Big Jack
- Decatur
He already has a room booked for the secret Boswell meeting..
Coaching Carousel (Basketball)
- Status
Too bad.
His 27 year old kid was the prime architect of the #2 offense in the country.
I hate that May keeps hiring great staff at Michigan. I also think he caught lightning in a bottle, but the guy could coach a sub par team to a final four. The fact that he’s out there getting stone cold killers for recruiting staff is giving me anxiety. I can’t have Michigan be good. I just can’t.
Wayne McClain didn’t need analytics to know when it was raining.
socalini
- So Cali
I feel like Tyler has a really solid basketball mind, is young enough that he can relate to the players really well & can be a great sounding board for his dad. He also probably knows how to approach BU with viewpoints he might otherwise be resistant to. It seems like kind of an ideal situation for both of them.
And I am not Tyler.
Oh, and let's also get LaTulip involved somehow.
Buehler....Buehler....anyone
Don’t you think you would’ve heard by now if they had…
Yep. Watch the games. Tyler and Brad talk constantly.
If you think of reasons a guy like Brad, after 30 years in the business, might stick around and keep coaching a few more years while dealing with the rapidly changing landscape, mentoring and talking ball with your son has to be toward the top of the list. It has to be, like, the coolest thing ever. (Other than earning in the high 7 figures to obsess about basketball.)
I guess...just surprised that no one did
2 years can make a whole lot of difference in this world
IlliniwekKDR
- Colorado Springs, CO
Pretty decent pitcher
At the end of it all a very impressive season by BU. He exceeded my expectations in constructing last years roster, and he got that tourney monkey off his back. I truly see the potential for him to be this programs best coach… ever.
He needs to be honest with himself this off-season to keep this program from plateauing. There are some obvious collective weaknesses in this staff. We all saw it this year and it wasn’t just “grit” and “bite”.
@Indy Illini Fan how important was Kyle Neptune to Jay Wright’s success? Any insight?
Jay Wright went to his first sweet 16 in year 5, then Final Four year 8. Then he loses Pat Chambers in the off-season that follows when he takes the PSU gig. Then the wheels fell off for the next 4 years and they go .500 in BigEast over that span including a 5-13 year before hiring Kyle Neptune. The following 9 years with Neptune included 7 BigEast Championships, and 2 runner-ups, 3 Final Fours and 2 Championships.
Our staff might be good, or even great, but we need that missing piece.
He needs to be honest with himself this off-season to keep this program from plateauing. There are some obvious collective weaknesses in this staff. We all saw it this year and it wasn’t just “grit” and “bite”.
@Indy Illini Fan how important was Kyle Neptune to Jay Wright’s success? Any insight?
Jay Wright went to his first sweet 16 in year 5, then Final Four year 8. Then he loses Pat Chambers in the off-season that follows when he takes the PSU gig. Then the wheels fell off for the next 4 years and they go .500 in BigEast over that span including a 5-13 year before hiring Kyle Neptune. The following 9 years with Neptune included 7 BigEast Championships, and 2 runner-ups, 3 Final Fours and 2 Championships.
Our staff might be good, or even great, but we need that missing piece.
5-13?!
I sure didn’t recollect that. Man. Ouch.OrangeBlue98
- Des Moines, IA
I'm the first person to not advocate for nepotism. But if Tyler Underwood was the primary architect of this year's offense, then I would say his name could be John Smith and we would still be saying the same thing about him.
I know it's been said a lot, but this staff really needs a top-notch defensive coordinator. That's the missing piece that takes this staff from really good to elite. Maybe Chester Frazier taking over more the defensive responsibilities late in the season was what we needed to see. But I don't think it's a stretch to say there were some definite issues with scheme during large parts of this season when Illinois' defense struggled.
Plus, while I never want to see a full staff turnover like we saw a few years ago, I'm not against having one assistant coach turn over every 1-2 years. It's a competitive landscape, and having fresh eyes and perspectives is not a bad thing for a program. It's also Division 1 basketball - not some small high school where results may not be as important. These jobs are in high demand and expect high results. If there's an assistant coach who isn't meeting expectations, then I'm fine with being pretty ruthless about moving on - particularly if you know you can get someone better. I understand you're talking about people and families, but at the end of the day results matter. Yes, you want to do everything possible to help that person move on and land on their feet - it's a small fraternity, and I wouldn't expect Underwood to just throw someone's personal belongings on the sidewalk and say "good luck". But, sometimes you have to make a move to make the program better.
I'm no savant, but the main problem seemed to be Coleman's inability to guard the better fives, and staff's decision not to double in order to not leave open shooters. Wolf or Reynaud would go a long way toward fixing that if Coleman was to return.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Wolf or Reynaud are both threats to shoot which is nice. I don't know how much stronger they are in single coverage in the post against brawny bigs though.
You get a big Dainja type in there who can wall off the post and that's great on D, but it limits what you can do offensively, doubly so if you have another non-shooter like Rodgers out there.
Tradeoffs all over the place.
I firmly believe we don't lose the Penn State game if we have Wayne McClain drawing up plays at the end.
Serious question, how many bigs were efficient against us this year? Not as many as you might think.
Illinicpa14
- Chicago
And if we didn’t run into Clingan who is on a collision course with Edey, we wouldn’t be talking about it nearly as much.
Come on, man! I love Coleman to death and he gave his heart and soul on the defensive end, but you can’t seriously make the case that we weren’t vulnerable in the paint this past season. Whether it was bigs like Edey, Clingan, Reese, Kauffman-Renn and Malik Hall just to name a few, at-the-rim defense was our Achilles heel. If the bigs didn’t get us, the wings would switch until they got a favorable matchup. Dan Hurley himself said that in scouting Illinois and especially our losses, the obvious weakness was interior defense.
- Status