Coaching Carousel (Basketball)
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RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
Brad’s agent doesn’t get contacted. Brads agent DOES the contacting.
It looks like everything is back to normal in the Coaching posts. Until tomorrow...
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
I’m generally hard to offend so no offense was taken. Honestly, I thought it was a hearty discussion with only minimal numbskullery on either side. I think the usual participants in Hamergate weren’t showing up in the debate. Most talk was directed at the Illini defense as a whole and less about wardrobe choices.
If not, can we contact Brad's agent to get in contact with Brad about this opening? PLEASE GOD!
(Yes, I know, that is not the prevailing opinion here. But I want more than ONE Elite 8 appearance every decade. But that's just me being LOYAL to the ILLINI, not one mediocre basketball coach. I will give BU credit. He and his agent know how to exploit mediocrity into a top 10 salary. Kudos there.)
(Yes, I know, that is not the prevailing opinion here. But I want more than ONE Elite 8 appearance every decade. But that's just me being LOYAL to the ILLINI, not one mediocre basketball coach. I will give BU credit. He and his agent know how to exploit mediocrity into a top 10 salary. Kudos there.)
You don't have to fire someone if you make the working situation something they can no longer tolerate.
sbillini
- st petersburg, fl
Chester was very different from OA, Chin, and Gentry. At best, Chester was a “mutual agreement”. More likely, it was something along the lines of BU saying “sorry, would rather have a 20something year old with barely any experience run the defense over your experience. And you recruiting was ok but not great, so if you leave, I won’t be too sad”. And Chester didn’t take to kindly to that.
Put more simply, Chester was not treated the way he thought he should be. All three of the other guys went to places that they felt were upgrades to their current situations. Chester to WVU was not really by choice.
He didn’t pick another coach over Chester. He picked different players.
sbillini
- st petersburg, fl
He basically took Chester’s deliverables (ie recruits) and ignored them over somebody else’s deliverables. Plus BU chose to promote over him when BU was looking for X and Os specialists. Chester got marginalized.
That didn’t happen to any of the other three guys.
Big Jack
- Decatur
Lets just say this and I will not expand upon this, but Chester left for more reasons than his players being recruited over and Hamer getting the reigns of running defenses. His job at WV was an arrangement marriage thanks to the program, I loved Chester as a player and he is a good person but he played a hand he should have folded.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
This is revisionist history at best. When Chester left, there could only be three assistant coaches. OA was clearly in the fold at that time and one of either Geoff, Chester or TA had to go. Regardless of how or why, Chester left and OA was added, it was only after all that the NCAA allowed schools to expand their staff to five. That’s where Tyler and Hamer were promoted.
Adding to this, once OA came on board, TA wanted a raise. Josh decided there wasn’t money in the budget for that, so TA took his ball (and his full salary, somehow) and went home. Kwa was then added as a last minute replacement for TA.
Now, for those arguing that Tyler and Hamer should not have been promoted given their lack of experience, just who with experience could’ve Brad hired if there wasn’t enough money in the budget to pay a valuable assistant like TA more money?
sbillini
- st petersburg, fl
I know we’re at the place on this board where we’re doubting insiders, but what they’ve said was underwood was giving hamer more control (hamer was on the staff at the time) vs Chester and Chester wasn’t happy about that. This also jives with who Brad would be talking to more during games. Combine that with the lack of playing time sincere and Amani were getting, it all generally jives with an unhappy Chester.
I might be wrong in that. I’m not an insider. But calling it “revisionist history” when I’m guessing you’re no more an insider than I am is impressive.
PS - I don’t know where the TA point came from. He wasn’t a part of my point.
RabidDawgClassic
- Los Angeles, CA
To clarify, my point being, Brad couldn't have told Chester he would rather have the 20-something run the defense over him at that time simply because that 20-something wasn't an assistant coach at the time. The 20-something could've been doing something else, but not that. The two 20-somethings were only made assistants after the NCAA changed the rule allowing two more. Chester was gone for several months at that point.
I think it's pretty clear there was some sort of riff between Chester and Brad and it probably did involve ways to run the defense and/or recruiting over his guys (Sencire and Amani, notably). Side note: On a recent West Virginia podcast, the host made reference to the WVU coaching staffing finding Chester "difficult to work with." I have no idea if that's just sour grapes with him leaving to go to Va Tech, or if there's some truth to it. There are also reports that DeVries himself is difficult to worth with, so who knows.
