Ouch. Thanks. I had to live there in the mid 80s as I was a child. It was a long 3 years.
College Hoops Coaching Carousel
- Status
Was talking to my friend who is a Syracuse fan and realized if you were born in about 1970 or later (and I’m sure a good number who were born earlier), big Jim is the only head coach of your team that you’ve known. That’s crazy.
Fair point yes, he won’t f us on the reg anymore lol
BlindLoyalty
- FartNoiseMotivation
13% of Shrews wins this season came courtesy of the fighting Underwood’s.
I have a Whoop tracker and LAD definitely has a cost
Your bud is obviously entitled to whatever opinion he/she wishes…but have they already forgotten the Lick-litter days?
Glad that he’s out of the B1G! Odds better than 50/50 that PSU returns to doormat status.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
We single handedly earned him a promotion
That’s what s number of people hoped/thought about Misery for a hot minute…before they ended up with stud-pup.
He should donate a tiny portion of his salary to us as a thank you.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Honestly, Mizzou should never be bad … they’re like a slightly “lesser” example of everything going for them as us. They have decent tradition, good facilities, pretty good instate recruiting, not much instate competition for fans (besides whatever SLU/Illini fans there are in St. Louis, some Arky fans in the south and KU spillover into KC) and stable SEC money. I think PSU faces a much steeper climb than Mizzou ever has.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
4D chess to get all three losses out of the way in our rebuilding year and get him out of the Big Ten!!
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
People around Dallas Metroplex come from all over the World these days. Big inflow of population. So we have to eliminate a certain percentage of the population from the 'Texas First' idea. They don't have that kind of identification yet. This metric can also be applied to the Austin area as the same social movement trend is at play. We don't know where the loyalties of this group are... both 'World Class' cities with folks from everywhere.
But for the Native Texans (or the long time residents who now feel Texas is 'home') most probably do feel like Texans first and everything else second. There is a GREAT DEAL of small town Texas community pride (and also in-State rivalry) as such programs as 'Friday Night Lights' so accurately represented and portrayed. But try to take away the fundamental 'I'M A TEXAN' identity from any of these people and one is asking for holy hell. As it should be for any proud people.
Chicago has always been sort of an outlier when it comes to the State of Illinois. There is Chicagoland... and then there is the rest of Illinois. Anyone Downstate can tell you that. What they both share is that sense of sometimes inferiority that leaks out in ways most Illinoians aren't usually aware of.
Many coaches are undoubtedly aware of this feeling. This may or may not have any bearing on what they personally do in their career (as the paycheck is usually determinative). But fighting this kind of feeling just adds a layer of difficulty to coaching because that kind of thinking has no place in a field where confidence is essential to success.
But this might affect where young talent goes. There is no such feeling of inferiority in Kansas or Duke or Kentucky and such places. And that appeals to guys who want to succeed and do it FAST. The Legacy Shiny Nameplate programs.
Aaaaand ignore
I am so happy, and unsurprised, that his stay was brief.
I don't think anyone thought Cuonzo was competent though, just annoying. This dude is annoyingly competent so I'm very very happy he's gone.
But what people were saying is Texas is the key. I don't think people were saying Underwood will go to Texas, I think they were saying someone like Musselman would go to Texas and then Underwood would be looking at that Arkansas opening. Tang would go to Texas and Underwood would go to KSU. Or Calipari to Texas and the carousel really starts to spin. Self could retire which really spin the carousel.
So really until Texas names their coach, we won't really know what is going to happen. If they just promote Terry, then I'd expect Underwood to stay 100%. But if anyone else gets that job it will get decidedly more interesting.
Is Penn St to NOtre Dame THAT big of an upgrade?
There’s a long-running meme that almost all of Illini Nation absolutely detests. And that is the notion that the Illinois program is a Stepping Stone.
We know of certain coaches who have leaned that way. And this has also been on the minds of many a great Illinois talent over the years who chose to go elsewhere because they did not believe in the program (leaving aside the long-running ‘Chicago’ connections shenanigans).
Illinois fans may (should) never accept the idea that the Illini are a stepping stone. But the fact that others do has to be taken into consideration when building a counter strategy.
Another long-running sports meme is that You Are What Your Record Says You Are. And this is the sore sport for Illinois ball because of the many Big Dance failures over the years. The Big Tournament is the biggest gathering of eyeballs and National attention. And when everyone sees your program quickly washing out year after year... this gets fixed into the psyche. And suddenly you begin to take on reputation you don’t want.
Whether the Illini coach remains Brad or becomes Jake From State Farm (Reference #3)... this program HAS TO do much better on the National scene if it is to change its reputation. Again... I’m not talking about the (good) reputation the program has within Illini Nation. I’m talking about how many coaches, players, and the Nation views the program.
To quote the old The Monkees song... ‘I - I - I’M NOT your Steppin’ Stone...’.
sacraig
- The desert
Rockford = downstate?
It is if you have spent the majority of your life in Indiana.
People always think coaches get out the record books, get a list of most money spent on facilities, and will take a job that pays $20 more if offered. They're humans. They have things they like personally. For Shrewsberry, it could be something as simple as he's close with his parents and they're only an hour away from South Bend. Maybe he grew so fond of the Irish while working for the Celtics, he's been jonesin for the shamrock ever since?
But it really just boils down to, coaches have their own hierarchies that may not align with conventional lists and certainly not with fans lists.
MustangWally
- Mayfield
Outside of Chicagoland = downstate.
Illin618
I forgot the last i in my username
- Southern IL
I’ve said all along that I haven’t heard any rumblings about BU leaving besides from on this forum.
- Status