College Hoops Coaching Carousel

Status
Not open for further replies.
#326      
SeattleSlim
Roundball Sage said:
People who haven’t lived in other regions of the Country don’t have a way of understanding what the prevailing vibe of a State or region is... but all regions in our Nation have them. It’s something you have to personally feel and experience to know.

Texans have a cultural legacy of pride that is difficult for those outside of Texas to understand. Going back in time... Texas was a full-on country itself. Self-governing and supremely confident. It got... ‘assimilated’ shall we say in a way that long timers still are not happy about.

But this points to the fact that there is a State and cultural pride in Texas of being a unique place with a special history that translates itself into things like the State University. For some that morphs into an arrogance that is never all that attractive. But the ‘confidence’ and the expectations that Texans have about succeeding is real and pervasive. And sometimes, refreshing.

The State Illinois has a bit of an inferiority complex. This feeling even shows up sometimes in these pages. Not that Illinois does not have a pride and great history of its own because it does. But Texas is just supremely confident about things and Illinois sometimes struggles to feel good about itself.

You have to dream big to achieve big. Whether in Texas or Illinois... this is where is all begins. And very often the results you get are what you were expecting.

Not everyone in Texas is a UT fan. In fact, large parts of the State have no use for it. But the Panhandle loves Tech and East Texas loves A & M and the Waco area loves Baylor and so on. And one thing that people will love is when Texas and A & M are back together in a conference. That is one special rivalry.

They all love competing against each other. But in the end... they are all TEXANS.
Click to expand...
My Alaska friends occasionally kid that from time to time their state government entertains the possibility of splitting the state in half … for the sole purpose of making Texas the third largest state.
 
#327      
SeattleSlim
Illini92and96 said:
We paid taxes of about 2.3% of market value of the house when we moved back from Seattle in 2019. For comparison, Seattle was about 0.9% of market value when we left. Our Austin house has doubled in value since then, so we will have 10% valuation/property tax increases (the max allowed) for the foreseeable future until the value we bought it at catches up to the market. Car registrations are cheap at $80. Sales tax is 8%. Austin has gone from reasonable to rather expensive. Our $/sf is now the same as our comparable neighborhood in Seattle. Daddy Brad would be spending multiples of whatever he has now.
Click to expand...
Are you enjoying those water and mountain views in Austin? … oh, wait!
 
#328      
IllinistrandedinHouston
bdutts said:
I'm gonna say, Kelvin Sampson to Texas, BU to Houston. This could come true especially if Houston makes it to the Final Four. They'd have to be the favorite since it's in Houston.

EDIT: Or someone else to Houston and BU backfills that position.

EDIT 2: I am NOT an insider. I'm an outsider!
Click to expand...
I am in Houston and also an Alum of Houston. Why would a final four team like Houston take BU as their coach. They can have their pick of the great up and commers. BU has six years to prove himself, and he still needs to develop a reputation of getting past the first round consistently. I want BU to stay at Illinois, which I think will happen, for his reputation in the dance still is not proven.
 
#329      
AutoPoster 3000
illini0440 said:
ADs, agents and other coaches have heard a lot about it
Click to expand...
This is why I’d be a terrible athletic director. I’d care a lot less about my coach poking around at other jobs than I would my coach allowing himself to be seen by people outside the program poking around at other jobs. The former is business. The latter is a personal betrayal.
 
#330      
Thaillini22
ChiefGritty said:
The video makes the point in a fuller, more subtle way than the text of the tweet itself, worth a listen.

I think the best way to think about where college basketball stands on March 22, 2023 is not so much a new reality we've arrived at that we can carefully weigh and analyze, but a landscape where change is still actively occurring in a rapid and unpredictable fashion. It's not exactly clear where we're going to be or what the most important things are going to be in five years. No NIL collective at any school is *today* what will be needed to compete in 2030, we don't even know what that looks like yet. Not an easy time to be a coach or AD. But chaos is a ladder.
Click to expand...
Honest question... Is this possible now, or might it be next year, or in 2030: I win powerball, put $131 million into the Illini collective, we pay $10 million to each of the top five HS recruits over 2-3 consecutive years, we win a natty, and then all the players leave.

