The Illinois Coaching Search

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#2,701      

jerho19

jerho19
jerho19
Kevin Keats would be my pick as our new coach. great coaching tree, very energetic, good recruiter, and would very likely to retain Walker.
From a monetary stand point, his buy out wouldn’t be all that great, compared to some of the other candidates mentioned, and his salary wouldn’t be so high that we wouldn’t have the money to me great assistant coaches.
If the projections of him are accurate he could be the best hire in our history. JMHO.
 
#2,702      

Illiniwin1

I
Illiniwin1
Second and Chalmers said:
Just to kind of get a perspective, let's take a look at what the coaches of the top 4 seeds in the tournament starting today were when they got hired for those jobs:

Hofstra Head Coach
Louisiana Tech Head Coach
Valparaiso Head Coach
Army Head Coach
Internal Assistant
Kansas State Head Coach
Fired Ex-Head Coach of the Washington Wizards
Xavier Head Coach
Illinois Head Coach :(
Southern Illinois Head Coach
Creighton Head Coach
Fired Ex-Head Coach of the Boston Celtics
Kansas Head Coach
Gardner-Webb Head Coach
New Mexico Head Coach
Memphis Head Coach
Click to expand...

Great point but I don't think that changes the fact that the program is better off going after Marshall, Miller, or Bennett
 
#2,703      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
RichardKeenesHair said:
Almost every single high major coach today won big with Xs and Os at mid-majors before they got a shot at the big time
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Sure, but that is totally different than saying that a winning mid-major coach, or a good Xs and Os coach at mid-major will always find success in college. Totally different and is the statement you made that I disagreed with.
 
#2,704      

Wittsdream

W
Chicago
Wittsdream
Illinoy said:
High caliber kids don't always go to the blue chip schools. In the cases they don't, it's due to a relationship. We are not KU, Duke, UK, etc. Those schools recruit themselves.

The basketball scene would like Illinois to be good, however there is a strong disconnect between whom we've had on staff the past 18 years. Lon Kruger I think is a good coach but man did Peoria save him. Bill Self started to make better inroads but he wasn't here long enough.

I live in Chicago as well. My involvement with mentoring student athletes brings me in some interesting conversations that I think can illustrate the type of coach needed. Out of those left, I think Miller is the best fit.
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I think this is a valid post, in regards to Miller doing well in Chicago (and I'm NOT suggesting any other coaching targets would not).

If you take a look at the current makeup of the Dayton roster, Miller & staff have recruited 3 Chicago kids, 1 from the Bronx, 1 from Detroit, 1 from Baltimore, 1 from Trenton (NJ), and 2 more kids from Cincinnati (just down I-75).

In other words, 9 out of the 13 scholarship players are "city" kids, some of them from the toughest cities to grow up in America. Might explain why his teams always seem mentally poised to do battle on the hardwood (like the Illinois teams of the 80's).

Not sure which of his assistants is doing most of the heavy lifting in landing these kids, but whoever it is, or they are, kudos to them.

And piggybacking on what ILHOFF has posted regarding Martin & Co's recruiting potential in snagging key '18 and '19 targets away from Illinois.....CM, alongside Porter and Webster have a chance to really kill it on the recruiting trail going forward.

Whitman's no dummy, though. Like us, he knew the Martin to Mizzou move was coming, and I'm guessing our next coach, and his assistants, will have the street cred and savvy to offset any potential advantage Missouri would have in our own backyard.
 
#2,705      

InterimLoyalty

I
InterimLoyalty
Does anyone know if Homer Drew still resides in the Valparaiso area? Seems like they are a close knit family and having Dad a few hours away so he can come to the games would be a nice perk.
 
#2,706      

illiniguy24

illiniguy24
illiniguy24
RichardKeenesHair said:
Almost every single high major coach today won big with Xs and Os at mid-majors before they got a shot at the big time
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Even the Brad Stevens teams of the world had NBA talent on the team though. The Shockers team that made the final four had NBA talent on the team.

Illinois has failed because we have had almost no NBA talent over the last 8 years besides Meyers and ALMOST Brandon Paul.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#2,708      

AEX

AEX
Danger Zone
AEX
haasi said:
Dollars to donuts, Shad Kubla Khan will deliver Coleridge no matter what it takes
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In Champaign, did Shad Kubla Khan a State Farm Center decree. Sorry, couldn't resist.

But yeah, I agree with the Marshall, Bennett, or Miller (and then Keatts) camp. Would be nice to have an AA basketball coach one of these days, though.
 
