My sights are set on a different Celtic, name is similar to Barry Lird.
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Jevon Mamon, an assistant coach at SIU, has an interesting resume. Extensive ties in Chicago, including Meanstreets. DOBO at Loyola before an assistant at SIU. Could be the 'third' assistant behind Frazier and Alexander. Would be a promotion for him and I don't see him turning us down. Seems every bit as qualified as Chin when he was hired.
MadtownIllin
- Madison, WI
Just FYI..it's Jerrone may on...
MadtownIllin
- Madison, WI
maymon..d...spell check
Not sure about his personality. I heard from people that he went to class with. They said he looked down on everyone.
He is pretty tall
Makes sense. He is 7 foot tall.
drsmitty74
- Rochester
I like both of these guys as candidates.
I would think that since he spent time working for Underwood before, that BU has asked if he would be interested and he probably doesn't want to move.
Ostrom is still available, I believe and Robinson just got hired by a new coach, so maybe he would be agreeable to moving.
Qualified to coach basketball doesn't mean qualified or prepared to coach college basketball. Those are two different things and I don't think a guy who has just gotten trained and started coaching in the NBA can walk in and immediately be the guy we need him to be. Can Randle coach? Sure. Can he coach in college and be successful? Maybe- but there is a lot about college coaching that he hasn't done. Like recruiting and making recruiting connections.
Also, what makes you think that the assistant job has been offered to anyone or that "we keep getting turned down" by anybody. There are hundreds of coaches who would take the job. It is a matter of Underwood finding who he wants, that person wanting the job and that person's professional and personal situation allowing them to take the job. Lots of factors. It isn't like Underwood is out on some street corner asking passersby to take the job.
The OSU staff all took 20% cuts in pay a year ago. He went from $300k to $240K. And no daughter that's a Senior in HS.
The AC situation at Illinois defies conventional organizational thinking. Illinois basketball is a very good brand (though not Kentucky level). Underwood and Whitman are said to be well-liked professionally and good to work for/with. We are reportedly offering extremely competitive compensation. The program is in the midst of a highly productive period. From an organizational standpoint, we should be very attractive right now. We're ticking all the boxes. So why is our current staff all leaving, and why are we having trouble attracting our top prospective replacements?
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drsmitty74
- Rochester
may have happened, but I can't find anything related to that. Mike Roberts (another IU AC) got hired at Cincy.
He has some crootin' chops.
I agree with everything you have stated. I, too, as a 'double-alum' and former varsity athlete, hold the U of I in the highest esteem and only want the best for my Alma Mater. It boggles the mind that we're struggling like this.
Well you know why they're leaving, so I don't need to answer that. How do you know we're having trouble finding replacements? It seems like we've only offered a couple guys and are probably just being pragmatic. BU said the outreach has been overwhelming.
This seems like the IL recruiting paradigm of us "always finishing in second" despite typically ending up with strong recruiting classes.
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The outreach has actually been elite.
I don't think they are "having trouble". They are being extremely selective because of all the things you mentioned. They likely have a long list of people they are interested in, but have made very few actual offers. Just like recruiting players, if you don't hear some no's, you probably aren't aiming high enough.
This isn't a 2 am, last call, take anyone scenario... We are still hitting on some really attractive prospects, and not getting rejected out of hand.
Do you know why candidates are spurning our overtures? Are there elite candidates that we're still pursuing? If you know anything about him, what about Jevon Mamon at SIU? He has similar if not better qualifications than Chin when we hired him, plus he coached with Meanstreets a program that we have had troubles with in the past.
I would think that Underwood would have assurances from whom ever he is targeting that they are taking the job before he offers it. I doubt that Huss had a firm offer without him saying "I'm coming regardless of what Creighton offers". Again, not in the room, but so much of the behind the scenes activity is with the agent. Both parties can say that they didn't get to the point of an offer. Underwood can say that he wasn't turned down and Huss can say that he wasn't planning on leaving.
Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
You wouldn't think it'd be too hard to get people to take $500k/year to live in a relatively cheap town.
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