If possible -- and let's just say it is possible bc no other school has such a benefactor -- how would that make Illini Nation feel?
 
#333      
Second place is 1st loser
Illiniam1984 said:
I agree. They only won one regular season B1G championship, one B1G tourney championship and like two NCAA tourney games the last 6 years he has been the coach. That’s not great at all and not that acceptable. Next year is very important. If we don’t make some noise in the big dance, it’s time for a new direction.
Click to expand...
Does Illinois not have the best record in the Big Ten over the last four years? The best road record? How many top 10 wins? You've already brought up one Big Ten regular season championship and if Kevin Warren called things evenly, it would have been two and you've also brought up the tournament championship.

Do you remember where this program was before he took over? We were thrilled if we were on the bubble and we were dead last in the conference. Now, people are pissed with a 20 win season and a #9 seed. The fact that he's turned expectations this far in only 6 years is damn near a miracle.

Your comment which throws him under the bus because you're already looking for them to go in a different direction is EXACTLY why he should be looking to move now or at least consider it. The short memories here are astounding.
 
#337      
Illini92and96
SeattleSlim said:
Are you enjoying those water and mountain views in Austin? … oh, wait!
Click to expand...
1679535011619.jpeg
Do hills count Slim? My Austin view sure beats my former Sammamish view. Seattle is breathtaking though, when you can see it through the drizzle :) . Seattle has some very appealing aspects, so does Austin.
 
#339      
Bigtex
Second place is 1st loser said:
Does Illinois not have the best record in the Big Ten over the last four years? The best road record? How many top 10 wins? You've already brought up one Big Ten regular season championship and if Kevin Warren called things evenly, it would have been two and you've also brought up the tournament championship.

Do you remember where this program was before he took over? We were thrilled if we were on the bubble and we were dead last in the conference. Now, people are pissed with a 20 win season and a #9 seed. The fact that he's turned expectations this far in only 6 years is damn near a miracle.

Your comment which throws him under the bus because you're already looking for them to go in a different direction is EXACTLY why he should be looking to move now or at least consider it. The short memories here are astounding.
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t say most are pissed

While young with the early season success, many (including myself) believed that the team would grow and adjust through out the season. This team was making stupid turnovers in December and march. Having lost 2 to Penn st most felt with a week to prepare Illinois would beat penn st.
 
#340      
MustangWally
Brad is 59 years old. He's been a head coach for, what, 10 years? He's 3-5 in the tournament. Logically, Illinois is the best job he could possibly ask for at this point. Unless he has a real hankering to go home to Kansas State or has an inflated sense of his self worth.
 
#342      
Captain 14
Second place is 1st loser said:
Does Illinois not have the best record in the Big Ten over the last four years? The best road record? How many top 10 wins? You've already brought up one Big Ten regular season championship and if Kevin Warren called things evenly, it would have been two and you've also brought up the tournament championship.

Do you remember where this program was before he took over? We were thrilled if we were on the bubble and we were dead last in the conference. Now, people are pissed with a 20 win season and a #9 seed. The fact that he's turned expectations this far in only 6 years is damn near a miracle.

Your comment which throws him under the bus because you're already looking for them to go in a different direction is EXACTLY why he should be looking to move now or at least consider it. The short memories here are astounding.
Click to expand...
Please direct your attention to pages 94 and 95 at the end of the basketball thread and take a trip in the rock & roll time machine. Makes you feel wonderful about where the program has come from.
 
#343      
SeattleSlim
Illini92and96 said:
View attachment 24407
Do hills count Slim? My Austin view sure beats my former Sammamish view. Seattle is breathtaking though, when you can see it through the drizzle :) . Seattle has some very appealing aspects, so does Austin.
Click to expand...

Familiar with the hill country and, no, they don’t count. Pools don’t, either 😉

Sammamish, eh? I’m a bit west of there sitting on the north end of an island with a 270-degree view of a nice big lake, two city skylines, and two mountain ranges. As for the drizzle, I’ll take that all winter long in exchange for summers that can’t be beat 😊

Austin’s OK, but I prefer here. It‘s home … and that’s what counts.
 