#2,709      

illynifan34

I
That's a winner!!
OH
illynifan34
Second and Chalmers said:
Just to kind of get a perspective, let's take a look at what the coaches of the top 4 seeds in the tournament starting today were when they got hired for those jobs:

Hofstra Head Coach
Louisiana Tech Head Coach
Valparaiso Head Coach
Army Head Coach
Internal Assistant
Kansas State Head Coach
Fired Ex-Head Coach of the Washington Wizards
Xavier Head Coach
Illinois Head Coach :(
Southern Illinois Head Coach
Creighton Head Coach
Fired Ex-Head Coach of the Boston Celtics
Kansas Head Coach
Gardner-Webb Head Coach
New Mexico Head Coach
Memphis Head Coach
Click to expand...
I don't think you can say UNCW doesn't fit in with a few on that list.
 
#2,711      

bredhartmann

B
Centralia, IL
bredhartmann
UICFLAMES said:
"Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman was also interested in reaching a deal with Martin, according to a source. Missouri was further along in the process and Illinois couldn't get in the game, the source said." Chicago Trib

So, we are on our third choice, if anyone is keeping count.

I think Bennett would be an excellent hire. Love to watch his teams compete, and if we get lucky with a top recruit or two, that will take the team a long way.

Miller and Marshall would be fine, but less quality than Bennett.

Keats might start to feel like he was last picked on the schoolyard, and NC State might play up that message in their recruitment of him.

People laughed at my floor of Thomas or Powell, I think that they are still the floor, but right above that floor would be Bryce Drew, or some of these other low to mid major coaches who have not really proven anything right now except they can win a conference tourney or two.

KATMAN has the inside info, he knows about offers, and choices, and lists, and conversations.

We should all be rooting hard for Bennett, he seems like the ceiling, at the moment.
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Whitman was interested, sure, but that doesn't equate to a finalized deal being on the table. Whitman is almost certainly throwing figures out to multiple coaches to gauge interest, that's not the same as an offer. Did Whitman reach out to Cuonzo, almost certainly, but there is 0% chance Cuonzo was our highest priority and Whitman let him go to Mizzou over a couple million dollars.
 
#2,712      

bert1991

B
bert1991
I like this perspective!

Second and Chalmers said:
Just to kind of get a perspective, let's take a look at what the coaches of the top 4 seeds in the tournament starting today were when they got hired for those jobs:

Hofstra Head Coach
Louisiana Tech Head Coach
Valparaiso Head Coach
Army Head Coach
Internal Assistant
Kansas State Head Coach
Fired Ex-Head Coach of the Washington Wizards
Xavier Head Coach
Illinois Head Coach :(
Southern Illinois Head Coach
Creighton Head Coach
Fired Ex-Head Coach of the Boston Celtics
Kansas Head Coach
Gardner-Webb Head Coach
New Mexico Head Coach
Memphis Head Coach
Click to expand...
 
#2,713      

helppitch

H
helppitch
UICFLAMES said:
"Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman was also interested in reaching a deal with Martin, according to a source. Missouri was further along in the process and Illinois couldn't get in the game, the source said." Chicago Trib

So, we are on our third choice, if anyone is keeping count.

I think Bennett would be an excellent hire. Love to watch his teams compete, and if we get lucky with a top recruit or two, that will take the team a long way.

Miller and Marshall would be fine, but less quality than Bennett.

Keats might start to feel like he was last picked on the schoolyard, and NC State might play up that message in their recruitment of him.

People laughed at my floor of Thomas or Powell, I think that they are still the floor, but right above that floor would be Bryce Drew, or some of these other low to mid major coaches who have not really proven anything right now except they can win a conference tourney or two.

KATMAN has the inside info, he knows about offers, and choices, and lists, and conversations.

We should all be rooting hard for Bennett, he seems like the ceiling, at the moment.
Click to expand...

Do you believe everything you read? Martin was, at best, a D,E, or F in the Illlini's interest.
 
#2,714      

RichardKeenesHair

R
RichardKeenesHair
Martin himself. No

UICFLAMES said:
"Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman was also interested in reaching a deal with Martin, according to a source. Missouri was further along in the process and Illinois couldn't get in the game, the source said." Chicago Trib

So, we are on our third choice, if anyone is keeping count.

I think Bennett would be an excellent hire. Love to watch his teams compete, and if we get lucky with a top recruit or two, that will take the team a long way.

Miller and Marshall would be fine, but less quality than Bennett.

Keats might start to feel like he was last picked on the schoolyard, and NC State might play up that message in their recruitment of him.

People laughed at my floor of Thomas or Powell, I think that they are still the floor, but right above that floor would be Bryce Drew, or some of these other low to mid major coaches who have not really proven anything right now except they can win a conference tourney or two.

KATMAN has the inside info, he knows about offers, and choices, and lists, and conversations.

We should all be rooting hard for Bennett, he seems like the ceiling, at the moment.
Click to expand...
 
#2,715      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
bredhartmann said:
Whitman was interested, sure, but that doesn't equate to a finalized deal being on the table. Whitman is almost certainly throwing figures out to multiple coaches to gauge interest, that's not the same as an offer. Did Whitman reach out to Cuonzo, almost certainly, but there is 0% chance Cuonzo was our highest priority and Whitman let him go to Mizzou over a couple million dollars.
Click to expand...

