Adam Miller transfers to LSU

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#501      
I wish Adam Miller would be back next year and surprised to hear the announcement like everyone else. But having observed Coach Underwood the past few years, he seems to have this type of transfer activity at the end of the season, so I'm guessing he meets with players and if they are not happy, might even encourage them to look at transferring. Just a guess, but it actually helps the coaching staff to know right after the season, so they know how many spots to fill. And I doubt the coach wants guys coming back if they don't want to be there. Could be the best situation for all involved.
0% chance underwood said anything to Miller that could have made him unhappy. His message would have been hey you started every game as a freshman and played great D. You work hard and you will be the new Ayo.
 
#502      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
I think it's as simple as it looks. AM and his camp see the type of ball dominant guards we are pursuing in the transfer portal (TyTy, NB, Franklin) and along with Curbelo it makes it pretty clear to them that AM will not be Ayo's heir apparent.
I don't know if it is something the coaches see in his game, but he clearly expected to be handed Ayo's role after this year and those targets we are after raise legitimate questions.
I hate to see AM go, but I absolutely trust BU and his staff to build the roster they see fitting their game plans.
 
#504      

BillyBob1

Champaign
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Watching Adam in this celebration at Ohio St doesn’t look like someone not enjoying himself. He’s holding the Gatorade cooler waiting for the coach.
 
#507      

Dbell1981

Decatur, IL
I spoke with someone connected to Peoria basketball, who has followed Miller since grade school. He said M O M.
I take back an earlier statement referring to Miller as a young man. Young men do not let mom make decisions regarding their future. Heck I stopped in my early teen years but I'm a rebel.
 
#509      
With this season’s Illini we see two extremes of how things work out (or not) for home-grown talent.

With Ayo, he becomes a great star and one of the best Illini ever. With Miller, we see home-grown talent that fails to make it past his first year in his home State (for whatever reasons).

With college ball virtually embracing full-on “free agency”, a premium that may have once existed on collecting in-State talent is now as unnecessary as it has ever been. While it’s great to maintain good relations with the locals, it’s now more important to develop and promote your roundball brand to the Nation (and World) at large. And find guys who buy-in to your vision wherever you find them.

In baseball the saying goes that, “We root now for laundry” (the logo of our team) now. Baseball has been a game of movable pieces and free-agents for years and players have become brands unto themselves more than a member of any one club. So it shall be in major college basketball.

If coaches are free to come and go as they wish (or quickly get shown the door), then players should have that right as well. Players do not have the protection of a contract. If higher education is supposed to prepare one for getting useful employment, then players who can prepare themselves better for work and life somewhere else after a year should have and take that option without restrictions or penalty.

Be a destination where you can succeed and prosper and have a brand that people know and like and you’ll have a trail of talent waiting at your door. The legacy Blue Bloods have never looked so vulnerable as they do now. The window is open for many programs to elevate their National standing quickly. We’ll see who jumps into the void and makes a big splash.
 
#510      
Minor nit: Meacham is from Champaign and played for Centennial. You're thinking of Brett Melton maybe?
No you are 100 correct. I meant Meacham as far as pro career. Thank you for correcting me. I was kind of blown away by Millers announcement as I seen him becoming one of my all time Illini along with Derek Harper, Nick and Eddie Johnson.
 
#511      
I take back an earlier statement referring to Miller as a young man. Young men do not let mom make decisions regarding their future. Heck I stopped in my early teen years but I'm a rebel.
Change Dbell to REbell
 
#514      
With this season’s Illini we see two extremes of how things work out (or not) for home-grown talent.

With Ayo, he becomes a great star and one of the best Illini ever. With Miller, we see home-grown talent that fails to make it past his first year in his home State (for whatever reasons).

With college ball virtually embracing full-on “free agency”, a premium that may have once existed on collecting in-State talent is now as unnecessary as it has ever been. While it’s great to maintain good relations with the locals, it’s now more important to develop and promote your roundball brand to the Nation (and World) at large. And find guys who buy-in to your vision wherever you find them.

In baseball the saying goes that, “We root now for laundry” (the logo of our team) now. Baseball has been a game of movable pieces and free-agents for years and players have become brands unto themselves more than a member of any one club. So it shall be in major college basketball.

If coaches are free to come and go as they wish (or quickly get shown the door), then players should have that right as well. Players do not have the protection of a contract. If higher education is supposed to prepare one for getting useful employment, then players who can prepare themselves better for work and life somewhere else after a year should have and take that option without restrictions or penalty.

Be a destination where you can succeed and prosper and have a brand that people know and like and you’ll have a trail of talent waiting at your door. The legacy Blue Bloods have never looked so vulnerable as they do now. The window is open for many programs to elevate their National standing quickly. We’ll see who jumps into the void and makes a big splash.
I do think players should be free to transfer but coaches do have a penalty for changing teams - their buyout. The buyout is technically the responsibility of the coach but is obviously paid for by the hiring team as part of the compensation package.

The players penalty was that they had to sit out a year. I do think the players should have some sort off penalty to serve as a deterrent even if it’s not a sit out year.
 
#515      
You're ignoring the sophomore leap. Yea someone can give us what Miller did this year. But can someone give us what an improved Miller could give us next year?
You also forgot the sophomore slump. Just because a player was good as a freshman does not mean they will improve. I think Miller will be a good college player and possible pro but cannot assume anything
 
#516      
I think it's as simple as it looks. AM and his camp see the type of ball dominant guards we are pursuing in the transfer portal (TyTy, NB, Franklin) and along with Curbelo it makes it pretty clear to them that AM will not be Ayo's heir apparent.
I don't know if it is something the coaches see in his game, but he clearly expected to be handed Ayo's role after this year and those targets we are after raise legitimate questions.
I hate to see AM go, but I absolutely trust BU and his staff to build the roster they see fitting their game plans.

