2017 Coaching Carousel

FollowTisdale · Jan 18, 2017

Higher Ground said:
Listening to Groce after each of these debacles makes me think he knows something we don't. Hmmmm, new and aggressive AD and a strong recruiting class all of the sudden. Maybe we are missing the big picture and the program has taken the chains off? Maybe bigger things on the recruiting trail are in the pipeline? All of this is speculation but Groce sure seems calm and confident for a guy on the cusp of replacement.

Um, no. That's just the way he always is at pressers.

He knows the only possible, slim, tiny chance he has to keep this job is to keep on peoples good side by having a good attitude; the on court product isn't making any extensions happen that's for sure.

I'd much rather have this then him throwing players under the bus, ala Bubbles

Calvin · Jan 18, 2017

IlliNYC said:
How about getting Lon Kruger back? The guy wins & his tenure overlapped with Whitman's collegiate playing days. I'd be perfectly happy with him.

Me too. But it would take a mint to pull him away from Oklahoma. I believe he has family in that area, and is making $2.2 mil with a contract that goes to 2020. We'd have to cover any penalty/buyout on his contract, and then you'd also have to cover whatever they're willing to match, assuming they don't just let him go.

When a program is rolling, there's a lot of money already on the table, and you can talk to supporters for more. When your attendance has decayed, it's harder to sell it. Hopefully Whitman is prepared for an active hunt (that's assuming there is a hunt).

grandrapidsillini · Jan 18, 2017

Bring back Jerrance Howard

Fighter of the Nightman · Jan 18, 2017

I think we'd all love to have Lon back, and surely there's a part of him that would love to return. However, that's a VERY long shot. For one, as someone said, I always thought Oklahoma was sort of a "home" for him, so at this stage in his career, that might mean a whole lot. Additionally, while I think most in college basketball would say Illinois is at least as good of a job as Oklahoma (with more potential), OU is no slouch and is a program with a similar tradition to us all-time. Illinois would enjoy a slightly better history (IMO), better recruiting advantages, better facilities, a larger media presence and SLIGHTLY better fans (OU fans are good), but the differences might not be enough to lure Lon away, sadly.

I really don't think money is an issue whatsoever with this athletic program anymore. Thankfully, I think those days are long gone. At the very least, we truly WANT to be big time now.

jmilt7 · Jan 18, 2017

IlliNYC said:
How about getting Lon Kruger back? The guy wins & his tenure overlapped with Whitman's collegiate playing days. I'd be perfectly happy with him.

I suggested this a long ways back in this thread. And a couple of posters have already responded with how unlikely this would be. I just want to point out that Lon is something like 63. Not to be ageist but I think Illinois would want to go with someone a bit younger. I am 64 by the way so I don't say this lightly. But as I posted earlier I would love to have him back, too. He could out coach the pants off of Bobby Knight (an image I do not want in my brain).

Obelix · Jan 18, 2017

Second and Chalmers said:
Again, I'm struggling to discern whether the tone here is "we have no reason to do something stupid and lock ourselves into a Kirk Ferentz deal" or "Illinois will never try to win for real and we're all rubes for dreaming".

I'm not comfortable saying "never" to any possibility, I'll say that much.

It's a pretty easy point, and has absolutely nothing to do with Kirk Ferentz (I am still baffled with your repeated attempts to bring Ferentz into the Illinois discussion).

Illinois will pay good, fair market value for a coach but they will not go to extremes, break the bank and make offers with money way beyond the good fair market value for a coach. Dreams that Illinois will entice coaches with money as a primary motive beyond their fair market value will remain dreams.

jmilt7 · Jan 18, 2017

The buzzards are starting to circle (disclaimer: I in no way am intimating that the writer of this article is a buzzard)

http://herald-review.com/blogs/mark...cle_80fb165e-ddb2-11e6-9f02-53b651472ac2.html

gibb52 · Jan 18, 2017

IlliNYC said:
How about getting Lon Kruger back? The guy wins & his tenure overlapped with Whitman's collegiate playing days. I'd be perfectly happy with him.