Bingo
 
#2,716      

KrushCow31

KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
KrushCow31
UICFLAMES said:
"Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman was also interested in reaching a deal with Martin, according to a source. Missouri was further along in the process and Illinois couldn't get in the game, the source said." Chicago Trib

So, we are on our third choice, if anyone is keeping count.
Click to expand...

I think this is just 100% not true. Just because we were interested in Martin doesn't mean we were ready to pull the trigger. I'm sure they put out feelers but Whitman would be dumb hire the first coach he contacts before talking to bigger targets that are currently in the NCAA Tournament. Just because Missouri pulled the trigger fast doesn't mean "Martin turned down Illinois". Just because like one dude said we offered Monty doesn't mean he turned us down.
 
#2,717      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
Illinoy said:
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.
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I'm from Chicago and studies at UIUC for 4 years. But have also lived around every corner of the US. I think it was easier to recruit Illinois during Henson's days. Majority of elite players in the 80's went to Illinois or DePaul with some exceptions (Isiah Thomas). Now it appears elite instate players are looking at Kansas, Kentucky, and Duke to start with. Then we begin at Tier 2 level but still have to compete with other schools OSU, NC, Wisconsin, MSU, etc. Another issues is that certain schools who weren't competitive programs are now very good (Gonzaga, Wisconsin, Florida, WVU, Butler, etc..).
 
#2,718      

FeelYourPaign

FeelYourPaign
So Cal
FeelYourPaign
I was wondering last night how Missouri could hire CM so quickly, when we still have our posting open. But then I looked it up and Anderson resigned on 3/5, so presuming that they posted the job on 3/6 (Monday), they could hire faster than the Illini. Just thought it was a little tiny bit interesting.

Back to the speculation
 
#2,719      

IlliniTargetAcquired

I
IlliniTargetAcquired
UICFLAMES said:
This is Shannon Ryan and the Trib, not sure they would go with that source.

Its ok to admit that we would have hired Martin if there was mutual interest.

In the end, Martin either wanted Missouri more, or their money more, or both.
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The fact that you think Deon is our last resort immediately discredits everything you post. There's no reason to jump to conclusions and worst case scenarios based on every report that comes out. We will not be left with scrambling for anyone to take this position like last time
 
#2,720      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
KrushCow31 said:
I think this is just 100% not true. Just because we were interested in Martin doesn't mean we were ready to pull the trigger. I'm sure they put out feelers but Whitman would be dumb hire the first coach he contacts before talking to bigger targets that are currently in the NCAA Tournament. Just because Missouri pulled the trigger fast doesn't mean "Martin turned down Illinois". Just because like one dude said we offered Monty doesn't mean he turned us down.
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It does not really matter, pretty similar to recruiting. Just because you target coaches higher in the food chain does not mean that it is a better strategy. If you miss, you may end with someone even lower. Many searches have gone this way. You may target a coach not at the top and find success.

At the end, it does not matter who you miss on, but who you actually get.
 
#2,721      

combes

C
combes
UICFLAMES said:
This is Shannon Ryan and the Trib, not sure they would go with that source.

Its ok to admit that we would have hired Martin if there was mutual interest.

In the end, Martin either wanted Missouri more, or their money more, or both.
Click to expand...

In the end, Illinois didn't want Martin. Do you really believe that if Illinois wanted Martin, money would have been an issue? Martin has been campaigning for the UI job ever since it opened. He took the Missouri job because he wasn't going to get the UI job.
 
#2,722      

IntenselyOrange

I
IntenselyOrange
bredhartmann said:
Whitman was interested, sure, but that doesn't equate to a finalized deal being on the table. Whitman is almost certainly throwing figures out to multiple coaches to gauge interest, that's not the same as an offer. Did Whitman reach out to Cuonzo, almost certainly, but there is 0% chance Cuonzo was our highest priority and Whitman let him go to Mizzou over a couple million dollars.
Click to expand...

Exactly.
 
#2,723      

Illini1221

I
Peru,IL
Illini1221
InterimLoyalty said:
Does anyone know if Homer Drew still resides in the Valparaiso area? Seems like they are a close knit family and having Dad a few hours away so he can come to the games would be a nice perk.
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As long as he doesn't call any more ESPN3 games any more early in the season.
 
#2,725      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
RichardH said:
I agree that Bennett's title/resume is far superior to all these guys, but don't you think Miller (Dayton HC) and Marshall (WSU HC) would blend right in with this list?
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That's where you've gotta get a little granular.

Marshall and A. Miller are somewhere in between Cal at Memphis and S. Miller at Xavier in terms of their clout as candidates from non-P5 schools.

I'd say in Miller and Marshall would slot in at 6th on that list, behind Roy, Cal, Pitino, Self, and Huggins in that order.
 
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