Try Jimmy Collins, lead recruiter and assistant coach for 13 years.
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Jimmy Collins has entered the chat
DICKnaggie
- Champaign
Hi. I've gotten older and have forgotten how to spell my name. Sorry
Pretty cocky for a team that finished below .500 and probably will be bad again this year.
I am excited to see who Brad brings in as assistants. He hired OA and Chin, he will do it again. The team is loaded this upcoming season. So we are set for 21-22. Kentucky cannot say that.
Assuming none of our guys now jumps
Weeeelllll
And apparently that ‘didn’t take over’ had some blowback in the CPL and AAU.
So is it official??
sacraig
- The desert
So is it official??
Good. I was tired of typing "if" so much. #silverlining
Unfortunately, this snot-nosed kid isn’t old enough to know/experience Illinois’ hoop history. All he has ever experienced before this past year was mediocrity.
I heard Miles punched JW and gave him a black eye when OA left.
So is it official??
Chin: So how much did you offer Orlando??? I like the sounds of that.
If so, he's joined from the Great Beyond. Jimmy passed away in December. RIP Jimmy.
Tony Yates got my attention when he helped Clean Gene Bartow beat UCLA for Audie Matthews. I was happy that Lou Henson retained Yates when Bartow left.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
Antigua leaving I get. It REALLY sucks, but I get it.
Really freaking hoping we can keep Chin. Give him the big pay day, get a good replacement for Antigua, and move on.
Really freaking hoping we can keep Chin. Give him the big pay day, get a good replacement for Antigua, and move on.
illininutt
- Tinley Park
I'm more worried about what the players/new recruits both high school and transfers. Do they pick Illinois because of BU/OA or Chin? Do they come because it's Illinois and we are/were top 5/10? If "their guy" leaves do they want to also leave? We need to get guys in place soon so all the players will know where Illinois is headed.
I would bet MSU was not happy losing Fife to Indiana.
TwoElevenEastDaniel
- Cochrane's-Orchid-Tonic
So I wrote for the DI. It wasn't 30 years ago, more like 20. But bluntly, your memory persisted at least through my era besides the Greek part. The DI had a strong anti-Greek slant when I was there.
(I am black, from the south side of the city of Chicago, was in a fraternity, didn't apply to any ivies but got rejected by Medill, and had an LAS major. I was out of place.)
I agree. The team is loaded with talent, coming off a very good year. This is not Underwood's first rodeo. He has been a winner everywhere he has been. I am excited to see who he brings in as recruiters. It will be interesting to see if they improve on the recruiting.
So for all the hand-wringing about losing OA and suggesting he is the reason we have all of our latin players, you probably are right, he is probably the main reason we got all of those specific players, but I feel there is reason to believe we would have gotten other comparable players with a different coach; for example, I'm sure Oregon has comparably rated players that Mennenga brought in. Kentucky had higher rated players that their assistants brought in. These teams weren't doomed because they didn't bring in Belo, Melendez, Feliz, etc.
If we get good assistants, have good coaching, and have a little luck in recruiting, we'll be just fine.
If we get good assistants, have good coaching, and have a little luck in recruiting, we'll be just fine.
For us die hards, I think you have to swap the fan base, not the coaches or the record, if you want to end the constant worrying.
But I also believe 95% of people who would call themselves Illini hoops fans couldn’t name an assistant coach.
Right. I’m certainly bummed to lose on Coach O and possibly Chin and their recruiting was great, but they also weren’t pulling in 5 star kids. We’ve been getting a stable of Top 100ish type kids, complemented by a few top 50s (Belo, Kofi, Melendez?), and the occasional top 30/borderline 5 stars (Ayo/Miller). I actually think that’s best CBB formula these days ala Nova or Baylor.
That level of recruiting is certainly replicable. Whoever we bring in may use different sources (ie, unlikely our Puerto Rican pipeline continues) but should be able to pull in top 100/occasional top 50 talent. I think we will be okay.
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