Interestingly enough, I'm not one to doubt the insiders with the information they provide, but I have, more or less, figured out how to read into what they say. So many people here don't seem to understand the difference between smirking Denzel and "Boom" Denzel. Likewise, The Rock smiling and Tom Cruise putting on his shades mean good things appear to be coming, but they are not an official Denzel boom. Gotta know how to read between the GIFs.
They are sharing information as they get it. This is the Wild West now. Things can change as fast as a fart (hopefully not a shart) towards a tumbleweed...or a loogie towards a spittoon. We're very privileged to have the insiders that we do! I just hope that @illini0440 comes back
sbillini
- st petersburg, fl
Just because the 20somethings weren’t official assistants doesn’t mean they weren’t getting increasing roles and responsibilities leading up to then becoming official assistants. My sense is Chester saw that and, in addition to other things, led to things playing out the way they did.
In any case, my original point was to a poster saying that Chester leaving was no different than OA, Chin, Antigua leaving. I think it’s clear that that wasn’t the case. There were no indications of a rift between any of those three and BU when they left. By all accounts, they left entirely voluntarily to what they perceived as better situations for themselves. That certainly does not seem to be the case with Chester.
Is this all accurate info?? I thought we had 5 assistants already before this year…
I thought it was Chester, TA, Geoff, Hamer, and Tyler.
Then TA and Chester dipped, and we added OA and Kwa bumped up to fill in for TA.
I might be wrong, but in my head, your whole post is wrong… someone else can research and prove me or this poster right/wrong…
I thought it was Chester, TA, Geoff, Hamer, and Tyler.
Then TA and Chester dipped, and we added OA and Kwa bumped up to fill in for TA.
I might be wrong, but in my head, your whole post is wrong… someone else can research and prove me or this poster right/wrong…
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
I think Chester Frazier is just desperate to get a head coaching job no school will give him. He knew Orlando Antigua was coming in and getting the newly created associate head coach position and it hit him how he will never be head coach of the Illini so he might as well get going and try elsewhere. Then West Virginia dangled the job title to him only to show it meant nothing after a year so he left again.
Basically it's the story of a man constantly getting passed over for outside hires so he has to go elsewhere in search of his promotion. It's very common, I can relate.
Maybe the interesting thing to consider is what would've happened if Frazier didn't leave before Orlando officially got here? We'd have been one coach too many for the summer.
Basically it's the story of a man constantly getting passed over for outside hires so he has to go elsewhere in search of his promotion. It's very common, I can relate.
Maybe the interesting thing to consider is what would've happened if Frazier didn't leave before Orlando officially got here? We'd have been one coach too many for the summer.
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sbillini
- st petersburg, fl
They are sharing information as they get it. This is the Wild West now. Things can change as fast as a fart (hopefully not a shart) towards a tumbleweed...or a loogie towards a spittoon. We're very privileged to have the insiders that we do! I just hope that @illini0440 comes back
I hope it was clear that I was speaking facetiously. I’m very appreciative of the insiders (and have posted as such before). It’s some people on this board’s (over)reaction to them that I’m joking about.
Bad joke, I know. Not my first time, certainly won’t be my last!
sacraig
- The desert
Big Jack
- Decatur
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
Coaching is very tough profession. You see how people start at JC level and work their way up Div 3, Div 2, finally small div 1
problem with starting as high paid assistant coach at P5 is it is hard to give up $ and prestige to prove yourself as HC.
It seems like trend is go with proven non P5 head coaches instead of unproven assistants
2025 hires
DeVries - Drake->WV->Indiana
May - Florida Atlantic->Michigan
McCollum NW Missouri->Drake-> Iowa
Odum UnivMd BC->Utah State-> VCU->Virgina
Hodge North Texas->W Virgina
Medved Colorado State-> Minnesota
Chester has been assistant for 14 years -- KSU, VT, Ill, WV, VT.
Some Assistants that got hired at schools other than current -- Tommy Loyd (Gonzaga to AZ, Jai Lucas (Duke to Miami)
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