They have some work to do if they want to make the NIT. Gawd I love it that they suck so bad. Man I will be pissed if we loose up there.... Not going to happen
2/7 Polls & Bracketology - Illinois #13 in AP Poll
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JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
Seems about right.
I get / completely agree with your basic take, with one exception...there was nothing, not a thing, positive about Mike Thomas. An overinflated ego, and an !!!-hat of a personality whose only seeming "talent" was dumping on people as he fires them. The guy couldn't hire a quality coach even if that's all that was available, because seemingly anyone who does any research would never work for him.
Certainly your right. A couple months ago I pulled up the threads from the coaching searches. There were like three people that felt that. It's something of an urban legend that a bunch of people wanted him around here.
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Exactly. In the thread there were actually a couple people telling those who had Underwood knowledge that it was essentially not going to happen.
A small number wanted Martin. I think the Monte Williams thing died fairly quickly. Archie was never a remote possibility because of his close relationship with Groce.
Do NIT banners have to be vacated like NCAA banners when people go down for cheating?
One thing I haven't seen discussed much this year is our three new assistants. Obviously it's a great sign that losing the 3 last year hasn't led to a downward spiral in the program, as it seemed some forecasted when Orlando left. But curious for those insiders, how are the three new coaches working out? From someone who only really can follow on TV, it seems Anderson is always really engaged in coaching on the sidelines during games, and it seems all 3 are doing a great job recruiting which is great to see. We obviously all love Chester. Just didn't know if anyone has any insights into how the new staff is gelling - and realizing it's doubtful we'd hear anything that wasn't positive. Last year it seemed Gentry got a lot of credit for the actual in-game coaching....is someone taking that over this year? More of a collective effort? It does seem like Kentucky is doing great this year as well so guessing they are quite happy with at least Orlando if not Chin as well. But we aren't missing a beat either! I'm all for Illinois-Kentucky in the Elite 8 ...
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
Love to meet Kentucky in the tourney and beat Orlando/Chin combo. JMO but I give me credit for building something great as opposed to joining a juggernaut. When Kevin Durant wins a ring without Stephan and Klay....
Ty Ty is as good as freshman PG can get. Shame he did not come here.
Funny Oscar T cannot get NIL since he is international player (Congo). They have to pay him under the table (old fashioned Wildcat way)
theathletic.com
www.espn.com
Ty Ty is as good as freshman PG can get. Shame he did not come here.
Funny Oscar T cannot get NIL since he is international player (Congo). They have to pay him under the table (old fashioned Wildcat way)
These Cats are making scratch: Even before tipping off, Kentucky players cash in on NIL deals
Morgan & Morgan is among the companies that have pursued deals with as many Kentucky players as possible.
theathletic.com
Kentucky men's basketball freshman TyTy Washington gets NIL deal with Porsche dealership
Wildcats point guard TyTy Washington is among the athletes to take advantage of new name, image and likeness rules.
Illiniblueorange
- Pontoon Beach IL
I'm glad Ty Ty didn't , doesn't fit our culture.Love to meet Kentucky in the tourney and beat Orlando/Chin combo. JMO but I give me credit for building something great as opposed to joining a juggernaut. When Kevin Durant wins a ring without Stephan and Klay....
Ty Ty is as good as freshman PG can get. Shame he did not come here.
Funny Oscar T cannot get NIL since he is international player (Congo). They have to pay him under the table (old fashioned Wildcat way)
These Cats are making scratch: Even before tipping off, Kentucky players cash in on NIL deals
Morgan & Morgan is among the companies that have pursued deals with as many Kentucky players as possible.
Kentucky men's basketball freshman TyTy Washington gets NIL deal with Porsche dealership
Wildcats point guard TyTy Washington is among the athletes to take advantage of new name, image and likeness rules.
Team play has certainly been criticized over the past 3 seasons during the less than stellar stretches, but I’d say very little of that criticism seems to be directed at BU. I’d say the sparse criticism of BU during that time falls into one of two categories — he doesn’t play his freshmen/younger players enough and he doesn’t make in game adjustments (the apex of that criticism occurring after Loyola game). I’d guess even most of those who have leveled those criticisms still believe BU is a great coach as the original poster said.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
I recall lots of occasions when the criticism for losses was much less on players than on BU failing to motivate them to come out of the locker room primed for either of the two halves, those in-game adjustments (chalked up to his stubbornness and inflexibility; odd since he completely overhauled his style of play to accommodate the players he had), and lineup decisions. Yes, plenty of flack for failing to play freshman who, BTW, usually can't play defense sufficiently to justify putting them on the floor, and who take time to learn (and gain mass) to become tough enough to play in the BT. Even this season, lots of wondering in Dec/early Jan why we don't see RJ, Podz, Goode more. And then we do, likely b/c of their increasing consistency in practice.
I haven't gotten the the vibe from these critics that they think BU is a "great" coach. They seemed the past couple seasons (until the train really got rolling late last Feb) to imply at times that the team won in spite of him (and b/c of Ayo.) A strong contingent (of which I'm one) has held otherwise, but the former group are substantial and vocal here.
