Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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I see your point but there is a flip side to this. Say Tyler takes a job at smaller program coaching and recruiting and does well. Then one of the big time programs offers him 3 times the money we can and snatches him up. Brad would probably be ok with that because Illinois fans didn't want him to promote him in the first place. Tyler has continued success eventually becoming a great coach with an outstanding record. Then all the Illini fans would be like why didn't we keep him here, dumbest move ever. It's just a small promotion, it's not like anybody said here Tyler take over.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Or, even worse, the entire string of sultans in the Ottoman Empire from the mid-1500s onward.
Unless you meant "Barkley." In which case never mind.
I'll have what he's having.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Hiring Tyler is just lazy. You can keep him around without hiring him. He keeps getting experience in that role too.
To me it's kind of an indication that it's just less people Brad has to argue/fight/discuss options with. IE: the aforementioned stubbornness.
Tyler brings very little to a position like this in the way of recruiting ties, and coaching experience...which is what you need to be paying for these days.
All that said, every indication is that Tyler is great to have around the program and the players all like/respect him. How much of that is due to his father is up for debate I guess.
I'm not ready for another soap opera season. I'm guessing JDubs & The Boosters aren't either.
To me it's kind of an indication that it's just less people Brad has to argue/fight/discuss options with. IE: the aforementioned stubbornness.
Tyler brings very little to a position like this in the way of recruiting ties, and coaching experience...which is what you need to be paying for these days.
All that said, every indication is that Tyler is great to have around the program and the players all like/respect him. How much of that is due to his father is up for debate I guess.
I'm not ready for another soap opera season. I'm guessing JDubs & The Boosters aren't either.
That is a bold accusation. Have you filed a complaint?
Perhaps promoting from within, rather than adding a new variable works to that end.
IllinoisFan733
- Chicago
Am I misremembering this, but wasn’t TU of the most important guys discussed during the official visits of recruits when he was playing for the team? I thought people said that who were close with the program, but maybe I’m wrong.
Honestly, I really believe last year was a fluke with three bad
that hurt the chemistry and didn’t want to run the offense.
If it happens again this year, with the amount of talent available to put on the floor, then I will start complaining about Coach BU. I’m giving him a pass for last year and giving him one more chance to show what his program can do.
Honestly, I really believe last year was a fluke with three bad
that hurt the chemistry and didn’t want to run the offense. If it happens again this year, with the amount of talent available to put on the floor, then I will start complaining about Coach BU. I’m giving him a pass for last year and giving him one more chance to show what his program can do.
A complaint with whom? Coach Underwood can bring on any PWOs or Assistants he wants, he chose his son. We will see how it goes.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Oh %$#@ no......not after this offseason dramedy.
Unpopular opinion, but in general, I don't have a huge problem with a person hiring their son/daughter. I just see it as another way of providing for your family. What I see in all walks of life is that children often follow in a parent's footsteps because that's what they know and have been exposed to their whole life. I can't fault Brad for giving Tyler an opportunity. I would argue Tyler is uniquely qualified to be an assistant for Brad Underwood. Maybe not qualified in all the ways we'd like him to be, but qualified nonetheless.
Also, whether he got his next opportunity here or somewhere else, he would be getting that opportunity because his last name is Underwood. So as long as Tyler is in the coaching fraternity, he's going to benefit from nepotism. Not like sending him off into the wilderness for a few years cleanses him of that.
Ok, now some baseless speculation. Brad had to have known this move would rub people the wrong way. And given how savvy JW is, I'm sure he at least warned BU of the optics as well. To me, this looks like a coach who isn't worried about burning bridges because he doesn't plan on being around that long. He didn't tell Tyler, "wait til next year when you're more experienced" because there might not be a next year. So he's trying to set his son up as much as he can while he can. *takes off tin foil hat*
Also, whether he got his next opportunity here or somewhere else, he would be getting that opportunity because his last name is Underwood. So as long as Tyler is in the coaching fraternity, he's going to benefit from nepotism. Not like sending him off into the wilderness for a few years cleanses him of that.
Ok, now some baseless speculation. Brad had to have known this move would rub people the wrong way. And given how savvy JW is, I'm sure he at least warned BU of the optics as well. To me, this looks like a coach who isn't worried about burning bridges because he doesn't plan on being around that long. He didn't tell Tyler, "wait til next year when you're more experienced" because there might not be a next year. So he's trying to set his son up as much as he can while he can. *takes off tin foil hat*
Damn… the vibe on this board today is as if Loyalty is Threads and Tyler Underwood is Twitter.
I mean #3 is everything. If Underwood makes the second round this year, all is good.
If he misses the tourney, with that and all the other things that have happened, I suspect that he gets replaced.
Another first weekend exit is the gray area.
No more excuses @illini0440. Teach them Barry free throws. Part of learning to be a coach is learning to make calls, take responsibility, and using time efficiently. What else can you teach in under an hour that consistently adds multiple points per game to the score?
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This message has been brought to you courtesy of Broken Records and the number 32.
The DIA.
I’ll admit that I don’t know who the Illini could get…but here is what I would’ve tried to do.
