Murf
- Chattanooga, TN
That sounds good, it really, really does.
College Hoops Coaching Carousel
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Put me in camp that Underwood is not going anywhere.
These things change very quickly as you all know … But he could very well be here next year … Wouldn’t surprise me a bit …
The domino to watch is K State … Can Del Conte convince Tang to cash in on his success and leave for Texas … K State is not going to be as good next year and it would be smart for him to cash in now and that’s the advice he’s gotten …
If K State opens … My confidence Brad is here next year drops significantly … If Tang passes on Texas again … Del Conte is running out of options and while we can all agree Brad wasn’t on his tier 1 list … You better believe he was on his tier 2 … And he clearly does not want to hire Terry … So selling to your boosters that we swung for the fences and missed but got the winningest coach in the Big Ten last 4 years … Not a hard sell … Especially considering they lost to us this year …
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Just crazy to think that the BU era could end with fewer conference championships, Final Fours and Sweet Sixteens than the Bruce Weber era. He's done a lot for this program but it would definitely feel like he left the job unfinished.
DB11Headband
- Chicago Burbs
IlliniwekKDR
- Colorado Springs, CO
If you beat 'em, join 'em.
Hang on to it... if Skyy ever makes a name for himself (you know, like in a traditionally good way...long NBA career as premier scorer and distributor, etc.), could be a collectors item.
I assume K-State would have to match what BU is making now - could/would they do that? That's a big jump from what they pay Tang, plus a substantial buyout
Devils advocate though, is Brad really willing to jump to KState, particularly with a depleted roster. He’s 59, is making top 10 money, and from the sound of it should bring back most of a pretty solid core, with CoHawk or TJ back distinct possibilities, has a top flight staff in place, good to great NIL, and attractive landing spot for transfers etc. Obviously KSU is a win from the F4, but still think the odds of winning are much higher here.
If he’d been to a couple of F4’s I could see it but I think Brad wants to win and we still give him the best opportunity to do that. Unless he’s really just done with UofI in which case not sure it matters whether it’s KSU or any other school.
If Terry gets Texas to the final four the job will be his
If - and this is a very big if - the desire to part was mutual, I would presume the buyout could be waived.
Who's taking money on NEITHER Brad or Sean coaching the Illini next year?
IlliniwekKDR
- Colorado Springs, CO
I love kayaking. It loves me back.
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
Very interesting the different perspectives coming through here from the insiders.
Barring something unexpected happening, BU is staying. But Indy dropping the SM bombs the other day was certainly unexpected...
There are a lot of dominos that may start to fall soon. Which one will be first?
Barring something unexpected happening, BU is staying. But Indy dropping the SM bombs the other day was certainly unexpected...
There are a lot of dominos that may start to fall soon. Which one will be first?
There is more to coaching than just the tournament. Turned around a program in the dustbin and has most wins in Big10 over last 4 years.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Yeah I honestly struggle to understand some of the negativity around BU, even as some who believes in and supports the highest of expectations for Illinois Basketball.
Maybe it’s a differential in terms of how much people care about the Big Ten and Big Ten titles?
Like, we gotta break our second weekend drought, for sure, but BU’s got one (and actually two) Big Ten titles in the bag plus a win of the deepest most competitive BTT maybe ever. That bought an ocean of goodwill and confidence in his ability to win big in my book.
If all you can see is Loyola I don’t think you’re viewing the whole picture, jmho.
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I agree - I do not have negativity about BU - he brought us back and won two big ten titles. I do, however, have concerns about the program. When virtually everyone involved with the program says much of the team stopped listening to him, stopped running called plays, basically stopped accepting coaching, I have concerns. Things I saw this season reminded me of things I saw the last year of the Weber era, and that scares me. Something was obviously very wrong this year, and the question is whether it can be fixed by Underwood. I genuinely hope it can be, but I honestly don't have an informed answer to that question. It seems we will see what Josh Whitman's answer to that question is in the coming days.
Agree. He's paid top 10 $, so I'd expect top 10 performance. We've gotten that one year out of 6, with top 20 2 other years. I'm happy with that performance assuming we get better tourney results. Doesn't change the fact he is richly compensated for what we has accomplished.
and he is being well compensation for that.
however, you also can't say the Tournament doesn't matter. Last time Illinois was in the Sweet Sixteen was in 2005. So if people are happy with that, I don't know what to say.
Yep, there is one dang big reason why, a 7ft 285lb Kofi. Thank goodness for that. Thats what has me concerned is can BU run a scheme without Kofi that works consistently . I haven't seen enough from BU that makes me as confident he can excel without him. Watching Millers teams look great without someone like Kofi. I am not saying BU can't do it, I think he can. I would be more confident in a few others and Miller is one of them. If KSU opened I bet he is gone but either way I hope BU improves and wins games.
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