If Underwood was coaching in Henson’s era, I think we would have seen players grabbing some pine too. A lot has changed in college basketball since then. Henson didn’t have to deal with the no sit transfer rule let alone NIL. How many guys transferred out of Illinois under Henson? Don’t recall any Illini players basically transferring in mid-season — and, sadly, that isn’t all that uncommon these days. I liked Lou, but to compare coaching in the two eras isn’t anywhere near apples to apples.
College Hoops Coaching Carousel
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The agent works for him. You don’t think Brad is directing his agent?
I agree with you to some point but Tom Izzo is an old school type of coach and benches guys quickly. He has been the most successful B10 coach over the last 20 years with am old school style unlike most now days. I do agree it is certainly different but there are coaches that use the bench as a motivator. They may not as quickly but when yelling doesn't work and young men won't follow directions you must do something. If coaches don't then who is running things? The coach or the players?
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Maybe Indy isn’t Josh Whitman.
Maybe Indy is Sean Miller’s agent.
Maybe Indy is Sean Miller’s agent.
This is too weird for a Wednesday.
Of course he is.
Agree. If he's actively looking to bail, that's a completely different scenario than a recruiter (in our world) calling and saying...I may have an opportunity that might interest you. I can't imagine Brad calling about a job that is currently filled and undermine another coach like that. I think that he's got more class than that UNLESS he feels heat. Look at our fans. Look at the scrutiny. People threw out the name Sean Miller and the thread went almost 50 pages with complete disregard for what BU's accomplished at the University. They saw a new name, erased his past, are ignoring the fact that he's been at Xavier for not even a year and BU got thrown under the bus. It was that quick and it was based 100% on rumor.
This is an an industry that absolutely nobody on this board can relate to. It's turned into a next best thing amongst the players, which requires each and every coach to reevaluate each and every year.
As fans, we want things both ways. We talk about the hot seat flippantly. If he wins, he's good, of he doesn't ...dump him. It's easy for us because it's not us. If it were your job and you hears whispers that you have a great year or else....my guess is that you wouldn't ignore that until March of 2024. Just a guess.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Fun like sticking a fork in your eye fun?
Disagree, an Agent serves on behalf of their Client. An Agent can't just go rogue and start doing things their Client doesn't want or direct them to do. If that's the case, Underwood would fire his agent and get a new one that acts in accordance with his wishes.
From what was alluded to last year and from Coleman’s comments after the Arkansas game, it was pretty clear that Skyy was told he would start and play a significant role in the offense. It would have been very hard to get any qualify transfer PG with a guaranteed backup role, playing 10 minutes a game (believe 0440 kept making this point last offseason)
I think the rankings coaches methodology here is just too simplistic. Coaches make bets, especially in recruiting, all the time. To then conflate that with on-court performance (especially relative to previous years) is just not a good way to measure skill or performance. Painter, for instance, went from 29-6 (14-4) in 2010 to 15-17 (5-13) in 2014. Did he get worse as a coach? Not likely, but a series of events led to those terrible seasons in the middle.
I think the question you ask yourself now is, “do you believe that a Brad Underwood team is going to be consistently top half of the league, and usually top 4?” My answer to that is squarely yes, even with whatever that offense was last season.
I'm sure he is, but why is that wrong? I'm trying to see where it's wrong to keep your head up and eyes open, especially in today's college sports landscape. I don't see where the issue is with CYA. As fans, we treat this as a fantasy sports league. Plug and play. As humans, with family, with a career and a volatile one at that...I see absolutely nothing wrong with a yearly evaluation. These guys are people, just like us. I think that we forget that.
sacraig
- The desert
It's always good to know your worth. But of course there's a certain amount of tact required to do it without burning bridges.
Illin618
I forgot the last i in my username
- Southern IL
More like ‘sticking a toothpick under your toenail then kicking a wall’ type of fun
Maybe he can be in the top half or 4 usually. For me the answer is certainly not "squarely yes". Especially with the addition on USC and UCLA. I have not seen enough from BU without Kofi to be very confident. BU is certainly likeable, can evaluate, and recruit very well. I hope your are correct in your evaluation of Coach. He certainly did well with Kofi around. This past season and how things were managed I am not as confident as you are. The B10 is good and getting a lot better. I hope you are correct Tex. However, more importantly I hope JW is.
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I don’t think it’s wrong, but some act like it’s out of Brad’s hands.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
This.
An agent is always fielding calls. It's their job. (It's also how we got Brad from OSU with him only being there a year, so the fact that he's entertaining calls shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.)
However, I'd have to imagine how aggressive said agent is does depend on how aggressive his client would like him to be. It's starting to feel like Brad's being too aggressive year in and year out.
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
Matthew McConaughey as their next coach? I mean, I saw that he coached Marshall, but that was for football. Basketball coach would be a stretch, despite his diverse talents.I spoke with an influential Texas booster this morning. I can't tell you his name but I asked him if he knew about the upcoming hire of Underwood. He said that Del Conte informed him about 10 days ago. I asked what his reaction was when he was told. He said "Alright, alright, alright".
I agree with you. There are a number of coaches that pull players after bone head plays. In addition to Izzo, Cronin, Huggins, and Self all will make a player sit for a TO, bad defense, bad shots, etc. I consider all these coaches to be "elite" coaches. Brad seemed to be hesitant and gave players a longer rope.
Agree. And while it may not be “wrong” it could be risky and have consequences.
Sure, go ahead, angle for more money or whatever. But after the raises he’s been given, which make him a top ten paid coach in the NCAA, maybe right now isn’t the best time to be looking around if you want to remain in the highest graces of his current employer.
Think you misunderstood my point, which looking back, I did word it kind of ambiguously. What I meant was there is a difference between taking a call and making a call.
I agree with you, BU and his agent should be viewed as the same entity in this type of situation. Other than maybe BU's wife, there is probably no one who knows his career goals and motivations better than his agent.
I believe Louisville used a 2:1 recruit to dancer ratio. But they also have to look to future year recruiting as well.Rick Pitino on making St. John's relevant again
Jay Bilas calls St. John's under Rick Pitino 'an immediate player' as Red Storm hire Hall of Fame coach — 247Sports
Before St. John's introduced Rick Pitino as the Red Storm's new head men's basketball coach Tuesday, Jay Bilas joined members of the college basketball media who approved the hire Monday. Bilas explained on SportsCenter.apple.news
"We'll probably have to bring in six to eight players from this basketball team and that's going to take a lot of work."
I wonder how many strippers they'll bring in?
So, a lot?
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
It seems we didn't have a second option because the assumption was Skyy was a special talent to contribute as we needed from a PG for 25+ minutes per game. As it turns out he was not, and we saw what happened. Things don't always turn out as planned.
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