Lon would be 65 when he coached his first game at IL. If he wanted to come and wanted to coach into 70 or beyond I'd entertain the idea.

MadSeason · Jan 18, 2017

gibb52 said:
Lon would be 65 when he coached his first game at IL. If he wanted to come and wanted to coach into 70 or beyond I'd entertain the idea.

I would probably pass on Kruger. He is a terrific coach, but doesn't have much interest in recruiting which I cannot imagine is any better at age 64. OU is struggling this year and a very meh recruiting class coming in.

OrangeKrus28 · Jan 18, 2017

jmilt7 said:
The buzzards are starting to circle (disclaimer: I in no way am intimating that the writer of this article is a buzzard)

<http://herald-review.com/blogs/mark_tupper/groce-making-whitman-s-decision-easy/article_80fb165e-ddb2-11e6-9f02-53b651472ac2.html>

Fairly so, this isn't Ohio U after all. This school expects a bit higher results than what we are getting now. I think Groce knows his time is running out, so hopefully he has a horseshoe or a lucky charm somewhere. I look at a school like Florida, who was in a similar situation we are in and Mike White has turned that program around in 2 years and their identity is defense. It says a lot about how much coaching makes a difference between turning a program around and being stuck in neutral.

Obelix · Jan 18, 2017

MadSeason said:
I would probably pass on Kruger. He is a terrific coach, but doesn't have much interest in recruiting which I cannot imagine is any better at age 64. OU is struggling this year and a very meh recruiting class coming in.

Furthermore, I do not believe Kruger is the right coach that Illinois needs to "build" its program back up, but I doubt Lon would have an interest anyway. Illinois needs new face, start a new era, not someone from its past.

Obelix · Jan 18, 2017

whatahack said:
You are expected to get every top recruit coming out of there and if you don't, you are a failure.

I do not believe that is true, the coach of Illinois is expected to get its fair share of state recruits but nobody expects the new coach to get every top recruit. Self was a huge success and he did not get every top player either. In recruiting, it is not who you miss on, but who you actually get.

CAHALL15 · Jan 18, 2017

grandrapidsillini said:
Bring back Jerrance Howard

To be an assistant? He has no business being a head coach.

I'm all on board with the previously mentioned names other than Cuzono Martin. What about Rick Stansbury? He'd obviously fix any recruiting woes and if you surround him with some assistants who can help develop players and are good at the in game X's and O's, we'd have a good staff. Perhaps Deon Thomas could come in as he has previous coaching experience, the Illini and Chicago ties, and I'd think an ability to develop the bigs. I'm sure there are other assistants willing to leave current programs to join Stansbury here. He also seems to have a few assistants currently with NCAA and NBA experience with one of them being the cousin to Kevin Garnett.

Second and Chalmers · Jan 18, 2017

CAHALL15 said:
To be an assistant? He has no business being a head coach.

He has plenty of business being a head coach, just not at a Power Five school yet.

I'm all on board with the previously mentioned names other than Cuzono Martin. What about Rick Stansbury?

No on Cuonzo but yes on Rick Stansbury? You're going to have to explain that one to me. Both big time recruiters, but we're nervous that Cuonzo might be a bad coach whereas we KNOW Stansbury is a bad coach.

BananaShampoo · Jan 18, 2017

CAHALL15 said:
To be an assistant? He has no business being a head coach.

I'm all on board with the previously mentioned names other than Cuzono Martin. What about Rick Stansbury? He'd obviously fix any recruiting woes and if you surround him with some assistants who can help develop players and are good at the in game X's and O's, we'd have a good staff. Perhaps Deon Thomas could come in as he has previous coaching experience, the Illini and Chicago ties, and I'd think an ability to develop the bigs. I'm sure there are other assistants willing to leave current programs to join Stansbury here. He also seems to have a few assistants currently with NCAA and NBA experience with one of them being the cousin to Kevin Garnett.

