Considering the program is 0-8 in NCAA Tournament games, and only made 2 tournament fields since 1998, Hoiberg has Nebraska basketball firing on all cylinders.
Coaching Carousel (Basketball)
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Are we actually paying Tyler Underwood?
Andy kpedi
On a zoom call with Quincy Guerrier … Lol …
Crazy how many times we recruited that kid and finally got him …
BillyBob1
- Champaign
Wrong way!
“Brad can’t develop players” but also “Brad’s success has basically been carry jobs by Ayo, Kofi, TSJ”
logic defying narratives abound here
logic defying narratives abound here
Tom Michael
Side note: years ago our season tickets were right by him so it was cool to see him at games when we would go
Wrong Way Cleotis... (edit) BillyBob1 beat me to it!
splitter
- and not Nebraska
An announcement that Hamer and Tyler are staying and it's Orlando and Geoff that are being replaced.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
And not trying to hate on any Illini team that was halfway decent, but let's not act like that team came anywhere close to the expectations we have at this program, especially considering how they started. On January 1, we were ranked #12 in the country, we were sitting at 13-1, we had a great win at #10 Gonzaga and our only loss was vs. #12 Mizzou in Braggin' Rights. We then started off 2-7 in Big Ten play, including some truly disappointing losses, namely a 14-point loss at home vs. Northwestern. Our upset of #1 Indiana did kickstart a bit of a turnaround to get back to 7-7 in Big Ten play, but we were never above .500 in-conference all year, and we ended the regular season losing 3 out of 4.
Again, not trying to be a hater ... but I think that team is remembered more fondly than one might expect for two main reasons:
1. A thrilling upset of #1 Indiana that is one of the most memorable results in Champaign in program history.
2. A VERY bad call going against us in our Second Round game vs. Miami leading to an eventual rule change that very well could have propelled us to a Sweet Sixteen trip if it had been in place.
However, given how 2012 went with Weber's last year and how bad the proceeding Groce years went, the 2013 squad will always indeed hold a bit of a special place in my heart.
Is that Busta's boy?
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Leron Black, JCL, Aaron Jordan, there were a few more.
A better coach would have done a lot more with the players Groce had.
I will always say that Weber did not really recruit as poorly as people thought. He just had a hard time getting guys to buy in. He had soft teams and guys who wouldn't listen. He had behavioral problems and a general lack of respect. Eye rolling on the bench but he didn't recruit bad. He missed out on the big fish and had a load of guys that didn't work out the way they were supposed to. Whether that was due to coaching or not, I don't know.
DJ Richardson, Brandon Paul, Tyler Griffey and Joseph Bertrand were all in the same class and that was a Top 10 recruiting class.
In another class, he got Myke Henry, Mike Shaw, Egwu and Tracy Abrams. Another highly ranked class. Henry and Shaw didn't work out but all those guys were Top 100 recruits.
Another class of Myers Leonard, Crandall Head and Jereme Richmond. 2 of those guys didn't work out but were rated highly.
Demetri McCamey, Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis all came in the same class. That wasn't a highly rated class- McCamey was the only Top 100 guy but they were all contributors for sure.
The knock was really that he never got the most highly rated guy or the major recruits in Illinois other than Richmond. They went to Kansas, Duke, Indiana, Ohio State instead.
There were some stinker classes along the way too I admit. Weber seemed to get worse at recruitng
By the end, yes, recruiting was awful. That class of Jalen James and Michael Orris was not going to cut it. But on the whole, Weber got some guys. They just didn't win much.
No better place to put this -
Hoosiers and Washington Sentinels coach, former Danville resident, and one time University of Illinois student, Gene Hackman stepped off the ultimate coaching carousel. RIP to a legend.
Hoosiers and Washington Sentinels coach, former Danville resident, and one time University of Illinois student, Gene Hackman stepped off the ultimate coaching carousel. RIP to a legend.
Yeah, their standards are quite a bit lower than Illini nation. And, they'll always be a football state in their hearts.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
In hiring and empowering Jerrance Howard on the recruiting front Weber made a concession to the demands of the Illinois job that he ultimately wasn't willing or able to see through because he couldn't or wouldn't work with those players. He needed talent to survive so he got outside help for talent, no one was vetting the fit. Snacks and his guys were like an alien outside force within Bruce's program, the two never gelled.
Weber's strengths and weaknesses are different than Groce's, but the two have in common that their flaws are destined to be exposed at the top level where the lights are brightest, the competition is stiffest and the egos are the hardest to manage.
Inheriting a veteran group of talented players with a strong internal culture and an understanding of how to play put Weber in a position to just sort of act as a tinkering substitute teacher offering suggestions and refining things, right in his wheelhouse and it showed at Illinois and KSU. When he had to be the one to create the culture and develop the culture, he could only do it with the kinds of low-expectations grinders that would never threaten the top echelons of major conference basketball.
splitter
- and not Nebraska
His walk-on son took away playing time keeping Mark Smith from developing. /S
Trent and DaMonte weren't harmed.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I try to watch Hoosiers at the start of every basketball season. That scene before they take the floor before the state title game gets me every single time.
Then my second favorite role was his sub commander opposite Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide. He absolutely brought it in that role. Two completely different roles that he felt like he was born to play. Absolute legend.
Big Jack
- Decatur
Couldn't remember exactly.. I went to hs with his dad and had a family friend who was an assistant with him when they started at DC. He has paid his dues.
what are they saying?
Big Jack
- Decatur
Ok no fair naming people who actually contributed!
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