I'm curious to know how many people on this board are from Chicago. Henson never won because of Xs and Os. He was almost out the door until Jimmy Collins saved him with a pipeline in Chicago. They played hard D and Lou even talked about how he couldn't really control the guys all the time with his schematics.
Self didn't really recruit Chicago at the rate of Henson. Luther Head was his only Chicago recruit and I'll even add Dee Brown since Maywood is still 20 minutes from downtown. He's still a great recruiter but he had to cast a wide net.
The fact of the matter is Chicago kids go to places where they trust the staff and have a natural relationship with them. Wisconsin to a higher degree the past couple of seasons but Chicago kids aren't lining up to play there.
Lou was never on his way out the door, and his first great talent came before Jimmy Collins was ever on staff. Tony Yates was the lead recruiter for Levi Cobb, Eddie Johnson, Efrem Winters, Ken (Colliers) Norman and other Chicago area kids. Henson's 1982 recruiting class had two McDonald's All Americans in it (Winters and Bruce Douglas) plus the third best player after them in Illinois (Doug Altenberger).
The breakthrough in Chicago came five years earlier with Levi Cobb out of Morgan Park. The next year Illinois got Eddie Johnson from Westinghouse plus Mark Smith from Peoria.
Henson and Illinois were on the rise after the 1978-79 season and it continued through the 80s.
All of this happened before Jimmy Collins arrived in 1983. Collins was great, no doubt, but Tony Yates was the assistant who got the ball rolling in Chicago. By the time Collins arrived, Henson was entrenched at Illinois and the team was really good. 1984 season was 26-5 and Elite Eight with Henson and Yates recruits. Collins was instrumental in getting the Chicago kids in the mid-80s going forward (Nick Anderson, Lowell Hamilton, Kiwane Garris, Deon Thomas, etc.).