Illinois 68, Alabama A&M 47 Postgame

I can’t speak from military experience, though I personally do agree with the ‘tough love’ and show-some-emotion approach. However I am also 55 years old and increasingly feel like a fossil from another era.

I can speak from a business perspective however. And I will say that the current generation of younger employees does not respond at all to the above. Our company and industry bends over backward to accommodate, include, etc., every possible whim in order to attract and retain the best staff.

Your mileage may vary, but this what I see every day.

pruman91 said:

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This is how i feel when someone brings up BU's ranting's........if the team was doing what they should be doing then BU would be like ....................

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Wow man ..............Illini Karma .....................catch it...............shoot it ......................score it........................rinse..........repeat..................

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The path to a Natty is froth with many hindrances .........BU's ranting is NOT a hindrance , but a blessing of future advances for the common Illini good....

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Couldn't possibly agree more.

Battle89 said:

I can’t speak from military experience, though I personally do agree with the ‘tough love’ and show-some-emotion approach. However I am also 55 years old and increasingly feel like a fossil from another era.

I can speak from a business perspective however. And I will say that the current generation of younger employees does not respond at all to the above. Our company and industry bends over backward to accommodate, include, etc., every possible whim in order to attract and retain the best staff.

Your mileage may vary, but this what I see every day.

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I'm a couple years younger at 50, but agree 100%.

And from a business perspective, young people absolutely do not respond to the tough love approach, and will leave the organization and/or report people to HR for anything resembling it. I have witnessed it many times, and many of those maybe 10 years older than me are unable to adjust and cannot fathom this.

It is a entirely different world today, my good friend is higher up at JP Morgan and I am consistently shocked at how far they go because of this, finance used to be brutal, that sure has changed.

Hopefully it makes for a better work environment for my kids, looking back I've had some horrendous managers that made life not very fun.

I do think BU needs to take some accountability as well- he’s been open about deploying the “5 out” offense where everything is one on one quite often this year then he’s not happy when we’re not running an offense- he needs to install some offensive concepts that do allow sharing the ball and getting guys open looks - that would help our offensive flow significantly

I’m surprised MM mentioned players laughing in the huddle during an underwhelming performance. WTF?

Also this World Cup final is nuts.

Pikeillinifan said:

I'm a couple years younger at 50, but agree 100%.

And from a business perspective, young people absolutely do not respond to the tough love approach, and will leave the organization and/or report people to HR for anything resembling it. I have witnessed it many times, and many of those maybe 10 years older than me are unable to adjust and cannot fathom this.

It is a entirely different world today, my good friend is higher up at JP Morgan and I am consistently shocked at how far they go because of this, finance used to be brutal, that sure has changed.

Hopefully it makes for a better work environment for my kids, looking back I've had some horrendous managers that made life not very fun.

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Millennial here. It's probably true that the participation trophy generation is less tolerant of tough love than previous generations were. But many of the comments I've seen here about yelling being inappropriate coach behavior have been from from GenX and Boomers.

When it comes to talent retention, I suppose an employer could promote a policy of tough love with the promise that through this method, employees will earn, grow, and achieve more. But the organizations that could/are willing to follow through on that promise are few. So instead, companies just try to make employees comfortable.

BU knows what he's doing. The players knew what they were getting into. Kids come to our program to be pushed. They don't come here for a spa-like retreat between high school and the pros.

Given the choice, as a player I'd much rather be yelled at than live in constant fear of being benched for making a mistake.

You can think BU is good for the program and also think his temperament on the sideline is off.

Fear of making a mistake is not instrumental in shooting with confidence imo.

Ga65 said:

Fear of making a mistake is not instrumental in shooting with confidence imo.

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Brad wasn't on these guys for missing shots. He was on them for low effort, not executing the offense and not bringing intensity on defense.

I'll say it again--a sub-300 KenPom team was within 1 point of the Illini in the second half. That shouldn't be acceptable to anyone.

illini80 said:

There for a minute I forgot what Meyer Michael’s real name was!

I really…….really…..did.

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Name for sure does not check out.

21ChampaignSt said:

Millennial here. It's probably true that the participation trophy generation is less tolerant of tough love than previous generations were. But many of the comments I've seen here about yelling being inappropriate coach behavior have been from from GenX and Boomers.

When it comes to talent retention, I suppose an employer could promote a policy of tough love with the promise that through this method, employees will earn, grow, and achieve more. But the organizations that could/are willing to follow through on that promise are few. So instead, companies just try to make employees comfortable.

BU knows what he's doing. The players knew what they were getting into. Kids come to our program to be pushed. They don't come here for a spa-like retreat between high school and the pros.

Given the choice, as a player I'd much rather be yelled at than live in constant fear of being benched for making a mistake.

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Well said. I recall an old adage when I was a player (Gen X here): don't worry when your coach is on your case; worry when he's ignoring you.

Ransom Stoddard said:

Brad wasn't on these guys for missing shots. He was on them for low effort, not executing the offense and not bringing intensity on defense.

