2017 Coaching Carousel

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#1,551      

MrOizo

MrOizo
Chicago
MrOizo
helppitch said:
I agree, with Groce's incoming recruiting class, probably a decent run in the NIT saves his job for another year.
I think there is plenty to go on that he is not a good coach. That said, I'm not sure Illinois is considered that good of job anymore.
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We are certainly a good enough job that if we know the current guy isn't it, we will move on.

If this is a lottery in which there are winning tickets our there (coaches that would raise our program's profile), and we know that our current coach won't, don't you have to take a chance at anyone meeting certain criteria?

I don't know if that's how Whitman feels, but if he does then the search is certainly active.
 
#1,553      

GortTheRobot

G
North Bethesda, Maryland
GortTheRobot
MrOizo said:
We are certainly a good enough job that if we know the current guy isn't it, we will move on.

If this is a lottery in which there are winning tickets our there (coaches that would raise our program's profile), and we know that our current coach won't, don't you have to take a chance at anyone meeting certain criteria?

I don't know if that's how Whitman feels, but if he does then the search is certainly active.
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I can't imagine that the search hasn't been, at least in some small way, active since last year. We had a bad year, but cutting Groce loose after an injury plagued season would raise a red flag to any prospective new coach. However, I can't imagine JW just sitting on this year and letting things play out without knowing things could go south, or not improve, given Groce's track record here. I think JW is smart enough to keep his cards close to his chest, but he has to have been looking into the possibilities and making a wish list.
 
#1,555      

StateFarmCenter

StateFarmCenter
StateFarmCenter
The B1G is not appealing and Illinois is a lateral move at best from VA tech? Good lord. I thought I was down on our job, but those comments have no basis in reality.
 
#1,556      

TriangleIL

T
TriangleIL
Give me Keatts. He'd be my number one my a long stretch, unless someone outrageous were available (Donovan, Stevens).
 
#1,557      

MrOizo

MrOizo
Chicago
MrOizo
mhuml32 said:
I haven't followed the college basketball scene closely in some time, but the UNC-Wilmington coach is one of the most interesting to me. Not sure how he would do in recruiting (which leads to a great question of how ADs can vet coaches at the lower ranks for recruiting prowess), but that would be my only concern with the job he has done so far.
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Well that's the chance you're taking at a place like Illinois. Go for a lower level coach with proven leadership and coaching, or a proven recruiter with contacts that has an imperfect coaching past. That's the only reason the latter is available to us.

You have to go recycled or up and coming, both have their uncertainties.
 
#1,558      

MrOizo

MrOizo
Chicago
MrOizo
TriangleIL said:
Give me Keatts. He'd be my number one my a long stretch, unless someone outrageous were available (Donovan, Stevens).
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Hard to not really like Keats. What are the other top openings this off season?
 
#1,559      

MakesNoSense

M
MakesNoSense
StateFarmCenter said:
The B1G is not appealing and Illinois is a lateral move at best from VA tech? Good lord. I thought I was down on our job, but those comments have no basis in reality.
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I'm not trying to anger anyone so this is my last thought. Five years ago Smart and Stevens turned down $2.5 milllion a year to leave VCU and Butler and those weren't power 5 conference schools. Is Illinois any more appealing after Groce? So why would someone leave the ACC?
 
#1,560      

jmilt7

J
Waukegan
jmilt7
IlliniBacker said:
That's just foolish.

I don't get the defeatist attitude that so many Illini fans have.

UI is historically a Top 25 program - you could argue Top 20 even.

