketball team.
The recruiting business is, indeed, fickle.
The author is talking about a recruit, Joseph Girard (3 star guard) and how he is expected to go to Syracuse. But the author talks about what the other schools have to offer so he is not betting on the commitment. For instance, one of the competitors is Michigan whose head coach John Beilein coached Girard’s father while at Le Moyne many years ago. So the author is fretting that somehow other schools are going to swoop in and take Girard away. If you want to read the whole article (and why would you) here:
https://insidetheloudhouse.com/2018/10/10/syracuse-basketball-juicy-shot-landing-girard/
Sound familiar? Just have to replace Syracuse with Illinois. And I am sure this is happening at most schools, maybe not right now but at some point. I mentioned in an earlier post a week or so ago that Duke did not have a commitment up to that point in time. They do have one now but supposedly Duke has never gone this long in the fall recruitment season without a commitment. Angst abounds!
This is too much realism for this board. How dare you expose that we aren't the only team that doesn't close on quite a few good recruits. This logic doesn't fit the narrative here. /s just in case you guys couldn't tell.
This is too much realism for this board. How dare you expose that we aren't the only team that doesn't close on quite a few good recruits. This logic doesn't fit the narrative here. /s just in case you guys couldn't tell.
I personally have no dislike for BU, don’t know the man and am not qualified to form an opinion one way or the other. Played for hard nosed coaches and had no problem with it. I am simply basing my feelings on results. I also have been on the record saying I really like this class and have hopes for improvement. Something is just “off” with recruiting and there are likely multiple factors, but as a head coach making millions of dollars , you get the burden of the buck stops here.I just have a gut feeling that you guys that pour on the negatives also DO NOT like our coach and the way he goes about business. I'm in the belief that you fellas also completely underscore the fact that he is a tough coach to play for. With that fact the roster turnover will be more than ideal until he establishes his culture. He had 1 season in which players that probably had a good idea they weren't going to return didn't completely buy in. With that we got the results we had. But a couple recruiting misses in before he even puts his 2nd year team on the court you guys are already pretty much writing him off and are having conversations about a change. My point is I feel it's more a personal dislike that brings out the negativity from a few. The same few complaining about the recruiting woes are the same few that say they would never play for a coach like Underwood. We get it, you dont like him. No matter how much you mumble otherwise it seems you guys are rooting for his failure. Those of us that do like the change and feel the team needed a kick in the rear are willing to give more time to this staff no matter the recruiting situation for now. I personally like the late signees we got. Tevian is comparable to DJ Stewart who I thought was crazy athletic. Its gonna take some time for these younger bigs to learn college ball but I think they can become serviceable players while we build depth. This year probably will be hard to watch in the paint on the glass and on D but we all know that already. Could get better with De La Rosa. That's pretty much my opinion on the state of the board now. I said I was gonna stay away from the thread but I'm addicted.
It's very easy to replicate the failures of others. It is the successes that we are having a problem replicating.
.... you guys are already pretty much writing him off and are having conversations about a change
I agree that he should ultimately be at fault but my opinion is that it is a little early to consider his recruiting a complete failure. He kept Trent on board, has Ayo and a few other intriguing pieces in this class in my eyes. Mark Smith was not a good fit but he did seal his recruitment. The guys he scrambled to get: Matic, and Ibo were not recruits he had developed long relationships with before he was here. He needed bodies no matter what. Let the man and his staff settle in and build some relationships around here. My point is he will eventually start landing kids he has been recruiting for a few years instead of a few months and the team turnover will become less of a problem every year. Even the kids they are recruiting now they have only been on for a year or 2. Some of you want to apply round up before the staff can even get a good root system going on here. This is gonna be a process that may take a year or 2 longer than we all want. Just like the football program, let's give it time.I personally have no dislike for BU, don’t know the man and am not qualified to form an opinion one way or the other. Played for hard nosed coaches and had no problem with it. I am simply basing my feelings on results. I also have been on the record saying I really like this class and have hopes for improvement. Something is just “off” with recruiting and there are likely multiple factors, but as a head coach making millions of dollars , you get the burden of the buck stops here.
There have been a couple that have said "if things dont change fast change is needed" my post said nothing about you personally but you think everyone is talking about you. Take a break from the mirror palI think you must be living in a parallel universe somewhere.
I have trust in BU being able to coach these guys up once we sign them. However, what should our strategy be? Should we be focusing on top 100+ recruits or should we continue focusing on the top 100/50 recruits this time of year? I would like to see us land something at this point. It appears as if BU is willing to keep focus on the top recruits now and wait until spring to readjust his strategy. Thoughts?
Syracuse already has a 4* SG and a 3* big and the crystal balls favor them getting Girard. On top of that, leading the chase for 4* big Akok Akok, 50/50 on Kofi Cockburn, and 40/60 for Guerrirer. Apples to Oranges to Illinois, I’m not crying for them. And didn’t the Cuse just have NCAA issues??
"Dbell1981" There have been a couple that have said "if things dont change fast change is needed" my post said nothing about you personally but you think everyone is talking about you. Take a break from the mirror pal
Why don't you quote the posts and respond to those " having conversations about a change" then pal? Why don't you quote those conversations for us pal?
Obelix said:No, pal, I honestly do not know that there have been conversations about firing BU and making a change. Why don't you quote them and argue with them rather than hiding behind being too lazy to scroll?
Obelix said:It all starts and ends with the head coach.
Obelix said:So far our overall recruiting has been below expectations, no doubt about that. I think Chin and Orlando are very capable recruiters though, but eventually recruits know that they will play for the head coach. I am not sure about the recruiting ability of BU. I have always claimed that his success (as with any other UI coach) will heavily depend on recruiting, the ability to improve overall talent level without positional gaps. BU needs to turn it around very soon.
It is not different than closing an important deal in a competitive environment or making a very competitive sale. Some people are better than others. It is about understanding what the recruits value the most and convincing them that your program is the best fit and build trust and relationships. The end results show whether you are successful or not. Obviously, we are not getting the results so we have not shown that ability.
The one thing that I find surprising is Orlando. I do not know Antigua personally, although we have been in the same tournaments. But we have some close mutual friends (coaches) who I trust and they really, really hold him in very high regard with respect to recruiting. So I find it surprising that recruiting has not been better despite having one of the best recruiting assistants on staff.
I am honestly not sure that you've even said anything here, though. I mean that literally: you've basically just repeated exactly what the coaches have already done to get a recruit to have interest in the first place and onto campus. When you've already told them how they'd fit your system and just given the whole spiel in order to earn their OV, what more do you do when they arrive for their OV that really seals the deal?
I put the depressing thing on ignore and poof , my depression went away....counting crows is a different depression that is DRIVING ME CRAZY.....One of those things is very depressing, the other is a band from the 90s.
People put way more emphasis on the measurables like playing time or distance from home.I am honestly not sure that you've even said anything here, though. I mean that literally: you've basically just repeated exactly what the coaches have already done to get a recruit to have interest in the first place and onto campus. When you've already told them how they'd fit your system and just given the whole spiel in order to earn their OV, what more do you do when they arrive for their OV that really seals the deal?
He had 1 season in which players that probably had a good idea they weren't going to return didn't completely buy in. With that we got the results we had.