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<blockquote data-quote="coryfor3" data-source="post: 1306258" data-attributes="member: 17609"><p>I don't think it makes much difference. No one really speaks for everyone and there is really no "winning over Chicago." Any hire will be popular with some and not with others. It's a new world compared to the time when Jimmy Collins was the guy that everyone liked and there was a solid Chicago connection. Now there is an internet, texting, expanded AAU and high school travel and more money in the basketball world at stake. There have been huge changes that just make the world a smaller place for kids. We could hire every assistant and a head coach from Chicago and still not be able to pick and choose from Chicago talent. We would still lose talent to Duke and Kansas or Kentucky or Louisville sometimes or even most of the time. Illinois is not walking up to a recruit as the "big boy" in the room. There is no awe for most of the kids at this point- they've been thrown into the fire and treated like celebrities in many cases. They understand that the whole world is available to them and they can choose anywhere. The recruiting game is completely different from the 80's or 90's even. Hiring an assistant that knows Chicago is important practically for the staff and important symbolically in many ways too. But the actual tangible impact on recruits is more limited than some people seem to want to make it. We needed a Chicago guy- we got one. Done.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="coryfor3, post: 1306258, member: 17609"] I don't think it makes much difference. No one really speaks for everyone and there is really no "winning over Chicago." Any hire will be popular with some and not with others. It's a new world compared to the time when Jimmy Collins was the guy that everyone liked and there was a solid Chicago connection. Now there is an internet, texting, expanded AAU and high school travel and more money in the basketball world at stake. There have been huge changes that just make the world a smaller place for kids. We could hire every assistant and a head coach from Chicago and still not be able to pick and choose from Chicago talent. We would still lose talent to Duke and Kansas or Kentucky or Louisville sometimes or even most of the time. Illinois is not walking up to a recruit as the "big boy" in the room. There is no awe for most of the kids at this point- they've been thrown into the fire and treated like celebrities in many cases. They understand that the whole world is available to them and they can choose anywhere. The recruiting game is completely different from the 80's or 90's even. Hiring an assistant that knows Chicago is important practically for the staff and important symbolically in many ways too. But the actual tangible impact on recruits is more limited than some people seem to want to make it. We needed a Chicago guy- we got one. Done. [/QUOTE]
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