2017 Coaching Carousel

ILHoff · Feb 6, 2017

LurkLongandProsper said:
If it is Monty, I am interested to see what the fanbase response is with all the Cuonzo smoke we've seen recently. Would be a bit of a left turn from what people seem to be expecting

I would be pretty excited with Monty Williams and I liked the idea of Cuonzo a lot. It would also mean he has some flexibility with his assistant coaches to hire the right team to fit this job.

LurkLongandProsper · Feb 6, 2017

Second and Chalmers said:
It is. And you're right, there is a freaking eternity of the season left. The title of Derek Piper's column on another site today says it all: "An Awkward Situation".

He pretty much detailed exactly what many are thinking. I can't even look at recruiting thread, feels pointless for the time being

Second and Chalmers · Feb 6, 2017

Everybody gathering together in Monty Minivan and the Keatts Train be like

Kajagoogoo · Feb 6, 2017

gailmoore1949 said:
I think not many on this board recall our last coaching search, all of our top choices turned the job down. I have been a Groce fan since he arrived, but I do not understanding his coaching or substituting. I still think we should give him one more year and hope for Smith to come on board, then we finally should have skilled players at every position.If he cant do anything then we would have no choice. I really hate to think of losing Frazier. I think he is going to be real special. we could play 3 guards 1 forward and a center( just like 2005)

If Groce is the coach next year, Smith will not be here. And many fans won't be at the SFC, either. He's done. Whitman is just waiting out the season to pull the trigger.

OrangeKrus28 · Feb 6, 2017

gailmoore1949 said:
I think not many on this board recall our last coaching search, all of our top choices turned the job down. I have been a Groce fan since he arrived, but I do not understanding his coaching or substituting. I still think we should give him one more year and hope for Smith to come on board, then we finally should have skilled players at every position.If he cant do anything then we would have no choice. I really hate to think of losing Frazier. I think he is going to be real special. we could play 3 guards 1 forward and a center( just like 2005)

I have one word: No:hand:

Actually, additional words: Enough is enough. No more chances.

Cheez · Feb 6, 2017

gailmoore1949 said:
I think not many on this board recall our last coaching search, all of our top choices turned the job down. I have been a Groce fan since he arrived, but I do not understanding his coaching or substituting. I still think we should give him one more year and hope for Smith to come on board, then we finally should have skilled players at every position.If he cant do anything then we would have no choice. I really hate to think of losing Frazier. I think he is going to be real special. we could play 3 guards 1 forward and a center( just like 2005)

I do remember that our top choices turned this job down. That's all the more reason to not keep Groce. We didn't really want him anyway!

Groce does not deserve one more year. He has tanked the program enough.

Second and Chalmers · Feb 6, 2017

Kajagoogoo said:
If Groce is the coach next year, Smith will not be here. And many fans won't be at the SFC, either. He's done. Whitman is just waiting out the season to pull the trigger.

I remember when this was the case except swapping in the names Beckman and Thomas. And then Reilly O'Toole went Joe Montana. Makes for an interesting "what if" doesn't it?

I heard a rumor back then that Mike Shanahan was going to come back as Illinois coach with Tim Brewster as his head-coach-in-waiting. Who the heck knows.

dweebs19 · Feb 6, 2017

eh...if it's Monty, I'm not too excited about it. But I don't know much about the guy or his coaching philosophy. But at this point, I think I'll take anything over what we have right now

Leonardite · Feb 6, 2017

HC Illini said:
Who is cj5050 from ihss?

He's from the Charleston area. He's friends with a donor.

dsg · Feb 6, 2017

Second and Chalmers said:
It is. And you're right, there is a freaking eternity of the season left. The title of Derek Piper's column on another site today says it all: "An Awkward Situation".

It's like a cup of coffee. It'll go by like that. [finger snap]

TCTORNADO · Feb 6, 2017

Monty Williams speech at his wife's funeral. Not for the faint of heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S02KzMyIGFE

His wife is from PawPaw, Michigan

Genesis · Feb 6, 2017

Kajagoogoo said:
Obviously it's complete speculation, but Williams does little for me. He'd better hire one incredible recruiter to be on his staff, along with some great developers of talent. He himself won't create any buzz. I doubt high school kids know a thing about him.

Those not excited about Williams are exposing a lack of awareness. NBA coach with a decent record, high character per many who know him, lots of NBA contacts. Some similarities to Lovie (I didn't say he's like Lovie). I'm excited and not surprised that JW has been working on this and is not planning a mid-major hire. This is exactly his style.

MadSeason · Feb 6, 2017

Genesis said:
Those not excited about Williams are exposing a lack of awareness. NBA coach with a decent record, high character per many who know him, lots of NBA contacts. Some similarities to Lovie (I didn't say he's like Lovie). I'm excited and not surprised that JW has been working on this and is not planning a mid-major hire. This is exactly his style.

