Because we are not Penn State, and it would be extremely dumb for Whitman to do so at this point even if the decision is to retain him.
He did it last year...
Because we are not Penn State, and it would be extremely dumb for Whitman to do so at this point even if the decision is to retain him.
He did it last year...
So we knew Bill Self was going to succeed wildly at Illinois and then later Kansas when we interviewed him as Tulsa's head coach? No I think he had a ton of potential which we gambled on and won.
I know Billy Donovan isn't coming here which is WHY he is a grand slam coach. You save that vernacular for the truly amazing, everything lined up miracles like Lovie Smith.
Keatts almost as hot as Miller? Maybe in this thread but not reality.
I don't know much about Krystowiak but what I do know he is mostly a west guy, who I think may struggle to recruit here
Last year was a totally different situation.
When Josh Whitman was trolling for a football coach, this board had eyes on every private jet flight out of Willard Airport and then on FlightAware to track it to its destination. Are we keeping tabs on Josh's travels?
I will use the vernacular that I believe fits the situation, thanks. Archie Miller is the best possible hire we can make, a GRAND SLAM hire. He is more proven now than Self was when we hired him, but given that we are just tossing around anecdotal evidence now, who really cares about their comparison. Self proved to be a fantastic hire, and I believe that Archie Miller is the best possible hire Illinois can make. Unlikely that we can, but within the realm of at least trying.
I don't know that we can pull Krystkowiak either, but since he has proven capable of winning without recruiting at an elite level, I sure am interested in finding out what he can do in a talent rich state like Illinois. A very good hire, using your opinionated scale of bad to grand slam.
Popovich sure would be a grand slam hire. He deserves as much mention as Billy Donovan, Brad Stevens, Sean Miller, Tom Izzo, Bill Self, and all the other grand slam hires worth bringing on to the scale!
If the +/- on transfers is 1.5 then I'll go ahead and take the over on that, Jim.
When Josh Whitman was trolling for a football coach, this board had eyes on every private jet flight out of Willard Airport and then on FlightAware to track it to its destination. Are we keeping tabs on Josh's travels?
Like others, I like John Groce. But I admit to being astonished that he might yet be asked to return, or that other fans would welcome it.
It's not the horrible Big Ten record. It's not the PG recruiting failures. It's not a matter of statistical comparison to where Illinois traditionally ranks nationally.
It's because we can actually watch the games.
We're not evaluating statistics from a computer sim. We can actually see whether the team plays like one that is well-coached. They don't, and they haven't for five years. We can debate talent, recruiting, relative results vs. projection, etc., but it's point-missing, because we've been able to actually watch the games.
It's apparent: Frequent offensive malaise, lack of movement, apparent confusion on defense, lack of doing the little things, lack of team identity, strange personnel patterns... we've actually watched the games. People see this and think, "This coach is good?"
I really like the guy, but... really? From the last five years?
Like others, I like John Groce. But I admit to being astonished that he might yet be asked to return, or that other fans would welcome it.
It's not the horrible Big Ten record. It's not the PG recruiting failures. It's not a matter of statistical comparison to where Illinois traditionally ranks nationally.
It's because we can actually watch the games.
We're not evaluating statistics from a computer sim. We can actually see whether the team plays like one that is well-coached. They don't, and they haven't for five years. We can debate talent, recruiting, relative results vs. projection, etc., but it's point-missing, because we've been able to actually watch the games.
It's apparent: Frequent offensive malaise, lack of movement, apparent confusion on defense, lack of doing the little things, lack of team identity, strange personnel patterns... we've actually watched the games. People see this and think, "This coach is good?"
I really like the guy, but... really? From the last five years?
^^^^^
I don't need advanced metrics to tell me that other teams are frequently more prepared and better equipped to make in-game adjustments, either. The "eye test" has continued to fail as the quality of talent seems to be going up.
Like others, I like John Groce. But I admit to being astonished that he might yet be asked to return, or that other fans would welcome it.
It's not the horrible Big Ten record. It's not the PG recruiting failures. It's not a matter of statistical comparison to where Illinois traditionally ranks nationally.
It's because we can actually watch the games.
We're not evaluating statistics from a computer sim. We can actually see whether the team plays like one that is well-coached. They don't, and they haven't for five years. We can debate talent, recruiting, relative results vs. projection, etc., but it's point-missing, because we've been able to actually watch the games.
It's apparent: Frequent offensive malaise, lack of movement, apparent confusion on defense, lack of doing the little things, lack of team identity, strange personnel patterns... we've actually watched the games. People see this and think, "This coach is good?"
I really like the guy, but... really? From the last five years?
Who are your latest guess' for coaching changes if they happen?
Cal Out Martin - Crean in
Mizzou Out Anderson - Martin in
NC State Out Gottfried - Marshall-Keatts in
Indiana Out Crean - Miller In
Illinois Out Groce - ????, would love McCall as a young coach, Howland or Williams as an experienced one....Howland just feels like a Kruger 2.0 to me for the ILLINI?
Article is more of a reason why this has to be a homerun hire for us...Groce will not be back, but whom do we get to choose from?
http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/02/23/nc-state-indiana-coaching-carousel
Totally random observation from your list.
Looking at the guys being fired, Gottfried and Crean are clearly better coaches than Groce, would be easily attainable, but won't sniff this position. Yet some want Groce to return. Unbelievable.
I actually don't think JW would want either Gottfried or Crean....not a splash enough in my opinion....name recognition will be paramount or a really good up and comer with an endorsement persay....like Self would do for Dooley from FGCU...not saying he would be a candidate, but he will be for someone and he will have that endorsement which will carry weight?
Agree that those 2 won't even be considered. Just saying there's coaches being fired this year that are clearly upgrades over Groce.
While names continue to swirl, I don’t think this guy has been mentioned yet. I think a name worth noting is Keith Dambrot.
Currently coaches the Akron Zips, who have won 20+ games every season since 2005-2006. He’s been there since 2004-2005, where in that year he had 19 wins. He’s taken the Zips to the NCAA Tourney three times. He’s been consistent every year, and I think he’s a good coach.
Yet I think he’s content on staying in Akron though, since it is his alma mater.