I'm as old-school as old-school gets and this is how I feel as well. Couple of years ago I'm sure I was railing about the death of development, these portal mercenaries were not true Illini, etc. And if we were losing I'd probably still be doing the same.
But winning cures all I guess, because I love the guys this season just the same whether they arrived this year or came out of high school. Turns out a 30+ game season is long enough to build an emotional bond. And my brain can rationalize that the Southern Illinois-es and Utah Valleys are indeed farm systems, so these guys are not mercenaries, just September call-ups.
QG's story may be my favorite. Declined the Illini not once but twice, yet we still brought him in to arguably his most successful personal season. Just look what we can do in the portal.
I will say I'm not ready to say we have permanently turned the corner, the scars of Clark and Epps are still fresh. There is no guarantee of success in a free agent world. But Brad and the coaches have certainly demonstrated an ability to navigate here and are due both respect and latitude.