We've waited too long. 4 years without an NCAA tourney appearance. We honestly do not need any other up-and-coming guys. Gone down that road with mixed success. Time is not something the Illini have on their side. The fans are restless. A home run hire or something close is needed to rejuvenate our fanbase. Most people know nothing about Keatts.
2017 Coaching Carousel
- Status
We've waited too long. 4 years without an NCAA tourney appearance. We honestly do not need any other up-and-coming guys. Gone down that road with mixed success. Time is not something the Illini have on their side. The fans are restless. A home run hire or something close is needed to rejuvenate our fanbase. Most people know nothing about Keatts.
Home Run what names are real?
I wouldn't mind that but who really is in play as a home run hire? Hoiberg? Monty Williams? I'd rather have Archie Miller then those guys he has a great track record. I know MT laid an egg with Groce but that is why he was our 5th or 6th choice as he wasn't that sought after..
I wouldn't mind that but who really is in play as a home run hire? Hoiberg? Monty Williams? I'd rather have Archie Miller then those guys he has a great track record. I know MT laid an egg with Groce but that is why he was our 5th or 6th choice as he wasn't that sought after..
illynifan34
That's a winner!!
- OH
By the time Keatts is available the whole country might know who he is.
I don't know where Monty Williams is coming from but he really has no Midwestern ties aside from being an alum of Notre Dame. I'm not sure what's so special about him. He was a pretty average coach in the NBA and there's a lot of unknowns with him. I don't like unknowns. I treat Monty just as I treat Keatts, unknowns and not people the Illini should be looking at.
I think if Keatts wins a few games in the tourney he will be in high demand by several schools why not get him right away. You can't argue with the success he has had the first 3 years he can obviously coach and it appears he can recruit well too.
D'oh, dang Mondays
Fans don't care about the name of the coach, they care about the record. If we hire a big name and he flops year one, the fanbase reaction will be the same as a small name who flops year one. Personally, I couldn't care less what the majority of the fanbase thinks of the hire at the time of the hire. Get a coach who wins, whether they come from the CAA, the NBA, the Southern, or the Pac 12. There are no 'sure thing' coaches on our board right now, unless you actually believe Bennett is a candidate.
Regarding Monty, you don't HC an NBA team if you can't coach a lick, and he made the playoffs twice with a pretty crappy roster besides Anthony Davis. He's also respected enough by peers to be a Team USA assistant. Regarding Midwest ties, it certainly doesn't hurt that he coached Anthony Davis -- those two clicked pretty dang well. You don't need midwest ties to coach in the midwest, especially when you've coached in the NBA for 11 years by the time you're 45 years old and played in it for 9 as well. I don't think he's going to have trouble coming up with a recruiting pitch if he's interested in the college game.
They said the same about John Groce. Just hard to buy in but I hear what you're saying.
Imposing equivalence between Keatts' resume and Groce's just because they both come from small schools is unfair to what Keatts has achieved, honestly.
Keatts in 2.75 years at UNCW: 64-26 (.711), 36-12 (.750), 2 first place conference finishes, one NCAAT appearance, 0 wins (close loss to Duke)
Groce in 4 years at Ohio: 85-56 (.603), 34-30 (.531), finishes of 6,5,3,3 in the MAC, two NCAAT appearances, 3 NCAAT wins
Not to mention where UNCW was prior to Keatts and where Ohio was prior to Groce
I think we've reached the stage of the game where things fly from message board to message board with perhaps the occasional fly by reality.
Cronin for Illinois.
yEAH! :thumb: ...EVERYTHING HE SAID. plus the NBA is a different animal. Many experts also assert the fact thta he was let go too soon by the Pelicans. Considering this day of super teams and the stacked west, to make the playoffs was phenomenal given his roster.
Cronin is probably less likely than Monty Williams is, seeing as he's happily employed at UC, his alma mater, and has had recent health issues, whereas Monty Williams is currently working in the Spurs front office and not coaching.
Groce was a long shot
Let's be honest Groce was a 5th or 6th choice for MT and that is one of the reasons he isn't here anymore that along with Beckman. Groce got the job because he went to the Sweet 16 in 2012 and that's it. His resume was mediocre at best but he was a hot name because he was an up and coming coach but he has laid an egg at Illinois. JW won't hire someone like Groce it will be a good hire and this next coach will win more games starting next year!!
Let's be honest Groce was a 5th or 6th choice for MT and that is one of the reasons he isn't here anymore that along with Beckman. Groce got the job because he went to the Sweet 16 in 2012 and that's it. His resume was mediocre at best but he was a hot name because he was an up and coming coach but he has laid an egg at Illinois. JW won't hire someone like Groce it will be a good hire and this next coach will win more games starting next year!!
The board has my sincere apologies in advance if this discussion has already taken place in these 175 pages of conversation.
But what happens if JW is sending out feelers and he isn't able to find a great hire? Does he wait a year simply to see if a better crop of eligible coaches ripens?
But what happens if JW is sending out feelers and he isn't able to find a great hire? Does he wait a year simply to see if a better crop of eligible coaches ripens?
No they didn't.
To expand, there are always options, some better than others. But another year for JG, I don't see it. It's over.
ANYTHING is better than what the Illini currently have. Even Vinny Del N.
Keatts may be great down the road, but right now I just don't see it. Zero tourney wins, zero wins against any P5 schools, zero 4 or 5 star recruits (which I wouldn't expect at UNCW, but still an unknown as a head coach). UNCW has played one P5 school and got blown out by Clemson this year. This seems like such a risky hire at a time when Illinois basketball needs stability. The major difference between this hire and the Lovie hire is that football program needed the big name to sell it, while the bball program is still a first class high level program.
Doesn't that mean we don't need stability?
Hope not. What if next year's crop is worse instead of better?
Two more years at UNCW would tell us a lot.
Too bad. Keatts is going to be a Power Five head coach next year, either at Illinois or a job he would stay at rather than come to Illinois at some future date.
If Kevin Keatts is the next Bill Self, this is our only chance.
Not 100% sure on that. I don't know what other jobs will open, but there are definitely some Power 5 jobs that could be stepping stones to a job inline with Illinois. VT, BC, Vandy, Miss St, Ole Miss, TCU, TTU, Oregon St, Utah, Cal.... I'd say a job like Illinois is definitely a level above those types of schools, as well as jobs like SMU, Temple, Seton Hall, etc. All those types of jobs would be big steps up from UNCW. If for some reason very few P5 jobs open, I could see Keatts moving up to the solid mid-major, low P5 level if he feels he can be successful.
Tevo
- Wilmette, IL
We better lose early in the tournament if we want our singing Gorilla-gram to arrive at Keatts office before any other suitors'...
- Status