The right coach with the stars aligned could turn the program into a perennial Top 10 team in 3 years. It's not a stretch for that to happen. UI has demonstrated some institutional commitment to winning with what they have allowed Whitman to do with the football program. I'm excited to see the same with basketball. It's much easier to pull off, but still will take a little luck. I just hope they aren't forced to tread water with Groce for another year. Not the answer.
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This. Plus, I have read many comments about Illinois being a stepping stone school. But for what schools? I can only think of the so called Blue Bloods (or going to the NBA like Kruger or perhaps a coach returning to his alma mater). I did a google search on that and it came up with about 5 or 6 schools (Duke, NC, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA and Indiana, the latter two I am not sure I would include but that is another topic). So what are the chances of one of those coaching positions opening up in any given year? I kind of think it was a fluke when Dean Smith retired and Roy Williams left Kansas and went there and Self went to Kansas. If that hadn't happened Self might still be here. Or, if Williams hadn't left Kansas for the UNC position who knows if UNC would have hired Self and again he might still be here. Building a successful and solid program (sigh). There was a post somewhere on one of the threads here that had a list of the most successful college basketball programs in the country (I forget the actual criteria and I can't find the reference here unfortunately. I think I saw it last year) and Illinois was in the top ten and I was even surprised that Illinois was ahead of some teams that I would not have thought it would be. Unfortunately doing a little research shows that Illinois is not as high up on various lists as might have been previously which I think is due to the last 10 dismal seasons. So I don't see Illinois as a stepping stone except for those rare occasions when a blue blood opens up. In fact, if a coach has been here a while and has rebuilt the program and has had success, numerous tourney runs, etc., he may not even jump to a blue blood.
 
#1,561      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
MakesNoSense said:
I'm not trying to anger anyone so this is my last thought. Five years ago Smart and Stevens turned down $2.5 milllion a year to leave VCU and Butler and those weren't power 5 conference schools. Is Illinois any more appealing after Groce? So why would someone leave the ACC?
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A couple of reasons come to mind.

We have a new AD who was able to attract a coach the caliber of Lovie Smith. Also there appears to be a much more stable administration in place above him.

We have a brand new renovated State Farm Center instead of just plans and drawings.
 
#1,562      

MrOizo

MrOizo
Chicago
MrOizo
GortTheRobot said:
I can't imagine that the search hasn't been, at least in some small way, active since last year. We had a bad year, but cutting Groce loose after an injury plagued season would raise a red flag to any prospective new coach. However, I can't imagine JW just sitting on this year and letting things play out without knowing things could go south, or not improve, given Groce's track record here. I think JW is smart enough to keep his cards close to his chest, but he has to have been looking into the possibilities and making a wish list.
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Agreed, my hope is that it's more than just research and includes limited feelers. I think starting way early with assertive moves could help someone prepare for the eventual full on search and reveal unexpected opportunities.
 
#1,563      

UIUC1867

UIUC1867
Christian County, IL
UIUC1867
MakesNoSense said:
I'm not trying to anger anyone so this is my last thought. Five years ago Smart and Stevens turned down $2.5 milllion a year to leave VCU and Butler and those weren't power 5 conference schools. Is Illinois any more appealing after Groce? So why would someone leave the ACC?
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Answer #1: No
Answer #2: I think you're putting too much stock into conference affiliation and reputation when it comes to looking for a coaching job at an P5 individual school. There are bad places in the ACC, as well as the B1G.
Sarcastic answer #2: Ask the leadership at the University of Maryland. :D
 
#1,564      

DMan42

D
DMan42
MakesNoSense said:
I'm not trying to anger anyone so this is my last thought. Five years ago Smart and Stevens turned down $2.5 milllion a year to leave VCU and Butler and those weren't power 5 conference schools. Is Illinois any more appealing after Groce? So why would someone leave the ACC?
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Each coach is different. What Smart and Stevens are looking for may be different from others.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
 
#1,565      

MrOizo

MrOizo
Chicago
MrOizo
UIUC1867 said:
Answer #1: No
Answer #2: I think you're putting too much stock into conference affiliation and reputation when it comes to looking for a coaching job at an P5 individual school. There are bad places in the ACC, as well as the B1G.
Sarcastic answer #2: Ask the leadership at the University of Maryland. :D
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Nice takedown
 
#1,566      

EJ33

E
San Francisco
EJ33
The reason we ended up with Groce has a lot more to do with Mike Thomas than the opportunity at Illinois. Groce is the least qualified coach we've hired in the last 50 years - maybe ever. His best team finished third in the MAC even though he had the best talent. His ceiling at Illinois is similar - contending for a 4th to 7th place finish. The better talent he's bringing in is still nowhere near the talent we had on our best teams in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. It's not even close.