Last edited:
#344      
Illini92and96
Roundball Sage said:
People around Dallas Metroplex come from all over the World these days. Big inflow of population. So we have to eliminate a certain percentage of the population from the 'Texas First' idea. They don't have that kind of identification yet. This metric can also be applied to the Austin area as the same social movement trend is at play. We don't know where the loyalties of this group are... both 'World Class' cities with folks from everywhere.

But for the Native Texans (or the long time residents who now feel Texas is 'home') most probably do feel like Texans first and everything else second. There is a GREAT DEAL of small town Texas community pride (and also in-State rivalry) as such programs as 'Friday Night Lights' so accurately represented and portrayed. But try to take away the fundamental 'I'M A TEXAN' identity from any of these people and one is asking for holy hell. As it should be for any proud people.

Chicago has always been sort of an outlier when it comes to the State of Illinois. There is Chicagoland... and then there is the rest of Illinois. Anyone Downstate can tell you that. What they both share is that sense of sometimes inferiority that leaks out in ways most Illinoians aren't usually aware of.

Many coaches are undoubtedly aware of this feeling. This may or may not have any bearing on what they personally do in their career (as the paycheck is usually determinative). But fighting this kind of feeling just adds a layer of difficulty to coaching because that kind of thinking has no place in a field where confidence is essential to success.

But this might affect where young talent goes. There is no such feeling of inferiority in Kansas or Duke or Kentucky and such places. And that appeals to guys who want to succeed and do it FAST. The Legacy Shiny Nameplate programs.
Click to expand...
The Texas thing rubs off on you very quickly *if* you relate to the mindset and vibe, and I imagine it would be no different for coaches and recruits. We had 4 couples move from our subdivision outside Seattle during covid - 2 to Dallas and 2 to Austin. Only one of them was from the south. They quickly set up a "God Bless Texas" group chat on Signal and they have totally bought into country music, bbque, going to the rodeo, etc. We talk about high school football even though we never did in Washington. Non-Texans can feel it is "home" very quickly. I never saw that in Illinois or Washington because there was not that same state pride that rubs off on you.

I hope Underwood stays, but I could also see him falling to the allure of Austin/Texas and what it has to offer that Champaign does not. That would be if the opportunity were available to him, and sounds like it is not. Also not commenting on the AD (Josh rules) or dealing with the crazy UT boosters.

Y'all look me up if in Austin and we'll go bbque hopping!
 
#349      
Yes33
Second place is 1st loser said:
Does Illinois not have the best record in the Big Ten over the last four years? The best road record? How many top 10 wins? You've already brought up one Big Ten regular season championship and if Kevin Warren called things evenly, it would have been two and you've also brought up the tournament championship.

Do you remember where this program was before he took over? We were thrilled if we were on the bubble and we were dead last in the conference. Now, people are pissed with a 20 win season and a #9 seed. The fact that he's turned expectations this far in only 6 years is damn near a miracle.

Your comment which throws him under the bus because you're already looking for them to go in a different direction is EXACTLY why he should be looking to move now or at least consider it. The short memories here are astounding.
Click to expand...

Thanks to Brad for what he has done to rebuild our program, but bottom line is he is looking and would consider a jump. Questions to consider individually and collectively:
-is it probable that a coach who puts out serious feelers is going to jump sooner or later? One foot in, one foot out is not a long term commitment.
-has Brad taken us as far as he can?
-does Josh believe Brad is locked in and committed to our program? Does Josh TRUST Brad moving forward?
-IF you have a candidate with Sean Miller background, who wants to be here, in light of the questions above how do you pass him up when you could get stuck with another John Groce if Brad bolts for the door later.

IMO, if Sean Miller is a serious option, we make the move. We will be far better off long term. If not, we play the waiting game with Brad and let the chips fall where they may.
 
#350      
Illin618
Heisenbobble said:
I mean, it's been all over Twitter and other forums. Hell, even Jeremy Werner and others have devoted podcast time to discuss the rumors.
Click to expand...
No, I get that totally. Lol I just had heard anything directly typed or spoken to me. Wasn’t worth the speculative debating last night.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back