I'll say it again--a sub-300 KenPom team was within 1 point of the Illini in the second half. That shouldn't be acceptable to anyone.

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Not sure I fully agree with this.
The defensive intensity yesterday was night and day different that’s the PSU game. Lots of effort and intensity on D.
For the most part, I thought we played defense quite well…especially when could press and disrupt after scoring.
IMO, our offensive scheme is what’s really hurting us, and is a major work in progress.
I’m not sure if it’s the scheme BU and staff are running, or if it’s poor execution by the players.
IMO it’s a combination of both. We aren’t getting many good look three point attempts.
Too many fadeaways, off balance jump shots, forced threes, and shots from 6’ behind the arc with this team than I can recall.
When we drive, we are often kicking it back out and not going hard to the rim to finish or draw a foul.
BU has consistently preached the value of offensive rebounds and how that changes games.
Playing 5 out and forcing threes results in the poor 3 point % that we have….with no one really crashing the offensive glass.
But when we have limited to no interior presence we are reliant on being a good shooting team, which we have not been far too often.
Point being, I believe the defensive intensity was pretty good yesterday. The failure was poor offensive execution, far too many turnovers, and poor shooting. We have the horses and the skill so it’s bewildering why we are so bad when running the offense.
I know BU initiated some new looks this past week, so hopefully that jump starts our offensive consistency….time will tell.

FrankNitty30 said:

I find it appalling that our beat writers seem to be trying to fan the flames of strife.

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Hardly unique to our beat writers. That's pretty much the standard in the entire industry these days.

Illini B-Ball Fan said:

Name for sure does not check out.

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I’m just sayin it gets confusing! Of course I know his real name is Mitchel Myanmar.

After some difficult names like Giorgi that aways got misspelled I find it amusing that we can’t get simplest names right. I guess it lightens the mood on a day everyone was pretty crabby in the post game.

Ransom Stoddard said:

Brad wasn't on these guys for missing shots. He was on them for low effort, not executing the offense and not bringing intensity on defense.

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I don't even think it's that really. This team tries really hard, and they play with a lot of physicality. I think they just lack that locked-in focus and sense of the game. They aren't attacking the opposition's weak points on a possession-to-possession basis, no one is creating go-to actions offensively, they're just kind of a collection of guys out there.

You develop that stuff in practice, and obviously BU is not liking how they practice at all.

And I think part of the problem is that these players always hear it as "play harder" when the message is really "sense the game, understand the game, play the bigger picture here". Ayo got that, Trent got that, DaMonte got that, Andres Feliz got that, Kofi did within the context of what he was as a player.

Shannon is a hammer to whom every problem looks like a nail, he's going to take the ball force it and score. Hawkins' whole game is galaxy-braining outside the flow of what's happening. Mayer kinda needs the game to come his way, he's not one to grab it by the scruff of the neck.

Those are our leaders. All good and effective players. But none of them control and dictate situations the way BU wants his leaders to.

He's a freshman and he's got a mistake in him, but the one guy who feels to me like he's got that Trent/DaMonte gene from a gamer mental toughness perspective is Epps. Which is interesting because that wasn't really the rep on him. But he just puts his head down and plays, and no surprise then that he's won more minutes than expected.

ChiefGritty said:

Shannon is a hammer to whom every problem looks like a nail, he's going to take the ball force it and score. Hawkins' whole game is galaxy-braining outside the flow of what's happening. Mayer kinda needs the game to come his way, he's not one to grab it by the scruff of the neck.

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I agree. Add to this 1) Melendez, who seems perpetually inclined to defer to, well, anyone and 2) the fact that only two players on the team have any significant high intensity big ten minutes, and I am concerned about our fortunes in the rough and tumble conference games. Mayer and Shannon demonstrated against MD and PSU that Big 12 minutes are not big ten minutes. We really need Goode back.

FrankNitty30 said:

I find it appalling that our beat writers seem to be trying to fan the flames of strife. The interviews with Coleman and Terrence before the game were awful.

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True. They WERE… tacky/inappropriate and kinda bizarre.

It honestly felt out of the blue; when you consider the contrast to the softball questions they usually ask. (That are are seldom in the form of an actual question btw.)
So now we’ve got oddly worded AND inappropriate. (The Coleman interview seemed like it went on forever.)


*After watching enough of these pressers I feel like I’ve get a pretty good idea which writers annoy Brad the most/least. Lol

Battle89 said:

I can’t speak from military experience, though I personally do agree with the ‘tough love’ and show-some-emotion approach. However I am also 55 years old and increasingly feel like a fossil from another era.

I can speak from a business perspective however. And I will say that the current generation of younger employees does not respond at all to the above. Our company and industry bends over backward to accommodate, include, etc., every possible whim in order to attract and retain the best staff.

Your mileage may vary, but this what I see every day.

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Given how long they’ve been together, this team should experience growing pains. I wonder how effective yelling is when it becomes constant. Any message that’s repeated too often will eventually be ignored.

