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Missouri 79, Illinois 63 POSTGAME
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<blockquote data-quote="dbeverly26" data-source="post: 1438440" data-attributes="member: 515868"><p>I think that we’re talking about two different things here. My point is that Underwood’s deal is not that far out of market, which is a different thing than saying he’s a good fit here. At the time he was hired most of the media reaction showed him as maybe the best hire not named Archie Miller. You want to poach a major conference guy, you have to come to the table with a big offer. So, yeah, Keatts would have been cheaper, but he was lower on the list for most teams.</p><p></p><p>Hindsight will tell us whether or not the decision was good, but that doesn’t change Underwood’s price tag or the market at the time he was hired. If you think we should have gone in another direction, that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean we paid more than we had to.</p><p></p><p>As for Self, you’re right that he did all of those things. It’s not a coincidence that I’d put him in the top five coaches active today without naming the other four. Holding him up as the standard by which other coaches are judged is unreasonable, even if it’s the aspiration. (And if you want to bet that Kevin Keatts will become the next Bill Self, I’ll take the fat end of that proposition all day long. No offense to Keatts, that’s just a towering bar to clear.) So I’m not too compelled by the argument that the program’s issues should be easy to clean up because Self did it. It’s doable, but the path is going to look different the next time it happens.</p><p></p><p>I’ve long believed that Bruce Weber’s biggest sin was that he wasn’t Bill Self. I’m beginning to feel that way about John Groce and Brad Underwood as well. Duly noted that I don’t think much of Groce, but I do feel like Underwood deserves a bit more slack than he’s been given.</p><p></p><p>As for the rest of it, we’ve been over it before. If you think the 2017 team minus Malcolm Hill should have been competitive, I don’t know what to tell you.</p><p></p><p>Underwood might not be up to the task, but let’s not underestimate how difficult it will be to right this ship.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="dbeverly26, post: 1438440, member: 515868"] I think that we’re talking about two different things here. My point is that Underwood’s deal is not that far out of market, which is a different thing than saying he’s a good fit here. At the time he was hired most of the media reaction showed him as maybe the best hire not named Archie Miller. You want to poach a major conference guy, you have to come to the table with a big offer. So, yeah, Keatts would have been cheaper, but he was lower on the list for most teams. Hindsight will tell us whether or not the decision was good, but that doesn’t change Underwood’s price tag or the market at the time he was hired. If you think we should have gone in another direction, that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean we paid more than we had to. As for Self, you’re right that he did all of those things. It’s not a coincidence that I’d put him in the top five coaches active today without naming the other four. Holding him up as the standard by which other coaches are judged is unreasonable, even if it’s the aspiration. (And if you want to bet that Kevin Keatts will become the next Bill Self, I’ll take the fat end of that proposition all day long. No offense to Keatts, that’s just a towering bar to clear.) So I’m not too compelled by the argument that the program’s issues should be easy to clean up because Self did it. It’s doable, but the path is going to look different the next time it happens. I’ve long believed that Bruce Weber’s biggest sin was that he wasn’t Bill Self. I’m beginning to feel that way about John Groce and Brad Underwood as well. Duly noted that I don’t think much of Groce, but I do feel like Underwood deserves a bit more slack than he’s been given. As for the rest of it, we’ve been over it before. If you think the 2017 team minus Malcolm Hill should have been competitive, I don’t know what to tell you. Underwood might not be up to the task, but let’s not underestimate how difficult it will be to right this ship. [/QUOTE]
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Missouri 79, Illinois 63 POSTGAME
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