The Illinois Coaching Search
- Status
I'm from Chicago and live in Bucktown. High caliber Chicago kids go where they can win and get exposure. My sense, in being around the basketball scene here, is that many, many people would like that to be Illinois, but those kids will continue to go to Kentucky, Kansas and Duke until we get our !!!! together. I think we need an Xs and Os coach that wins consistently for 4-5 years and then we will see that many do value the state school when we have something to offer them
Mike
C-U Townie
You always want what you don't have.
I just wish there was a way to have several coaches at once.
@IlliniAD
@IlliniMBB
That's it.
It's going to be a Soviet disinformation campaign from anyone else. That's just how these things are.
I was kind of thrown by that one too. If people are concerned about GM's personality being too abrasive for Illinois he sure as sh*t not going to fit in Chapel Hill.
The U of I campus is not exactly considered to be "humble" by our friends at NIU, ISU, SIU etc either.
Well, except when talking about the attractiveness of women on our respective campuses....
ILL in IA
- Iowa City
He had great talent one year. If he has sustainable great talent he may just stumble across a lot of wins. There's no reason to project that his third place finish in conference with his most talented team is how he will perform every year with a talented team. Even Calipari and Izzo have done less with more. Cuonzo is in a really good spot.
And it's not "sudden." It was there during our last search, but you don't give that type of money to a guy coming from Ohio University with only mild success.
It's not a bad idea. I think our previous staffs have put too much effort in kids that were never coming here. We really need a staff that can identify the truly interested players. We need to use our resources more efficiently, but we definitely need some players from Chicago.
The way I see it, Illini are going to try hard for Bennett or Marshall (I think Marshall is more likely to leave of the two) and if not they are bringing in Bryce Drew who will bring Roger Powell with him.
Although I am a fan of Keats, I don't think he is enough of a splash. I think Whitman knows he needs to hit a home run. I've been a huge fan of him and wouldn't be surprised when he comes up with an out of the box hire.
Although I am a fan of Keats, I don't think he is enough of a splash. I think Whitman knows he needs to hit a home run. I've been a huge fan of him and wouldn't be surprised when he comes up with an out of the box hire.
The difference being that Kevin Sumlin was much more plausible than any of these guys.
The Bennett rumors remind me of the Kevin Sumlin rumors. Might just be leveraging an offer to get more money at UVA. No inside knowledge, just incapable of optimism at this point..
I'd think a lot of coaches agents will be trying to leverage the Illinois job to get higher offers---I bet Cuonzo already did.
Good post do we know Drew's buyout at Vandy as I guess Bennett's is 3 million or so? I agree Marshall is more likely to leave then Bennett I think he is happy at UVA and has a good thing there.
Bennett 0%
Miller 1%
Marshall 2%
The Field 97%
I just have an inkling it might be Steve Prohm, and when you people treat that as not a grand slam, I might just have an aneurysm and die and you won't have to listen to my nonsense any more. So, root for that I guess
Top recruits are national recruits. But people are kidding themselves if they think we will not get top recruits from Chicago or Illinois but will get them consistently from somewhere else. The proximity/state advantage is indeed a benefit, although a slight one.
I like all the tough talk that people over the years bring on message boards. We do not need Chicago, we do not need CPL, we do not need this powerful AAU program, we do not need the other powerful program, let's teach them a lesson... Some lesson we have taught them, I do not see the Mac Irvin Fire's of the world struggling or shedding any tears, yet we have become irrelevant in college basketball.
To be successful at Illinois, a coach needs to be a dynamic recruiter. He does not only need to deal with the powerful HS and AAU programs, he will need to embrace them.
illinipioneer
- Richmond, VA
I mean in reality UI and UVA are really quite similar, growing up I would use UVA as a comparable example to explain how UI is viewed academically.
Mike
C-U Townie
Yeah, Lord Byron would definitely excite the Chicago AAU scene more.
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.).
Bennett 0%
Miller 1%
Marshall 2%
The Field 97%
I just have an inkling it might be Steve Prohm, and when you people treat that as not a grand slam, I might just have an aneurysm and die and you won't have to listen to my nonsense any more. So, root for that I guess
Would we rather have Prohm or Keatts if we miss on those top other guys? I'd rather have Keatts I think he has a higher ceiling but Prohm maybe a higher floor?
I'd rather have Keatts, but I would trust Whitman's judgment on that.
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