$tansbury? Oh my. That is sanctions waiting to happen. Don't want that stink anywhere near our program. Deon and any other Illini who have zero D1 college head coaching experience should not even be remotely considered, either. What makes them qualified? The fact they are former Illini? That has nothing to do with being successful at a high level B1G basketball program and should among the least considerations. I'm confident Whitman can and will find someone who is experienced and has had success at a major D1 program - regardless of if they have any actual Illini ties.

LurkLongandProsper · Jan 18, 2017

Big day of activity here! Catching up...

IlliniBrave75 said:
Rothstein: 10 coaches on the rise in college basketball in 2016-17
http://www.todaysu.com/rothstein-files/rothstein-10-coaches-rise-college-basketball-2016-17/

10 coaches on the rise: Jerod Haase has UAB on right track
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...n-the-rise-jerod-haase-has-uab-on-right-track

Good links for discussion, thanks Brave :thumb:Think that 2015-2016 list is largely not fruitful now that Haase and Underwood (and I guess Bryce Drew, but wasn't as high on him) are gone. Liked those two, not a fan of the rest of that list.

Regarding the 2016-2017 list, I'm a firm no on Stansbury, those recruiting results at WKU are, well, sketchy at best. I'm also not a believer in King Rice (yet). The names on that list that do stick out to me are James Jones and Kevin Keatts, and I'm definitely intrigued by Matt McCall, although I'm not sure that this carousel is the one where a higher level program bites on him.

TownieMatt said:
I wouldn't think we would have trouble attracting the guys currently at mid-majors, but something tells me Whitman won't go down that road. Given how poorly the Thomas mid-major hires turned out, I'd expect Whitman to think outside the box (maybe an NBA guy) before turning to a hot mid-major guy. That being said, I hope he makes a run at some of the more established coaches above before getting creative.

I think Whitman is intelligent enough to identify a candidate from any level that is a fit, I certainly don't think he will shut out mid-majors simply because MT flopped on a bad hire. The limitations of Groce's resume have been thoroughly discussed. IMO, no NBA guys that aren't the prayer 3 (Hoiberg/Stevens/Donovan) are really even worth looking into right now. I think we will learn a lot more about JW in this process than we did with football just through the list of candidates we talk to.

I sincerely hope this is not another 1 candidate process. I think this is one where he should talk to a handful of prospective coaches, because there are quite a few with great resumes, and personally I'm not all that high on making a hire just for Chicago recruiting. JMO

On another topic, @ S&C and other Musselman fans, I'm interested in your thinking there. Is there evidence he can recruit? Personally, I'm a big x's and o's first philosophy guy, so it wouldn't bother me as much, but I think we have a large body of our fan base who wants to see our next coach can recruit at a high level (which is my internal justification of the Cuonzo hype, I personally am not super high on him).

Second and Chalmers · Jan 18, 2017

LurkLongandProsper said:
I sincerely hope this is not another 1 candidate process. I think this is one where he should talk to a handful of prospective coaches, because there are quite a few with great resumes

Unfortunately, that would tend to lower our sights. You're not going to get our top candidates lined up to compete with each other in interviews.

On another topic, @ S&C and other Musselman fans, I'm interested in your thinking there. Is there evidence he can recruit?

Yes. Nevada has landed several four-stars since he's been there. Plus he was an assistant at LSU when they brought in that monster class. And he profiles as a recruiter, he's got that kind of personality. He also brought in ex-UNLV coach Dave Rice as an assistant who is a big time recruiter, so he knows how to staff.

He'd be a fine choice, I'm telling you.

SescIllini · Jan 18, 2017

Every GM or Athletic Director should have a list of names for replacements in his desk. I'm not saying Groce should be fired, but I do think Whitman has to open the drawer.