If you go back to the Baylor boards, you'll read that MM's rep there was defined by his inconsistency. He would be red hot some games and totally disappear in others. If BU is expecting him to be a leader on this team, that won't fly here. BU is going to try to hold him to a much higher standard. And he should. Our effective ceiling as a team is going to fluctuate greatly based upon what we can get out of RJ and MM on a regular basis.

What this team lacks is an edge. They don't play with an edge. Only one player for sure plays with an edge every minute he's on the floor....and he's a freakin' freshman.
So stop and think about how frustrated you'd be as a HC to watch a freshman bench player come in and play with that edge EVERY time....while your big time transfer studs and the two returners stand with hands on their knees and literally tune out for stretches of games.
My coaches only ever lost their minds when there was lack of effort.

BU is trying to put this team on edge. Think about the last few years. Think about the players playing with that edge. You can only name a few that didn't play with that edge. Execution is going to come and go...especially with freshman....but BU knows that YOU control how you play.
MM and TSJ haven't figured that out yet.
They've both shown that they can take over games. Now imagine what they could do if they never let up? See: Ayo Dosunmu.
I hope they do figure it out...but I'll be honest....I'm here for these freshman...because when they figure it out....
BU has shown without a doubt what happens with his kids when they buy in.
The players that couldn't hack it have shown what happens when they cash out.

This team isn't playing with any urgency. No edge to their game.
They aren't Every Day Guys yet.

I think that the main thing is for a coach to know the players and what will motivate them.

Some may be motivated by being screamed at in front of 10,000 fans. Not many but some.

Others may need to be talked to in private.

Some may need to go to another program if they can't take criticism.

And a coach needs to be able to take criticism from someone that matters (not the press or a fan board).

USAFILLINI said:

Those things do not have to go hand in hand, and if you don’t understand that, you’re missing what leadership is all about. I’m a BU fan, but his inability to adjust the rage is a huge leadership failure IMO.

When players are telling other players to just “tone it out” it’s fair to say those antics are causing the message to be missed. We’ve seen BU teams fall apart down the stretch a lot (not just Illinois, it’s a staple of his teams his whole career/stats and records don’t lie). BU led teams end up being soft in the NCAA tournament, why is that?

I’ll share why I wouldn’t fold in major athletics if you are willing to share proof why you wouldn’t.

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This is BS - he took three SFU teams to the tourney as 12,12, and 14 seeds and won 2 out of three first round games against a 3 and 5 seed. At Ok State they were a 10 seed and lost by 1 point to a 7 seed Michigan. he has had two shots at IL and lost to two very good underseeded teams in the second game. Not exactly a history of collapse in March.

hoopsfan47 said:

Having led young men in battle and on the field of athletic competition, there is not a huge difference. You need to find a way to communicate, motivate, and support them to gain their respect and the respect of your teammates. It is not easy but necessary to be successful in both.

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There is no one personality type to make a great Coach. Just as there is no single personality type who can be a great ballplayer. You can be a Peacock-type strutting around the floor or you can a quiet physician who knows how to dissect an opponent.

There is more than one style to get to the Promised Land. But certain things do need to exist in whatever form one’s Coaching environment exists. What must be is a mutual respect among players and Coach. What must exist is that players know (not just intellectually but ‘emotionally’) that the Coach has their best interests at heart at all times. What must exist is open communication and no hidden agendas. What must exist is a common goal and a common sharing of that goal.

Any problems between Coach and player(s) have to be addressed quickly and thoroughly so they do not fester into something problematic.

If all these things exist... then the complex mixture of Coach’s style and personality and the individual player’s style and personalities can be blended into One Whole that seeks shared victories.

If these things do not exist then there is a failure – or multiple failures — that will doom the success of the Team. And in extreme cases, the entire program (see Nebraska football for the last 20 years).

Some people react better to ‘hard’ work than others. Some people react better to ‘tough love’... while others need the warm embrace of the understanding Elder. It’s all about knowing who each person is and how to reach them the best so that they can be their best.

But a Coach cannot be a baby-sitter. Nor can they be a tyrant. Treat young men with respect and give them challenges to bring out their best.

Most Coaches around for any length of time have seen it all – all kinds of personalities.

And while there are no doubt differences among the various generations of ball player... none of that changes anything about the basic personal and team dynamics of how to take different complex humans and blend them into a cohesive and successful machine.

USAFILLINI said:

You can think BU is good for the program and also think his temperament on the sideline is off.

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Amen....I just think his temper gets in way of analyzing and identifying rational and cerebral in game adjustments that are needed. I watched him during the 16 point burst by A&M and he just looked like a grumpy pouter with no reaction or response.

illini80 said:

I’m just sayin it gets confusing! Of course I know his real name is Mitchel Myanmar.

After some difficult names like Giorgi that aways got misspelled I find it amusing that we can’t get simplest names right. I guess it lightens the mood on a day everyone was pretty crabby in the post game.

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Myanmar? I thought it was Burma