do you want to win? Chris BeardWho is the hypothetical first call?
do you want to win? Chris BeardWho is the hypothetical first call?
Wade just signed with NC State, so I think that ships has sailed.Will Wade with a "strong a$$ed offer"
If I was Texas A&M, I would take great joy in taking Texas's old coach, Chris Beard, and beating them with him.If TAMU were to open what would be the scenarios though? Lots of name already off the market. It's an interesting job, don't know if they allocate a ton of $$ into basketball.
I don't want to win with Chris Beard. If Brad were to leave, I would like Chris Collins.do you want to win? Chris Beard
I don't want to win with Chris Beard. If Brad were to leave, I would like Chris Collins.
I see what you did thereIf I was Texas A&M, I would take great joy in taking Texas's old coach, Chris Beard, and beating them with him.
If TAMU were to open what would be the scenarios though? Lots of name already off the market. It's an interesting job, don't know if they allocate a ton of $$ into basketball.
Who is the hypothetical first call?
Will Wade with a "strong a$$ed offer"
He makes in-game adjustments, his teams play good defense, and his players stick around. He's from Illinois, but has the pedigree of Duke. He seems like a great guy, too. I might be partial to him because my Uncle was Doug Collins' high school coach, so I know Doug, and I remember Chris as a little kid. I've always thought he would be great for us, but for now, I'll stick with Brad.Username checks out … I’m just kidding …
I like Chris Collins but he’s not even on my top 10 list …
All Brad's doing. He said then "Get old and stay old" but instead went young. Then we thought that he would keep the young guys and develop a team.If someone's expectations were 20 wins and a tourney berth with a decent seed and a win or two, they would give a higher grade than C+
Which would have been the sane expectation given the player turnover and youth.
Why are we so fixated on this arbitrary measure?
Yeah but the fans don't give a hoot.They give more to hoops than you think … Taylor didn’t play for free …
Whitman poached a coach after one year on the job already. Only way to one-up that is poach a coach that only just signed with a new school.Wade just signed with NC State, so I think that ships has sailed.
How does that work? I assume you pay the full buy out ? In this case, we'd have it from Brad's clause..?I’d certainly make the call if it was me …
TexAgs is a scary place.Thinking about starting an account on TexAgs to hype of Brad to them.
We do have a system. A pretty good one on offense. A pretty bad one on defense. The variability is due to the youth and inexperience. I've posted the data a couple times, but over the last 6 years, we've been one of the most consistent programs in the country. The list of programs who have been unequivocally better than us in that time span is short.You know it's not so much what we would do. It's what the Illinois coaches should do. A long-term system.
Bielema has a system. He runs and recruits to his system. It's not perfect but it's highly competitive. It allows Illinois Football to be in almost every game. Everyone that really cares about Illinois football can realistically hope for a win every game. That's not going to happen but the hope is legit. We can feel it. His system also attracts and retains excellent assistant coaches something that is highly critical for long term success. His system retains players also important.
Underwood has done a very good job building up Illinois basketball.
But there seems to be more chaos now than an actual system. It's all over the place. Anyone not know what they're going to get when they play Michigan State or Purdue? At Illinois, not only is there variability between seasons there's variability within seasons. A continuous evolution. Not all but some of that variability is not good. This is where fans feel as if Baby Underwood and the The Hamer are running the show. Call it youthful exuberance or youthful ignorance behind the curtain. They're going to blame something because something feels off, we can feel it.
TSJ saved Underwood, IMO. TSJ was great last year. He's certainly not the first coach to find a system that clicked with a player and do very well. But had Illinois not had TSJ, it would be rough for the coaches right now. And the fans.
This year and the team two years ago (sans Final 8 year), I had no hope of Illinois basketball pulling any upset in post season. None. Honestly, I was surprised Illinois beat Xavier. Illinois looked solid that game and it was nice to see. Then, they fell apart,.....again.
The 2025-2026 season, TBD. I will remain calm and keep my patience but I'm somewhat skeptical of how it plays out. There isn't a good system in place....maybe.
Folks who honestly think extreme minority opinions on a message board will drive the decision making of Division I athletic directors is... something
Take the buyout money and make Beard/Golden a 7.5 million/year offer.Chris Beard, Todd Golden, Grant McCasland …
And it really shouldn’t get beyond the first guy …
UnderstoodLol I apologize then
This weekend's portal news has me feeling rather incredulous![]()