He's going to Kentucky. Don't torture yourself.
I really grow weary of these "matter of fact" statements.
He's going to Kentucky. Don't torture yourself.
Ulis at Kentucky was a lot more than serviceable backup right off the bat. Ulis averaged 24 minutes per game his first year on one of the most loaded teams in college basketball and Kentucky history. Not only did he average 24 minutes per game, but nobody on that team averaged more than 26 minutes per game, and that team had several NBAers.
The Ulis-like experience at UK is a major, major plus for Smith.
agreed that Ulis got good minutes as freshman....he avgd less than 6 pts per game freshmen year and didnt break out until year 2 when he was playing 30+ minutes per game.
All that said, I agree that good players with unique skillsets can get minutes at KY as Freshmen....Id also say Ulis had some skillsets that other 4 and 5 stars at KY didnt have as much when he was there. I will enjoy watching Mark Smith next year. I hope its 33+ min per game as an Illini (similar to Mello his Freshman year) rather that 24 minutes or less per game at Ky.
Also Ulis got early minutes when Calipari was utilizing his experimental platoon system, which gave him more of an opportunity to prove himself he might not have gotten otherwise. Calipari has since ditched the platoon system making it more challenging for the bench guys to get minutes and prove their worth on the floor.
I'd just feel awfully silly if we let this guy who grew up in our back yard go and then watch him develop for a year or two and turn out to be a rock star. He most definitely needs work, but isn't that what Underwood and Fletcher are supposed to be good at?
there is absolutely no downside to bringing him into the gym with our staff and players and having them do a thorough evaluation.
The best downstate crop of talent that we've had in a very, very long time... and it sounds line we are going to be O-fer. That really sucks
To be fair, we had most of that down-state talent signed, sealed, and delivered, but we chose to fire the head coach who recruited them, so that opened everything up again. We probably made the right decision in changing coaches now, but as Jeremy Werner and others have explained, that was a huge risk because it cut loose a great recruiting class. Time will tell whether it was a good move, but it's not accurate to say that we whiffed on the 2017 down-state talent that signed Illini NLIs.
I have a hard time seeing how losing the recruits isn't worth it. In five seasons with Groce the goal was always to make the tournament. Groce was never taking us to a final four. Underwood legitimately has that kind of potential with good players. I see Underwood's floor as Groce's ceiling. A good coach is more important than a good recruit.
To be fair, we had most of that down-state talent signed, sealed, and delivered, but we chose to fire the head coach who recruited them, so that opened everything up again. We probably made the right decision in changing coaches now, but as Jeremy Werner and others have explained, that was a huge risk because it cut loose a great recruiting class. Time will tell whether it was a good move, but it's not accurate to say that we whiffed on the 2017 down-state talent that signed Illini NLIs.
Understood. It is probable that this coaching change will benefit the program in the long run. This is just the frustrated fan in me externalizing exasperation: we waited 4 years under Groce to get back to the show, and it didn't happen. With Tilmon and Pickett as part of our class, it was conceivable we would make it in next season. As of now, that seems a reach. So that wait continues. (I know the recruiting season still has a month to go).
That said, I am tremendously excited about DMW and Frazier. They are quality players and it's great that they determined illinois is still the place to be.
Understood. It is probable that this coaching change will benefit the program in the long run. This is just the frustrated fan in me externalizing exasperation: we waited 4 years under Groce to get back to the show, and it didn't happen. With Tilmon and Pickett as part of our class, it was conceivable we would make it in next season. As of now, that seems a reach. So that wait continues. (I know the recruiting season still has a month to go).
That said, I am tremendously excited about DMW and Frazier. They are quality players and it's great that they determined illinois is still the place to be.
Ulis' early playing time as a Freshman was due to his defense. Ulis was SEC defensive POY as a Soph. Smith's defense is no where near Ulis'. In fact the couple of times I saw Smith's defense, it was not considered good.
To be fair, we had most of that down-state talent signed, sealed, and delivered, but we chose to fire the head coach who recruited them, so that opened everything up again. We probably made the right decision in changing coaches now, but as Jeremy Werner and others have explained, that was a huge risk because it cut loose a great recruiting class. Time will tell whether it was a good move, but it's not accurate to say that we whiffed on the 2017 down-state talent that signed Illini NLIs.
Ulis at Kentucky was a lot more than serviceable backup right off the bat. Ulis averaged 24 minutes per game his first year on one of the most loaded teams in college basketball and Kentucky history. Not only did he average 24 minutes per game, but nobody on that team averaged more than 26 minutes per game, and that team had several NBAers.
The Ulis-like experience at UK is a major, major plus for Smith.
One of the big questions is if we don't make the tournament next year for the 5th year in a row what all of a sudden makes Illinois more appealing to come here. I think BU is a solid coach and a good hire but he is not a big name that is going to bring recruits to Illinois due to his name. If he struggles in his first year he is going to face many of the same issues Groce faced in trying to get top players to Illinois. It also does not help that 2018 is seen as a down year for instate talent. He may very well have to expand the recruiting base which is hard to do when you haven't been winning
One of the big questions is if we don't make the tournament next year for the 5th year in a row what all of a sudden makes Illinois more appealing to come here. I think BU is a solid coach and a good hire but he is not a big name that is going to bring recruits to Illinois due to his name. If he struggles in his first year he is going to face many of the same issues Groce faced in trying to get top players to Illinois. It also does not help that 2018 is seen as a down year for instate talent. He may very well have to expand the recruiting base which is hard to do when you haven't been winning
as Jeremy Werner and others have explained, that was a huge risk because it cut loose a great recruiting class.
To be fair, we had most of that down-state talent signed, sealed, and delivered, but we chose to fire the head coach who recruited them, so that opened everything up again. We probably made the right decision in changing coaches now, but as Jeremy Werner and others have explained, that was a huge risk because it cut loose a great recruiting class. Time will tell whether it was a good move, but it's not accurate to say that we whiffed on the 2017 down-state talent that signed Illini NLIs.