LurkLongandProsper · Jan 18, 2017

Second and Chalmers said:
Unfortunately, that would tend to lower our sights. You're not going to get our top candidates lined up to compete with each other in interviews.

Yes. Nevada has landed several four-stars since he's been there. Plus he was an assistant at LSU when they brought in that monster class. And he profiles as a recruiter, he's got that kind of personality. He also brought in ex-UNLV coach Dave Rice as an assistant who is a big time recruiter, so he knows how to staff.

He'd be a fine choice, I'm telling you.

Yeah, I'm not saying bring in everyone we've listed, interviewing Archie + and then interviewing someone from the bottom end would likely be unwise, but I also don't want to see Whitman lock into Cuonzo or 1 guy immediately.

I hadn't done nearly as much research into Musselman as you (yet) so figured I'd get the synopsis. I was never opposed, as I'd said, just wanted to make sure the recruiting oriented folks would not be opposed to the guy from day 1.

EDIT: Maybe I'm missing something on the Nevada 4 stars? I'm not seeing any on 247. Also, the LSU class you're referring to is 2013, no? I thought his one year there was 2014-2015?

IlliniFan12 · Jan 18, 2017

I think Musselman would give us a very high ceiling. Van Gundy has called him a "brilliant offensive mind."

TooHot4Tots · Jan 18, 2017

Second and Chalmers said:
Unfortunately, that would tend to lower our sights. You're not going to get our top candidates lined up to compete with each other in interviews.

Yes. Nevada has landed several four-stars since he's been there. Plus he was an assistant at LSU when they brought in that monster class. And he profiles as a recruiter, he's got that kind of personality. He also brought in ex-UNLV coach Dave Rice as an assistant who is a big time recruiter, so he knows how to staff.

He'd be a fine choice, I'm telling you.

He'd stick around for more than 2-3 yrs?

IntenselyOrange · Jan 18, 2017

LurkLongandProsper said:
Yeah, I'm not saying bring in everyone we've listed, interviewing Archie + and then interviewing someone from the bottom end would likely be unwise, but I also don't want to see Whitman lock into Cuonzo or 1 guy immediately.

I hadn't done nearly as much research into Musselman as you (yet) so figured I'd get the synopsis. I was never opposed, as I'd said, just wanted to make sure the recruiting oriented folks would not be opposed to the guy from day 1.

EDIT: Maybe I'm missing something on the Nevada 4 stars? I'm not seeing any on 247. Also, the LSU class you're referring to is 2013, no? I thought his one year there was 2014-2015?

I'm not certain on the recruiting, but I think that there is a much higher probability of failure when you hire a guy for recruiting abilities rather than hiring a guy who can coach. What I see when I look at the "stars" of his recruits is that he's getting almost all 3 star players which is better than what Nevada got in the years directly before his arrival.

Another thing on Musselman is that he sounds confident without any of the goofy cliches that we get from a lot of college coaches. When I listen to him, I hear a professional. It's different than the typical young guys working up from the mid majors. He sounds the part of a guy that can coach against the best.

But the most important thing to me is the speed of his turnaround at Nevada combined with his long term experience in the NBA.

Captain Bubbles · Jan 18, 2017

Musselman would be the best choice, IMO. Wolfpack are currently 15-3 overall, 4-1 in conference play. Had two losses (Iona and Fresno State) that were decided by two points or less.

Don't forget he has some Illinois ties. Think of Champaign and the 618 and you'll know who I'm talking about.

idoc13 · Jan 18, 2017

Musselman is intriguing but I think Cuonzo would recruit better in Chicago. That place is a cesspool.

IntenselyOrange · Jan 18, 2017

idoc13 said:
Musselman is intriguing but I think Cuonzo would recruit better in Chicago. That place is a cesspool.

Cuonzo is certainly a more proven recruiter. I think he'd be a good hire also. My current opinion is that either of the two would be a good hire. I'm not sure which order I'd place them in, but they're close and a matter of tastes I think.

2017 Coaching Carousel

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