TownieMatt
CU Expat
- Chicago
Good time to stay off twitter. It's times like this that garbage fans crawl out of their holes to spew venom at 18 year olds.
Block him from the B10 and Mizzou.
Smith was probably #4 on my "please dont transfer" list. Sucks, but his current production is replaceable.
Seems like a great kid too, wish him only the best, unless he's playing against us
Making speculations about something that the vast majority on this thread know nothing about, myself included.
Oh, I don't know. I wouldn't put it past Cuonzo to take him out of spite and to further his desired narrative that Mizzou is the place for metro and way downstate players.His performance alone this year will block him from those schools.
“He’s very special, Underwood said. Physically, he looks the part of a 20-22 year old at 6-4, 220. It’s unfair for me to do it but I compare him to Jason Kidd; he has that type of athleticism. And his natural instincts are to lead. Once the game slows down and he understands what he wants to do, he will be a fantastic leader. He’s a guy you will see play all over the court. He will be a tough matchup because of that body.”
“I have to be really careful when I talk about Mark,” Underwood said. “I’ve said this privately and now I’ll say it publicly. In my 30 years as a college basketball coach, from the day that young man arrived on campus to this day right now, I’ve never seen a young man improve more than he has...He spends a ton of time on film. He lives and dies basketball and his commitment level is what has impressed me most.”
He’s a future point guard. There’s no question about that,” Underwood said. “He’s got so much to offer not just in terms of his physical traits, but he’s such a great teammate and he’s an unselfish player. His athleticism at that position, his size at that position, he’s going to be a challenge for a lot of people. “He can play a lot of places, but most importantly, he’s a point guard. It’s going to be fun to watch him play with the ball in his hands.”
Mark Smith was a Brad Underwood recruit and Illinois Mr. Basketball. I am surprised that a "Brad Underwood guy" is the first to transfer out of his program.
No positive way to spin his transfer.
Good luck Mark Smith.
It’s clearly Brad Underwood’s fault he could barely hit the backboard on a wide open three from the top of the key.
If he doesn’t want to be here then he has no business being here.
Oh, I don't know. I wouldn't put it past Cuonzo to take him out of spite and to further his desired narrative that Mizzou is the place for metro and way downstate players.
I don't mean to be negative about Brad Underwood, but this evaluation was just wildly off-base.
Wow. This is shocking news. I didn't see this coming at all; I haven't really been following the rumor mill at all. What a terrible last 10 years it's been for Illini hoops. Just a total nightmare.
I don't mean to be negative about Mark, but this evaluation was just wildly off-base.
Wow. This is shocking news. I didn't see this coming at all; I haven't really been following the rumor mill at all. What a terrible last 10 years it's been for Illini hoops. Just a total nightmare.
Block him from the B10 and Mizzou.
His performance alone this year will block him from those schools.
I don't mean to be negative about Mark, but this evaluation was just wildly off-base.
I realize this all comes across as sour grapes, but the quoted above is quite possibly true.
If Nojel Eastern decided to transfer, would we make a push to get him? And I'd argue that at least in Eastern's case, he was expected to play a supporting-cast role and didn't get that opportunity to start early and often. Smith did, and fell apart once conference season approached.
Put yourself in the shoes of another P5 school. What part of Smith's performance over the past 2 months screams "yeah, let's take this guy"?
He'd be a great get for SIU. And he may be worth a scholarship for a school like Mizzou. But there's no guarantee he ever lives up to his potential.
fyp?
Mark wasn't good this year, but I still believe he can be at least a good college basketball player, so this one stings. Best of luck to him wherever he goes (hopefully not Big Ten).