1. Hire a great X and O guy! Sounds like we have really missed Gentry.
2. Hire a great recruiter! Although the new position is not allowed to recruit off campus(read 3)!
3. Move Geoff to into the new role that can’t recruit off campus, and put the great recruiter in Geoff’s position!
Again, I don’t know who Illinois could get, but I sure as hell would have tried to make the above happen!
1. Hire a great X and O guy! Sounds like we have really missed Gentry.
2. Hire a great recruiter! Although the new position is not allowed to recruit off campus(read 3)!
3. Move Geoff to into the new role that can’t recruit off campus, and put the great recruiter in Geoff’s position!
Again, I don’t know who Illinois could get, but I sure as hell would have tried to make the above happen!
Simply hiring or promoting a qualified relative is not necessarily nepotism. There has to be undue influence or favoritism.
I remember when Lou had Brian Dutcher (son of Minnesota coach) as grad assistant. Old school was to send your kid to work somewhere else to avoid the appearance of impropriety and give him/her chance to make it on their own.
After problems we have had with Lovie and Cubitt hiring unqualified kids at absorbitant salaries I would think Jay Whitman would advise our coaches not to hire relatives.
JMO - both MBB and WBB had opportunity to upgrade staff with NCAA allowing 2 additional non recruiting assistant coaches. I think we missed an opportunity by just promoting graduate assistants.
Kentucky added 18 year NBA assistant coach and ex Oregon/S Carolina assistant coach. Calipari did not waste this opportunity.
It is so interesting that two people can look at the same set of facts and reach such different conclusions. Everything you say is valid and you may be absolutely right although "just lazy" seems a bit harsh. I would also add that if I were Brad and Tyler was my son I would not have hired him but instead would have quietly helped him get started at the bottom rung on the staff of another University and work his way up without being in my shadow. Hell, Brad started at the lowest JC coaching level and is now making a top ten salary in college hoops coaching so he knows the importance and satisfaction of working his way up and not having things given to you.
However, if Brad feels that Tyler is qualified, then hiring him is not lazy. It just opens both of them up to the nepotism criticism and unfortunately opens Tyler up to some questionable character shots on this Board today. We are better than that. Since he has been an ILLINI, he has gotten 3 degrees, represented the program well and by all accounts worked hard as both a student athlete and on the coaching staff. If there was a hint that he was a problem in the locker room or a mole for his Dad as a player and on the coaching staff, then I assume we would have heard it from one of our knowledgeable insiders. We have not. Hard to tell from today's board what qualifications he lacks for the low level job that he was actually hired for on this staff.
Instead, the unfair criticism seems to come down to his lack of recruiting experience and/or that he was not a star basketball player in college or the NBA. Not very many great coaches ever were great players and few if any of them started at the level of coaching that Tyler has started at. They did not need to or want to pay dues at that low level.
Like you, I am not ready for another soap opera season, which is why I think this promotion (it is not a hire) may very well be a good thing for the stability of the program. Brad trusts his son and Tyler does not strike me as a "yes man". If anything, it may be that Tyler is actually in the best position to question Brad's stubbornness when others can't because it is better received for Brad to hear it from his son. All I know is that Brad made the hire and until we see it play out all we can do is wish Tyler well in his new position and trust that Brad identified that Tyler had the right qualifications for his specific job duties and role with the overall coaching staff. If that wasn't why he promoted Tyler, then shame on Brad.
Count me in the apparent minority of ILLINI Loyalty members who believe that last season's team chemistry issues taught Brad some very valuable lessons between putting individually talented players on the floor and putting a team together that will grow, improve and in the end put the Tournament disappointments behind us. I look at this group of experienced players and see the potential for better team chemistry and play (especially on defense) than at any time since Brad arrived. Time to find out how good a coach Brad really is because based on his track record I am still not sure that we know.
Just playing devil's advocate, but what if the younger players have really taken to him and his ability to connect? We have a tendency to judge when we don't know what's going on in the locker room.
You have literally 0% of college basketball players that shoot Berry style and there are a LOT of poor free throw shooters. You'd never, ever get a kid to agree with that and they'd transfer at the suggestion.
I'm sure these guys practice 200 free throws a day and probably make 75% to 80% of them. Doing it in from of 15,000+ fans.....can't replicate that in any practice. There is a ton more pressure and take that pressure x 10 in the last five minutes of a tight game. I don't care how you shoot them.
Not another semantics debate. Lol.
Let me re-iterate…it really doesn’t bother me. I don’t begrudge Brad favoring loyalty/and the dogged determination Tyler undoubtedly shows his father. I also understand Brad wanting to help his son at the same time; if he could. There might be some aspects that Tyler excels at; for sure.
But there is no way in hell he is the most qualified assistant coach we could of hired. I agree that results speak loudest. But I think you’re splitting hairs on this one. Because if there are more qualified folks that want the gig…it’s favoritism.
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Oh to have the wisdom to be able to speak for every college athlete with such authority. My lowly self thought there might be those who valued winning and helping the team over the perception that there is something wrong with using a better method. I was also under the misapprehension that asking would not hurt vs. needing to protect the adult student athlete from such devious thoughts. I guess I know better now.
Some of the advantages of the Barry method are that the motion is simpler and the tolerance for error higher, thus increasing the chance it works under pressure.
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