Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread

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#2,901      
TheDukeUIUC
AnnaMay said:
I don't think Brad is the main problem. There is quite a bit of proof from past players that Brad is a great coach. I think the issue is more related to the current group of assistant coaches and the amount of money being tossed around in the portal.
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Are we honstely surprised that our head coach that shops himself around every season to any and all coaching vacancies to maximize his contract has an issue with players shopping themselves around every season to maximize their contracts? The only difference is that Brad has a long term deal with buy-out clauses that make it harder to leave. If Brad got to play the same rules as his players, he'd be at his fourth different school in four years too.
 
#2,903      
LasVegasIllini
Bringing Ben back makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The only reason Ben is at Illinois is because Underwood’s delusional obsession with him. I would rather have Sincere Harried or Hansberry over Ben. That’s how I feel about Beb. Ben is absolutely terrible and not a Big Ten caliber basketball player. Ben wouldn’t be on any Big Ten team if wasn’t for Illinois. You said all that and Brad Underwood has been to second weekend of NCAA tournament one time in 8 seasons at Illinois and 1 time in his entire head coaching career.Brad Underwood is getting paid over 5 million dollars a year Brad Underwood has state of the art brand new Basketball Facilities. Brad Underwood has top ten NIL and the transfer portal. There are coaches in the elite 8 with a better overall coaching record ,less NIL ,worse Basketball Facilities and not making the money Brad Underwood is making. Brad Underwood is going into 9th season as the University of Illinois Men’s Basketball Coach. Sometimes in Life it’s just time to move on. You don’t get a lifetime contract at the University of Illinois especially with Brad’s NCAA tournament record
 
#2,905      
IlliniJeevs
illinoispeak said:
Morez had better stats. And 7 games in double figures. This guy only had 4.
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Morez got to play plenty of minutes as the only center. Flory was heavily limited stat wise by Dickinson in the paint. Watch the tape instead of the box score. Major downside is his foul trouble issue but that’s exactly the same as Morez or any physical big
 
#2,907      
AnnaMay
TheDukeUIUC said:
Are we honstely surprised that our head coach that shops himself around every season to any and all coaching vacancies to maximize his contract has an issue with players shopping themselves around every season to maximize their contracts? The only difference is that Brad has a long term deal with buy-out clauses that make it harder to leave. If Brad got to play the same rules as his players, he'd be at his fourth different school in four years too.
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Brad can play by the same rules, but he is still at Illinois. He signs those contracts. He isn't forced to do so.
 
#2,908      
LasVegasIllini
Here some interesting facts. Ben Humrichous is not a Big Ten caliber basketball player. Ben Humrichous should not be on the Illinois Men’s basketball team or in the Big Ten period. Ben Humrichous will be a high school math teacher after next season and Morez Johnson will be an All American College basketball player heading to the NBA
 
#2,909      
TrueBlueIllini
Indy Illini Fan said:
www.espn.com

Flory Bidunga - Kansas Jayhawks Forward - ESPN

View the profile of Kansas Jayhawks Forward Flory Bidunga on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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College Sports Sport GIF by Indiana Hoosiers
 
#2,910      
csd
ChiTownIllini23 said:
This is such an apologist post for Brad. And no, the fanbase is not to blame for him not being able to retain his players. If he was able to retain and develop his recruits - Miller, Curbelo, RJ, Podz, Goode, Epps, Clark, Morez, etc like Painter did then he didn’t have to bring in guys like Plummer, Domask, Guerrier with limited eligibility.

Don’t even get started on MSU. They’re able to recruit higher ranked prospects AND able to retain them.
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I don’t know. If I was a player or the parent of a player and I followed this forum all year I would want to get away from this dumpster fire as fast as I could. Just saying
 
#2,912      
Dawgss4life
LasVegasIllini said:
My question is What is the identity of Illinois basketball? What is Brad’s coaching philosophy? This is not how to build a championship basketball program. You can’t win a championship or be successful with high turnover living and dying in portal. Once again no team continuity. A brand new team with a bunch of guys that have never played together and never been coached by Underwood. Getting a bunch of paid mercenaries that are just at Illinois to get a paycheck and not because they actually care about Illinois basketball. This is not sustainable .
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So your saying NIL is sustainable…
 
#2,913      
Capt.Illini1975
Steelyunk said:
Fair enough… having a winning team is certainly what it’s all about. But I anlso enjoy watching these kids grow throughout their college careers. Rooting for the player is a huge part of being a fan. Everybody points to Ayo, Trent and Damonte and there’s a reason: we got to know them a little as they grew and became more skilled. We rooted for the people that made up the team and gave the team its identity. What was this team’s identity? Whatever it was will probably be completely different next year. I think it’s just harder to love the team.
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This is how fans feel about our women's team. We watched the core grow and succeed over the past years. Some of those graduating this year were given opportunities to transfer but they remained loyal. KB, Adalia, Mikira, Genesis and Brynn. I think we will remember them. I also think Berry, Jasmine, Gretchen and Cori understand that they need to carry on the identity established these past three years. We may well have a transfer or two and I know the staff is looking to fill certain positions through the portal. You may say players remain loyal because they are not being tempted to transfer by large offers. On the other hand I feel Coach Green and her staff earn the loyalty and support of their players. They want to stay. I pray we can maintain this in the women's program so I have one basketball team that will continue to have my loyalty.
 
#2,916      
LasVegasIllini
That’s because Shauna Green and Bret Bielema actually care about their players. High retention in Illinois football players and assistant coaches and Illinois Women’s Basketball . You can tell that Bret Bielema current and former players love him. They have a life long relationship with him they go to the NFL and when their careers are done they want to coach for him. Bret and Shauna are building something special at Illinois. Brad Underwood on the other hand most of his former players and assistant coaches can’t stand him and can’t wait to get away from him. The only reason Orlando came back is for the money and Calipari made Kenny Payne the Associate Head Basketball Coach at Arkansas. The only reason players come to Illinois is because Illinois has good NIL and assistant coaches not Brad Underwood. Orlando got Tomi and Will Riley , KJ. TA got Morez , TSJ, Ty Chester got Epps, Hansberry, Sincere
 
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#2,918      
RabidDawgClassic
Captain 14 said:
Both programs made the second weekend and Izzo may make the 3rd.

Only thing that matters in the end is what you do with who you got.
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This year they’ve both excelled. In recent years, both programs have lost to 13, 14, 15 and 16 seeds. Did it matter what they did with what they got those years?
 
#2,923      
BWA
Indy Illini Fan said:
Unrelated … I’m also not as sure Ty is coming back like others are …

Could very well be a situation where he sticks around until we start bringing guys in and then he’s gone …
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How good do we expect senior Ty to be with this extra year of practice?
 
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