[EDIT:] Rereading my OP I see that I wasn't clear about those recent criticisms about the alleged black hole that results when Kofi is out, or Belo's alleged ballhandling incontinence, or DMFW's alleged offensive uselessness: they're ultimately directed at BU and his inability to adjust and substitute. If this season hasn't proven his ability brilliantly to improvise I don't know what will. IMO, he has been a veritable Coleman Hawkins (
) of virtuosic improvisation given the full-fledged lineup cluster to which we've been subjected.
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We’ll have to agree to disagree. I don’t remember seeing much “we won despite BU.” There are some who criticize some aspects of BU’s coaching, but I really don’t think there are many at all that would advocate for BU’s ouster. Anyway, sounds like our appreciation for BU is equal as is our dismissal of criticism over his use of freshmen and his ability to make adjustments.
The deeper arguments happened AFTER the coaching search. The 1st year when we were struggling the clownzo drum beats were relentless. People saying we "should" have went after him in droves! I know what i read and i have a memory. Nice try. You must have been on the clownzo bandwagon. Urban legend my@$$
Turpin & Tate in 2008!
- Addison, IL
Agree 100%. Also, I want to return this deli soup. It's not hot enough. Please have a fresh bowl brought to my poker table.
Possibly you're right about that timing. I never checked that. But the fact remains that in the coaching search timeframe the overwhelming number of people on this board did not want Martin. Perhaps they changed a bit in season one.
I certainly had doubts early about Underwood but I absolutely never understood the small number of people infatuated with a guy who seemed to be able to recruit some but failed in the coaching realm.
The Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
Interestingly, and somewhat hilariously, there was a poll posted on here two months after the BU hire. Given a choice of BU/Smith or Martin/Tilmon, which pair would you take? Out of 150 respondents, 144 said they'd prefer BU, and only 6 preferred Martin. Now, obviously, the poll was taken after the hire was already made, so take it with a bit of a grain of salt. And not gonna lie, I'm having a little bit of fun going back through these posts.
Coach/Player Poll
I thought this would be a fun question now. Go back two months and try and be honest. If you had a choice then, which pair would you have picked? B. Underwood/M. Smith C. Martin/J. Tilmon
www.illinoisloyalty.com
It is a bit of fun. Those outlier opinions that are so grossly wrong are fun to look at but really our fan base is actually fairly astute overall. Plenty of people who tend to the overly pessimistic or overly optimistic, but generally we get it right overall.Interestingly, and somewhat hilariously, there was a poll posted on here two months after the BU hire. Given a choice of BU/Smith or Martin/Tilmon, which pair would you take? Out of 150 respondents, 144 said they'd prefer BU, and only 6 preferred Martin. Now, obviously, the poll was taken after the hire was already made, so take it with a bit of a grain of salt. And not gonna lie, I'm having a little bit of fun going back through these posts.
Coach/Player Poll
I thought this would be a fun question now. Go back two months and try and be honest. If you had a choice then, which pair would you have picked? B. Underwood/M. Smith C. Martin/J. Tilmon
In the recruiting thread there was a guy who questioned Boswell's handles. In three years when Boswell is posting double doubles in points and assists for the beloved someone is going to chime in "Some people said he didn't have good handles." when the reality is that one guy said it and dozens jumped him for it.
Outlier opinions are probably more memorable and perhaps are then outsized in our memory?
Yeah i never understood the hype with Martin. Never did anything with all the talent he had in Washington
Washington? You mean Cal, of course.
I wasn’t on this board but the issue was recruiting in year 1 and 2. Those that want Martin felt we should win immediately. We had some flat out misses in recruiting that didn’t help BU and staff.
Giorgi was the one Diamond in the rough but people didn’t give BU a lot of credit for his development and felt we’d be doomed by trying to find more Giorgis (ie we got lucky).
Those same people ignored the once in a lifetime recruitment Martin had fall in his lap (wasn’t sustainable).
That’s when OA & CC started paying dividends. People were about to give up on them too.
They even criticized our strength and conditioning. Saying it was all vanity muscles…
What times those were
Honestly was just discussing this the other day. I would say as an outside observer, watching them in game and how the players react, our assistants are a net gain over the past. Don’t get me wrong, we do and will miss Orlando, and I don’t dislike Chin, but overall this staff seems to get along better and will grind it out. I would say Anderson and Frazier are future head coaches and are tremendous. Alexander will probably always be a little underrated. We seem to make better in game adjustments and players are still among great gains.
RML said:
That's the matchup everyone would be drooling over in the Sweet 16: Illinois v. Kentucky.
Might as well hedge the bet and not risk losing in the S16, E8, or semi final game.
How about we prefer that matchup to be for the National Championship…this way we know we’re getting there.
That's the matchup everyone would be drooling over in the Sweet 16: Illinois v. Kentucky.
Um, not trying to stir the pot…
Might as well hedge the bet and not risk losing in the S16, E8, or semi final game.
How about we prefer that matchup to be for the National Championship…this way we know we’re getting there.
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