Never forget, the MT regime is responsible for approving the 1LL1NO1S Nike type.
So we have Brad Stevens to blame for Groce. Doggone-it, I always liked Stevens too.I believe we reached out to Stevens, who politely declined and pointed us in Groce's direction if I remember correctly.
Stevens had interest in the job he just had no interest in working under Thomas. Don’t believe he vouched for Groce though.I believe we reached out to Stevens, who politely declined and pointed us in Groce's direction if I remember correctly
Every single coach in America has had misses in recruiting. Every one. I'd suggest that he's WAY above the average . . .Incorrect.
Brad maintains a coaching staff that knows how to help him secure the players he needs to win.
This program fell down a decade-long hole not knowing the difference.
There have been recruiting misses under BU, no question, that's the nature of the sport. But the amount of time and energy spent on recruiting players who don't end up at Illinois has gone IMMESUREABLY down since Weber and especially Groce.
This is not a program that wastes its time anymore.
Underwood did not hire Antigua for Kofi. That was just a bonus. Antigua is a highly respected assistant coach.Let's be real here - Brad knows how to play the game; hiring Antigua was the first indication of that. No chance Kofi comes here otherwise, and that's what really put us on the map. NIL has changed the game in that regard, in our favor as you have noted.
I do understand that you aren't making this personal. My point is pretty easy to follow. It's no different than what happened at North Carolina under Dean Smith. Matt Doherty came in after Gutheridge, and he was fired. Roy Williams was the next coach. Illinois only had one additional coach fired, although I'll always contend Bill Gutheridge was gently led into retirement.The point is that if you remove all of the bad things from a sequence of good and bad things, it will of course look good.
Its extremely similar to saying Miami's football coaches that havent been fired are great. Sure, you have through the 2000s w/ Erickson, Johnson, Davis, Schnellenberger, and then...a lot of irrelevance & bad.
I'm not making this personal, I'm just questioning your point.
I believe we reached out to Stevens, who politely declined and pointed us in Groce's direction if I remember correctly
You have to remember the context. After the two NCAA Runner-Ups, Butler had had a weaker non-tourney year, and were still in the Horizon League, moving to the Atlantic 10. The idea of what would become the new Big East hadn't been born yet, no one had any reason to think Butler wasn't going to remain a tiny job, it defied conventional reason that Stevens would want to stay there long term.Stevens had interest in the job he just had no interest in working under Thomas. Don’t believe he vouched for Groce though.
The 80’s Belong to the Illini !!!thx
the 1980’s with
Ikenberry- Cribbet - Stoner
was a good period too.
I was there then
UCLA’s been falling a lot lately. No fan support. Broke non existent NIL.- 5 Natty's
- 1,926 wins; 1,116 losses (.633)
- 6th in all-time NCAA appearances
- 7th in all-time NCAA victories
- 6th all-time in weeks ranked #1 in the AP poll
Yeah, unless unduly influenced by the "recency effect", I'd still call Indiana a blue blood --- assuming you can go 6 deep in your blue blood count. Looking back over the entirety of 123 seasons, that's a lot of basketball success!
The top 4 are indisputable, of course --- KY, UCLA, KANSAS and UNC. 40+ years of Coach K probably has pulled Duke into BlueBlood-ism. Guess they're the new #5 all-time.
Bottom-line, the Hoosiers should be able to hire nearly anyone they want.
Wiscy has just had a terrible FebruaryThe Wisconsin job may wind up being open.
P12 UW better be hiring a new coach. Hopkins isn’t winning or recruiting, and his buyout goes to zero after this year. The new AD didn’t hire him either.Looks like there could be quite a bit of movement after this season. Based on discussion here and elsewhere:
P12
OSU and ASU seem likely. UDub and Stanford possible. If Altman truly has had enough Oregon as well.
B12
WVU almost certain. Okie St a maybe as well. Okie if Moser wants out really bad, has a sizeable buyout.
SEC
Arky likely as Muss wants out. Vandy likely as well.
ACC
Lville almost certain. Hamilton and Larranaga are both 70+ so one or both could hang it up. NC St?
Big East
DePaul as always.
B1G
OSU open now. Mich seems almost certain. Indiana a maybe but not likely this year.
His point is QUITE clearly that this is a prestigious enough job that we won’t be losing coaches to the likes of anyone worse than Kansas or the NBA.The point is that if you remove all of the bad things from a sequence of good and bad things, it will of course look good.
Its extremely similar to saying Miami's football coaches that havent been fired are great. Sure, you have through the 2000s w/ Erickson, Johnson, Davis, Schnellenberger, and then...a lot of irrelevance & bad.
I'm not making this personal, I'm just questioning your point.
How is using coaches from 48, 27, 22 & 19 years ago making a QUITE clear point? The youngest of those examples could get into Kams.His point is QUITE clearly that this is a prestigious enough job that we won’t be losing coaches to the likes of anyone worse than Kansas or the NBA.
Oh man, Aidan Igiehon. Do I remember correctly was Tshiebwe always a UK lock?Underwood did not hire Antigua for Kofi. That was just a bonus. Antigua is a highly respected assistant coach.
Kofi appeared to be 3rd or 4th on our list in recruiting. Timme was first. Tshiebwe was probably #2. Aidan Igiehon may have been #3, but I'd say it was probably Kofi. We probably knew Tshiebwe was going to end up at West Virginia, but we definitely did all we could to get Timme. It wasn't until 2 months after Timme committed that we got Kofi.
That was a very strong class for Cs.
Bingo. I didn’t think it was that hard to figure out.His point is QUITE clearly that this is a prestigious enough job that we won’t be losing coaches to the likes of anyone worse than Kansas or the NBA.
Wait a minute..... you seriously were unaware of the Walkup/Underwood/SFA run? I certainly was. BUT, I never envisioned BU would end up here a few years later. His hire was completely out of left field for me.... It WAS glorious! I hope the good play continues!!I didn’t know about Brad Underwood when he was hired, but, I think it’s turned out well!
Tshiebwe went to West Virginia then transferred to KentuckyOh man, Aidan Igiehon. Do I remember correctly was Tshiebwe always a UK lock?
Tshiebwe went to West Virginia before transferring to KentuckyOh man, Aidan Igiehon. Do I remember correctly was Tshiebwe always a UK lock?
WAAAAYYYY above average. Good call!Every single coach in America has had misses in recruiting. Every one. I'd suggest that he's WAY above the average . . .
He didn't go to UK, he went to West Virginia, but yes he was basically a lock. I believe the story was his host family was close with people at WVU. So while we recruited him hard, I'm sure Underwood knew, this isn't likely to happen.Oh man, Aidan Igiehon. Do I remember correctly was Tshiebwe always a UK lock?
Sorry, could've been clearer, I meant when he went portal-ing.Tshiebwe went to West Virginia before transferring to Kentucky
But I believe he brought those coaches with him. Started to believe in BU with the assistants he hired. Retained one from previous staff (for a short time) and hired recruiters. At this level it is a management job and Groce may have been able to coach but he didn’t manage.In defense of Groce, his entire staff of assistants probably cost less than one of BU's assistants. If you hire cheap talent, you are probably going to get mediocre results. Had JW required Groce to get new, more effective staff, he might well have been around a few more years. He just didn't have a staff that could forge good relationships with the better recruits.