With that being said...
With that being said...
We went into the season with 5 of our top 7 guys either guaranteed to be done or very likely to be done. Unless you all expected our deep bench guys to become our starters, we were always going to aim high in the portal and experience a lot of roster churn. If trying to get the best guys you can get to fill out your open spots is "pushing people out", then by all means push. If a player doesn't think he's good enough to beat out someone who is transferring in, then he probably isn't.I just did the obvious Top 2. But maybe today I'll break down more of the Top 15 to show that what we are doing is NOT the new norm in CBK.
If they guys departing agreed with you, they'd stay and kick the new guys behind in practice.I am saying things. And yes, I'm sure IL said something along the lines of--we want you to stay.. But actions speak louder than words and by bringing in guys at the same position, Brad's intentions were clear.
And everyone keeps implying that we're bringing in more talented players than the ones who are leaving. My questions stands--are we? For all the talk of Brad cooking, I don't see a huge improvement in talent level from Davis and White. Or from Booth vs. Hansberry.
He's got that Luke Goode in him
I agree. It feels like we're going to see the downfall of college hoops and March madness in the next 10-20 years since the private equity model of chasing unlimited growth for a few at all costs has spread to Universities(and basically every other aspect of our society) that I think it's really only a matter of time until its ruined.I’m in a strange position of being very rosy on Illini hoops and pitch black on college sports in general, especially football.
Total 180 from 10-15 years ago in both respects.
They should have told him “we’re gonna bring in players that aren’t quite as good as you so we can assure you all the playing time you want.” /sLol. That’s pushing him out.
Being part of a program for three years and being an integral part of the positive culture, and then going from fringe starter/6th man to being told your role will be reduced in your 4th season is being told “we appreciate you, but move on”.Agreeing or not with that talent assessment is subjective, but I dont know why that’s so hard for people to see that he was subtly encouraged to leave.It’s pushing him out by brining in better talent?
They also had 7+feet behemoth's.Just an observation......
UConn only had 3 transfers in it's top 9
Purdue had 1
I believe this is the most effective way to thrive in the Portal Potty Era. Recruit, Develop, and KEEP the RIGHT players to add stability to your system, and fill in the blanks with the right transfers. I like to win BIG all season long, not just after the new year as we wait for a brand new roster to rebuild chemistry 100%.
So what we are doing is not the "new norm" for all CBK, however it is for us at this time. Hopefully we ease into the above method as it is more sustainable and provides more consistent results.
Was it hard to root for Domask, TSJ, Qg or JH? By the time the season starts you’ll know our new roster and live some of them like any other team.Look, if you are finding it difficult to root for Illinois, then don't. Maybe stop watching college basketball until something changes. It is funny, though, because we, as fans, expect these players to be loyal to our university, but fans here seem to want to be more loyal to players--this comes from comments such as "I find it hard to root for a team where I don't know any of the players."
We went into the season with 5 of our top 7 guys either guaranteed to be done or very likely to be done. Unless you all expected our deep bench guys to become our starters, we were always going to aim high in the portal and experience a lot of roster churn. If trying to get the best guys you can get to fill out your open spots is "pushing people out", then by all means push. If a player doesn't think he's good enough to beat out someone who is transferring in, then he probably isn't.
The 4 guys we have added all have multiple years of eligibility left, so it's not as though the plan is to get 9 new players every year. Ideally, you have some continuity. The writing was on the wall for this off-season last May.
Would everyone be happier if we stubbornly handed all of our holdovers starting jobs and finished 8th in the B1G? How long do you think Brad would keep his job with that strategy?
If the incoming players aren't more talented, then by definition, the current player isn't being recruited over. The current player could stay, and the incoming player would be his backup. No reason to leave.I am saying things. And yes, I'm sure IL said something along the lines of--we want you to stay.. But actions speak louder than words and by bringing in guys at the same position, Brad's intentions were clear.