Whitman will make a good decision and I'm pretty confident he can land a coach that can get the program back on track. I doubt though that he can land a "sure thing" coach and that's why this decision is going to be so hard.
 
#1,567      

gibb52

G
gibb52
MakesNoSense said:
I'm not trying to anger anyone so this is my last thought. Five years ago Smart and Stevens turned down $2.5 milllion a year to leave VCU and Butler and those weren't power 5 conference schools. Is Illinois any more appealing after Groce? So why would someone leave the ACC?
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You aren't angering anyone, shoot, keep posting. It's a discussion forum.

You stated the B1G was not that appealing, which is what I took exception to. It's a power conference with great schools, great tradition, and great coaches (except ours). Is it more/less appealing than the ACC, Big12,etc? That's depending on the person making the decision.

Buzz Williams would not be likely to leave VT for IL. If both jobs were open at the same time most candidates would take IL if all other criteria were equal. But if a guy likes it where he's at and his wife/family like it the chance of poaching him is not good.

Getting a guy to move laterally or semi laterally requires certain conditions to be in place.

The guy's wife hates it there.

The guy hates his wife and wants to leave her there.:)

The guy hates the AD. The AD hates the guy.

You get the idea. That is why feelers are put out there, you never know when or why a guy is ready to move on.

Most likely if we move on from JG we will end up with someone working their way up from a mid major. That's how most power conference jobs get filled. It doesn't mean we can't pull a guy away from another higher profile job.
 
#1,571      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
https://twitter.com/bigtengeeks/stat...29873228627969

Tier 2 jobs, a bunch. Probably Illinois, MSU, Michigan, OSU, Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland, maybe Iowa. But these things change.
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Putting MSU and Illinois in the same group right now shows total disrespect of what Izzo has done in his career and the program he has built in the last 20 years. It also places no weight on the great deterioration of our program the last 10 years.

Furthermore, it means that no matter what Illinois does in the next 20 years under any coach, whether that is multiple FFs and a NC, or missing the tournament, it would have no bearing upon the Illini job and program.
 
#1,572      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
Second and Chalmers said:
Bradley is better than Bowling Green and I'd imagine he could do even better than that.
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If Groce got fired, I doubt he could better right of the bat. Most likely path is an assistant at a good school, where he could work his resume back up.
 
#1,573      

LurkLongandProsper

L
C-U
LurkLongandProsper
Obelix said:
Putting MSU and Illinois in the same group right now shows total disrespect of what Izzo has done in his career and the program he has built in the last 20 years. It also places no weight on the great deterioration of our program the last 10 years.

Furthermore, it means that no matter what Illinois does in the next 20 years under any coach, whether that is multiple FFs and a NC, or missing the tournament, it would have no bearing upon the Illini job and program.
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You make valid points, but I don't think those tiers were really breaking it down to that level. In terms of facilities, money/revenue, fanbase size, and so on, it's a wash. MSU has a stronger national brand and is certainly a better situation right now, but it doesn't have the distinct advantages that KU/UK/Duke/UNC have. I don't think the OP was intending to say MSU = ILL = OSU etc, just similar.
 
#1,574      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
LurkLongandProsper said:
You make valid points, but I don't think those tiers were really breaking it down to that level. In terms of facilities, money/revenue, fanbase size, and so on, it's a wash. MSU has a stronger national brand and is certainly a better situation right now, but it doesn't have the distinct advantages that KU/UK/Duke/UNC have. I don't think the OP was intending to say MSU = ILL = OSU etc, just similar.
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I think the breakdown is an oversimplification that has little validity. The problem is not that the MSU program/job does not have the same appeal as UK/KU etc., because that much is indeed true. The problem is that MSU belongs in the same group as Illinois right now. That is totally hogwash IMO.
 
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