Thanks for the reply. Do you know what the special circumstances were for Lovie?
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Thanks for the reply. Do you know what the special circumstances were for Lovie?
We've got "insiders" indicating three things:
1. Groce won't coach in the NIT, he'll be fired immidiately after the BTT
2. The hire will be wrapped up quickly
3. Cuonzo
Those don't add up though. Cuonzo isn't walking out on Cal before the tournament, and that's probably a minimum of a week.
If there's really hot and heavy going on behind the scenes, that would be suggestive that it's not a sitting college head coach to me. Maybe that's naive.
Of course, we shouldn't be believing any of these insiders anyway
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I put it in parentheses because it's just sorta BS. The special circumstances for Lovie were that the powers that be decided that the football hire was too important to force it to mess around with that stuff. Maybe that speaks to Lovie's prominence. Maybe that speaks to his race, and that he was the first revenue sport minority hire at UI. But I think a lot of it speaks to University leadership that now cares about getting it right.
We'll see. Posting the job for a week wouldn't be the end of the world. But being able to exempt the football hire from the administrative BS that is intended (and perfectly reasonable) for rank-and-file University employees is honestly, for me, the most encouraging thing I've seen in the Whitman era.
Wittsdream
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I would be mildly surprised if our next HC ends up being someone other than Cuonzo Martin.
If they make the NCAA's in relative comfort (and they should), why fight it? This is a rom-com setup going on between UI and Martin at this point.
Thanks again. After the Lovie hire I have a lot of faith (maybe even blind faith) that Whitman is going to make the right basketball hire.
Tupper: If Illini dismiss Groce, where might Whitman turn?
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois/tupper-if-illini-dismiss-groce-where-might-whitman-turn/article_b3c12efd-99a0-5339-9997-7595c266fd24.html
http://www.pantagraph.com/sports/college/illinois/tupper-if-illini-dismiss-groce-where-might-whitman-turn/article_b3c12efd-99a0-5339-9997-7595c266fd24.html
Aside from Ivan Rabb & Jaylen Brown, what are some other notable recruits/recruiting classes Martin has snagged in the past?
Jarnell Stokes and Robert Hubbs were both 5 star players at Tennessee.
Wittsdream
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Trust me, there are other candidates I prefer from strictly a tactical standpoint (after enduring Weber and Groce for more than 10+ years), but the hiring of Martin, and hopefully his entire staff at Cal, checks more boxes than any other candidate out there to ameliorate the decline of Illinois' basketball culture, AS EARLY AS NEXT SEASON.
He, along with Webster, are totally capable of retaining our current haul of recruits, and perhaps adding Smith. Smith and Tilmon bleed orange and blue, and they sat alongside one another last night, watching a team lacking cohesion, led by a dead man walking......hmmm!! I realize they are enamored with Groce's winning personality, but do you really believe they don't know what's up?
And as far as the other assistants under Martin at Cal, they have a stellar pedigree of working under some of the all-time titans of the college basketball world: Coach K, Pitino and Boeheim. In fact, the three assistants: Webster is actually the Associate Head Coach, Wyking Jones and Tim O'Toole have each contributed coaching a Final Four team; with one NC, a runner-up, and numerous Sweet 16s between them. Compare that to Ford, Parham and Walker, and their resumes when Groce hired them.
So, again, let's look at the check boxes:
- Recruiting
- Xs and Os
- Player development
- Winning culture
Are you sure I thought they were pretty in the money bag until next year with him.
His buyout is something like $2.2 million over three years, less whatever his mitigating salary is. That's very doable.
Per his extension, he would have gotten an automatic two-year extension had he made the NCAA's last year or this year. Didn't happen.
Nothing huge in the way of recruits coming in either. The timing is perfect to can Gottfried
Especially given Archie's availability. I'll be shocked if he's not their head coach next year.
Agree with everything in this post. Strong Assistant Coaching staff which cannot be said about a guy like Keatts. Martin seems most likely to prevent major overhaul and rebuild of program.
Wyking Jones is a real West Coast guy, so I'm not sure he would make the move, but Martin should have no trouble finding a quality assistant with his connections
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Generally speaking, Martin has retained and worked with and developed the players he inherited from the previous regime at all of his stops.
I probably feel more confident 2017-18 isn't a Rutgers-type disaster with Cuonzo than any other potential coach, including Groce. Keatts is probably second on that list.
Wasn't Tracy Webster an assistant for UI under Weber?
Also, I believe it was mentioned on here earlier that Weber got the team to the tournament the year prior to him getting fired. I would've have responded to it earlier but was busy.
That last team he got to the tournament BADLY underachieved. That team was the pre-season #13 team in the country, and I believe even some of the analysts mentioned them as a dark horse Final Four pick that year. They barely squeaked in as a 9 seed and there were multiple junctures late in the year where it looked unlikely that they'd get in.
Also, I believe it was mentioned on here earlier that Weber got the team to the tournament the year prior to him getting fired. I would've have responded to it earlier but was busy.
That last team he got to the tournament BADLY underachieved. That team was the pre-season #13 team in the country, and I believe even some of the analysts mentioned them as a dark horse Final Four pick that year. They barely squeaked in as a 9 seed and there were multiple junctures late in the year where it looked unlikely that they'd get in.
I would too, work them baby
This article about Martin's departure from Tennessee to Cal makes me very high on him. If it's Cuonzo I'm happy because I think that means we're dancing next year:
http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/04/15/cal-names-tennessees-cuonzo-martin-as-new-basketball-coach/
http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/04/15/cal-names-tennessees-cuonzo-martin-as-new-basketball-coach/
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Yup, and he left for UK and was replaced by Snacks.
I'm not a big fan of bringing in Martin. I have no doubt he could do the job... it just feels like recycling an above average coach for a safe hire. Keatts is intriguing. I get the feeling he would bring a spark back to the program and be able to relate to the players well. That's going on what little I've researched on him...Pitino and Drexel coach comments, resume, etc. Now if Whittman could pull off a Hoiberg hire that would be something.
I think your Keats/Martin comp is right. Keats may be a Home run in 5 years. Martin is safer. Groce has left many risk-averse and just hoping for relevance.
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Yep, Martin is the high floor / low ceiling guy. As others have said, he would have a good chance of retaining the recruiting class (and maybe adding Smith), and avoiding a total rebuild.
My concern is that Keatts or any low floor / high ceiling candidate fails, and then we have another total rebuild in 4-5 years. Will we ever be able to recover?
Martin is the safest pair of hands we know about that can stabilize the program and bring back some measure of respectability and relevance. The hard cold truth is that the goal for this program right now should just be to make the 2nd weekend of the tournament.
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