Let's not pretend it isn't without risk. He's intriguing, but has never coached in college game and doesn't know ins and outs of recruiting.

Also we have no idea, and it's quite likely that JW hasn't been working on this

IlliniFan12 · Feb 6, 2017

TCTORNADO said:
Monty Williams speech at his wife's funeral. Not for the faint of heart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S02KzMyIGFE

His wife is from PawPaw, Michigan

3.5 hour drive from Champaign

dweebs19 · Feb 6, 2017

If he can land Smith, I'd be a fan immediately. From what I read online, his offensive philosophy(at least with the Pelicans) was to attack the paint. Little ball movement, and they didn't take that many 3s.

Jkat00 · Feb 6, 2017

Pass on Monty. We can do better.

ILLHangOut · Feb 6, 2017

MadSeason said:
Let's not pretend it isn't without risk. He's intriguing, but has never coached in college game and doesn't know ins and outs of recruiting.

Also we have no idea, and it's quite likely that JW hasn't been working on this

If the rumors are true I think this is a great hire, but I agree with you. I imagine his strength will be selling his proximity to the top NBA players, and the support his connections bring to recruits reaching an NBA goal. That's a lot of benefit that even some of the best college coaches can't sell. I'm happy to cross my fingers and hope he and his staff can adapt to the college game.

PlayAZ · Feb 6, 2017

Lavin, Greenberg

MadSeason · Feb 6, 2017

ILLHangOut said:
If the rumors are true I think this is a great hire, but I agree with you. I imagine his strength will be selling his proximity to the top NBA players, and the support his connections bring to recruits reaching an NBA goal. That's a lot of benefit that even some of the best college coaches can't sell. I'm happy to cross my fingers and hope he and his staff can adapt to the college game.

I agree that the ceiling is limitless. With the recruiting I was more referencing staying within NCAA guidelines, the endless work that goes into etc. I'm sure he would have experienced Assistants and the Compliance Office but that is always a concern.

jmwillini · Feb 6, 2017

Lord Van Gundy or the coach of that KSU team that just beat BU.

I kid, I kid

Cheez · Feb 7, 2017

PlayAZ said:
Lavin, Greenberg

Pass, Pass

ILLHangOut · Feb 7, 2017

MadSeason said:
I agree that the ceiling is limitless. With the recruiting I was more referencing staying within NCAA guidelines, the endless work that goes into etc. I'm sure he would have experienced Assistants and the Compliance Office but that is always a concern.

Those are all good points. I'm growing more and more eager to see how this all plays out.

opcorn:

Cheez · Feb 7, 2017

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Williams was not seen as a great Xs and Os guys in the pros. Why do we think that will be different here?

I also seem to remember that his players loved him, and with his ties to the pros I'm sure he'll recruit very well. But his coaching skills have me nervous.

ILLHangOut · Feb 7, 2017

jmwillini said:
Lord Van Gundy or the coach of that KSU team that just beat BU.

I kid, I kid

I couldn't stand Weber, but I wonder what he would do differently a 2nd time around.

I'm totally shocked by his success this year. It seemed like he was losing control at KSU. Besides the BU win he's taken KU down to the wire twice and deserved to win in Allen. The travel no call to end that game was absurd.

ILLHangOut · Feb 7, 2017

Cheez said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Williams was not seen as a great Xs and Os guys in the pros. Why do we think that will be different here?

I also seem to remember that his players loved him, and with his ties to the pros I'm sure he'll recruit very well. But his coaching skills have me nervous.

Ok, take me off the bandwagon I can't handle another year of substitution angst, poor defense, and injury excuses!

As an X’s and O’s coach, Williams was a work in progress while with the Pelicans. He garnered heaps of praise for his ability to draw up sharp plays out of timeouts and often kept defenses guessing with creative sets. But some of his in-game decisions, as well as his teams’ end-of-game execution, often got called into question.

Game 3 of this year’s first round series against Golden State, when the Pelicans blew a 20-point, fourth-quarter lead, is perhaps Williams’ most damning moment. It wasn’t just the colossal collapse. It was also the final straw, when, with his team trailing by one with 25 seconds remaining, Williams waited 10 seconds before instructing his players to foul.

Williams also has been criticized for his rotations, for making strange substitutions and utilizing odd combinations at odd and critical times. Despite carrying a reputation as a defensive-minded coach, Williams’ teams ranked in the top half of the league’s best defensive-rated teams only once in his five-year tenure. And that was in his first season. In each of the last three seasons, the Pelicans ranked in the bottom third in points allowed per 100 possessions despite annually playing at one of the league’s slowest paces.

In Williams’ defense, in all but his first season with the Pelicans he had a young roster that fielded only a few stout defenders and was flooded with injuries.

http://m.newsok.com/article/5423994