And everyone keeps implying that we're bringing in more talented players than the ones who are leaving. My questions stands--are we? For all the talk of Brad cooking, I don't see a huge improvement in talent level from Davis and White. Or from Booth vs. Hansberry.
This is someone I was hoping would come our way. This would be a nice fish!Spent the morning doing some reformatting, reorganizing and updating the portal tracker spreadsheet. I've organized it now so that our committed transfers appear at the top, followed by uncommitted active targets. Those who have committed elsewhere have been sorted to the bottom. This should help a little bit with ease of use.
For those curious our insider crystal ball accuracy sits at a tidy 14/16 (88%) entries that have come to fruition. Not a ton of currently active ones, but one submission should catch some eyes here
View attachment 34112
I don't think it will. It's not sustainable for staffs or the players. But it won't end until NIL contracts have more stipulations about number of years and penalties for leaving. Then that will naturally lead to a CBA.The sport cannot go on like this, full stop.
I concur..........my thoughts are luke is looking for a bigger bag of $$$ than we can afford and looking at the # 's being tossed around Luke might get a nice tidy sum......I hope he doesn't go to scUM............That would be a dagger to my heart to see a long time illini go to those punk arse scUM bums....................Who said he was pushed out? I doubt that's the case. Maybe he wanted to leave for other reasons, seems like a kid where he is focused on academics and Grad school as well. There might be some options in that arena he is exploring as well
Not to go too off topic, but the reason this has infected even nominal non-profits like Universities is because it’s an ideology embedded in the culture of American business leadership. It’s not about the motivations or incentives of any given entity, it’s operating at a deeper level than that.I agree. It feels like we're going to see the downfall of college hoops and March madness in the next 10-20 years since the private equity model of chasing unlimited growth for a few at all costs has spread to Universities(and basically every other aspect of our society) that I think it's really only a matter of time until its ruined.
That being said Illinois is actually in a good position in basketball and honestly we're lucky Brad got in and turned the program around before the portal and NIL changes everything or it could be bleak.
Lol you're talking about Davis shooting .2 percentage points worse than Goode(38.7 vs 38.9). Davis has also shown the ability to be more dynamic shooting the ball being able to shoot on the move and come off screens(Goode is solely a set shooter). The shooting will translate.Davis shot worse (3pt%) at a much lower level and his stats will almost certainly go down in the B1G. We'll see on his versatility. I'm a bit skeptical.
I guess Nico was pushed out, too?Right, and your matter of fact “You kidding me” response is wrong. He was pushed out. Whether directly or indirectly, he was pushed out. Whether someone pushes you out a window or you jump yourself because of the circumstances going on around you makes no difference.
Haha. That’s not the take here. Building a culture and an identity requires some glue guys and team players, of which Luke is both. As a player that bought into the necessary culture demands, to be recruited over, is not a good program move, especially when that dedicated player has a valued skill set. Anyone that’s ever been involved with JUCO athletics will understand this take.They should have told him “we’re gonna bring in players that aren’t quite as good as you so we can assure you all the playing time you want.” /s
As far as Goode being pushed out, there may be an opportunity that he wanted to pursue in Grad School or more NIL money. People need to chill. I love Luke but he has opportunities and may make more this year than some of us make in 5. I say go fur it!Lol you're talking about Davis shooting .2 percentage points worse than Goode(38.7 vs 38.9). Davis has also shown the ability to be more dynamic shooting the ball being able to shoot on the move and come off screens(Goode is solely a set shooter). The shooting will translate.
Davis has also flashed a bit of ability to get to the rim when guys closeout to hard, that part might not translate but we will see.
Either way it's a moot point. Davis isn't the guy that pushed Goode out. It's the guys that are coming in that haven't committed yet.
Speaking of...when do grad program acceptance letters go out?Unfortunately, don't think its connected. I think Goode is leaving for academic reasons to get a solid MBA