McNamara is going to make a difference. He's going to be really good. He's starting off well.
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
The main reason for that, was their FT shooting percentage:
The game they had against Houston was absolutely putrid.
It's a good thing a certain kid from Chicago didn't agree with your way of thinking back in 2017.
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
hated boeheim but they are a basketball school through and through, much like Illinois. Wouldn’t mind them getting back to winning as I always liked McNamara. They should invest in a new basketball arena, but idk what their books look like.
Yep, we were absolutely mired in mediocrity, for a decade, before Ayo changed everything by taking a chance. I think some of our younger fans forget what we were.
Mac was a home run hire, but let's not forget their first choice was Bryan Hodgson.
Remember that name, he's not long at PC. That guy is a killer. Whoever gets him next is going to reap the rewards - next big name on the seen. Learned under Oats, flipped Arkansas St and South Florida instantly. Will be running that heavy analytics based offense. Orphan, ice in his veins. In ten years, he's top of sport.
Him and Jai Lucas are next gen. Hurley probably has ten years left, not sure if he does some of that in
Why so many of these programs default to their crappy assistant coach to the legend without any HC experience is beyond me. Red Autry was such a bust. The forced alumni hire is one of the worst decisions in CBB. Duke did alright by Scheyer, but he was trained for 9 years and given a Ferrari. I think there was a decent chance he bombed had he taken the DePaul job. Nice guy, but comes off a bit canned.
The worst hire is the ex NBA star.
UNC - Hubert
UK - Pope
Cuse - Red
UConn - Ollie (won a title off Calhoun's fumes, the ran them into the ground)
Nova - Neptune
GTown - Ewing
There have been some bad coaching hires that have run legendary programs into the ground. Georgetown may have the next biggest brand to Duke in the 80s/90s as were Urban America's team with John Thompson, Ewing, Mourning, Mutombo and Iverson. Then he stepped down and they never really recovered after they tried Ewing in the seat. Now the fan base is completely apathetic.
Nova was on top of the CBB world there with Wright, they made a terrible hire in Neptune and now have to climb out of the hole they dug with a decent, not great coach in Willard.
When UConn was firing Ollie, they're short list included guys like Thad Matt and Tom Crean. Imagine if they went that route?
Absolutely love him but I think Frazier started the Illini evolution...
Trent, Damonte & Giorgi are the OG’s.
To a degree. They went 11-27 in the B1G their first two years.
Kofi doesn’t get enough flowers. He changed everything.
Trent, Giorgi & Damonte were all in the same class..no?
Before Kofi, we were horrible. As soon as he arrived, we were really good.
Yet, it's indisputable that Ayo was our best player and head of the snake.
So it's those two for me.
Yet, it's indisputable that Ayo was our best player and head of the snake.
So it's those two for me.
Ayo was the catalyst for everything we are experiencing now there isn't even a conversation to be had about it. Ask anyone there.
Yep I agree and it's why you can make a pretty strong argument that Ayo is the GOAT in the program's history.
The question is, do we land a Kofi if Ayo wasn't here. Did he attract higher profile recruits? Ayo brought instant credibility by his commitment alone then, once here, he brought a swagger that made coming here "cool" again. The Michigan shot, the daggers vs OSU, etc....there was an electricity that we didn't have in a LONG time.
Trent, GB and Frazier were critical pieces to winning, but I don't think we're getting the higher level of recruits in the door(at that time) without Ayo. Glad we didn't have to find out.
He's got a darn good argument for being the GOAT. Before him(and after the 2006 year), a good season for us was just not being on the bubble. If we got in as a 6 or 7, it was a really good season. Generally, we were sweating it out and after that, we weren't even in the conversation.
When Ayo came, his first year we were clearly in the rise because we had a star and here we are. If we're not a top 4 seed, people are ticked.
One COULD argue that the GOAT is Brad. Ayo isn't here without him. Brad sold a vision, which sold Ayo and Ayo was a fantastic ambassador of the program. Still is. Was he here without BU....don't think so.
If Ayo and Kofi don't come on board Frazier just becomes another example of a great Illini player who didn't have enough talent around him to win anything. See, e.g., Malcolm Hill.
St. Johns- Chris Mullin
(asst. Mitch Richmond)