That's my hunch as well. He didn't have the kind of 1 and done type of year I'm sure he wanted. Didn't have big flashes of an NBA game. He's only a freshman, but needs to work on driving, finishing, and getting off his shot against good defenses in the BIGTEN. Objectively good productivity, but can't imagine he was satisfied, knowing he was well been behind Ayo, and to a lesser extent, Trent and Curbelo. I expect Curbelo would have fed him more if it weren't for our generational interior big (Kofi), and overall strength inside. And if he compares himself to Curbelo, that's a mistake. If he's going to make it as an under-sized SG in the NBA, he's got to get stronger, more explosive, and confident with his moves to take on defenders around the rim.

He was a superstar in high school, with superstar expectations. Probably makes it tougher to deal with adversity. On top of that, Curbelo outshined him more often than the other way round. For all Curbelo's assists, I don't remember many that were kick-outs to Miller. I'm sure the staff was wanting the ball to go inside whenever possible, and with Ayo as a primary scorer, that would put Miller pretty far down the list.

Whatever his reasoning, hope he's not another Mark Smith --more productive his soph year, but not challenged enough to get where he needs to be. Regardless, I wish him nothing but the best. Really glad he played at Illinois, and he can be proud of being a starter on a BTT champ.
 
#517      
The players penalty was that they had to sit out a year. I do think the players should have some sort off penalty to serve as a deterrent even if it’s not a sit out year.

It doesn't have to be a penalty. You could offer a carrot instead of using a stick. In baseball, if you want a player for the long term, you give him a long term contract. If schools get creative and didn't have the archaic rules of the NCAA, they could easily find ways to keep players, or at least discourage mass movement.
 
#518      
Re: Those curious about Irvin relationship. Their main account for macirvinfire has been tweeting out positive stuff Re: Ayo and Miller all year. Ayo wins Cousy award...silence. Idk if it’s just timing but thought it was interesting.
 
#519      
It doesn't have to be a penalty. You could offer a carrot instead of using a stick. In baseball, if you want a player for the long term, you give him a long term contract. If schools get creative and didn't have the archaic rules of the NCAA, they could easily find ways to keep players, or at least discourage mass movement.
On carrot...no compensation makes it difficult...some players may be enticed as future grad asst, or the degree.

Not sure what a school can offer as "carrot" if player or mom is laser focused on getting what they want and they perceive the current school isn't delivering.
 
#520      
Re: Those curious about Irvin relationship. Their main account for macirvinfire has been tweeting out positive stuff Re: Ayo and Miller all year. Ayo wins Cousy award...silence. Idk if it’s just timing but thought it was interesting.
Thanks...very interesting. Wonder if the so called "Ayo hogged the tourney tickets" controversy for AM family, also impacted Irvin.
 
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#521      
I do think players should be free to transfer but coaches do have a penalty for changing teams - their buyout. The buyout is technically the responsibility of the coach but is obviously paid for by the hiring team as part of the compensation package.

The players penalty was that they had to sit out a year. I do think the players should have some sort off penalty to serve as a deterrent even if it’s not a sit out year.

The penalty for the players is once you enter the portal no scholarship anywhere is guaranteed. You are potentially ending your own career.
 
#522      
Thanks...very interesting. Wonder if the so called "Ayo hogged the tourney tickets" controversy for AM family, also impacted Irvin.
This would be very odd given that Ayo's dad is an assistant coach with Mike Irvin. Granted, I have very little understanding of the politics of that family/community (nor do I wish to) so perhaps that association means little.
 
#523      
The penalty for the players is once you enter the portal no scholarship anywhere is guaranteed. You are potentially ending your own career.
You are correct and I think you will see some P5 players moving out to lower conferences to get more playing time. This also allows mid major stars to showcase their talent at a bigger school if they were undervalued out of high school. Which really destroys part of the game but could be better for the player

Coaches have no punishment for even breaking the rules let alone moving teams. Houston’s coach (won’t say his name) had to sit out 5 years in the NBA and when he returns he is called a great coach by the media. LSU coach is mad because ESPN covered the the scandal during a game. As long as a coach wins they are great
 
#524      
He was a superstar in high school, with superstar expectations.
I saw him on one of ESPN's preseason mock drafts ahead of Ayo -- kind of sums up the expectations he probably had along with the broader basketball community. And I'm sure he looks at a guy like Cam Thomas that was ranked similarly to him and plays a similar game, and thinks perhaps another system/situation will allow him to shine like Thomas did. Can't blame him for thinking that, whether or not it seems to be the most 'wise' decision from where we're standing. I just wish he had gone about it differently. Even if he was unhappy with his role, he seemed to be the consummate team player (from the outside looking in) for the whole season and earned a lot of goodwill (among us fans) for buying in as he did, and then he lit a lot of that on fire with the way he put his name in the portal (not telling the team/coaches, release to ESPN with no note to fans/team, etc.).
 
#525      
Re: Those curious about Irvin relationship. Their main account for macirvinfire has been tweeting out positive stuff Re: Ayo and Miller all year. Ayo wins Cousy award...silence. Idk if it’s just timing but thought it was interesting.
Go back and check that account around the Loyola loss. It was far from positive stuff, particularly about Underwood.
 
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