Wisconsin 91, Illinois 88 OT Postgame

Status
Not open for further replies.
#926      
It’s time to have to Chris Beard conversation that no one wants to have.
happy to have it: keep that lowlife far away from champaign.
 
#928      
1773506555136.png
 
#933      
For those of you who think we need to replace BU to get to the FF or a championship

Only four coaches have a Championship since COVID:

Todd Golden
Dan Hurley
Bill Self
Scott Drew

14 other Coaches have made a Final Four since COVID:

Kelvin Sampson
Jon Scheyer
Bruce Pearl
Matt Painter
Nate Oats
Kevin Keatts
Jim Larranga
Dusty May
Brian Dutcher
Mike Krzyzewski
Jay Wright
Hubert Davis
Mark Few
Mick Cronin

So 18 total coaches who have achieved what BU has not yet achieved. 4 of these guys are retired. Kevin Keatts got fired because outside of this run he was very unsuccessful. Despite making the FF I don't think people would be clamoring to replace Brad with Mick Cronin, Hubert Davis, or Scott Drew right now. Golden, Hurley, Self, Sampson, Scheyer, Painter, Oats, May and Few aren't coming here even if we wanted them. So I guess that leaves Brian Dutcher? I don't think hiring Brian Dutcher is the move.

So that leaves the option of hiring someone who hasn't gotten there, because we think they'd do a better job if only they had our resources.

Here are some major programs who've hired they guy (or the guys, plural) they thought would get them there since BU's hire and have failed to get to even the Elite Eight:

Indiana - last Elite Eight 2001, coached by Archie Miller, Mike Woodson, and Darien Devries in the time since

Kentucky - last Elite Eight was 2019. Does anyone have more resources than Kentucky? And yet...maybe this thing isn't that easy?

Louisville - hasn't made it since 2015* (vacated, whoops)

Syracuse - last made 2016

Iowa - hasn't made the Elite Eight since 1987, can't find the guy to get them there

Arizona - Shockingly has not made it to Elite Eight in the last decade, since 2015

Iowa St. - has not made it since 2000, a drought Brad Underwoods subpar coaching has contributed to

And here are some big time programs who haven't made more than one S16s since COVID:

Kentucky (1)
Kansas (1)
Florida (1)
Maryland (1)
Oregon (1)
USC (1)
Baylor (1)
Syracuse (1)
Ole Miss (1)
Texas (1)
Kansas St. (1)
BYU (1)
FSU (1)
Ohio St. (0 - last made in 2013)
Wisconsin (0 - last made 2017)
Iowa (0 - last made 1999)
Louisville (0 - last made 2015)
Georgia Tech (0 - last made 2004)
Notre Dame (0 - last made 2016)
St. John's (0 - last made 1999)
Georgetown (0 - last made 2007)
LSU (0 - last made 2019)
Oklahoma (0 - last made 2016)
Vanderbilt (0 - last made 2007)
Missouri (0 - last made 2009)
West Virginia (0 - last made 2018)
Wake Forest (0 - last made 2004)
Virginia (0 - last made 2019)

It's not easy to hire a coach who is going to get you even to where Brad has gotten (Elite Eight). All of these programs hire guys with that and more in mind. Most of them fail. BU has a better chance of getting us to a Final Four and Championship than any coach we can hire to replace him, no matter how good a fit we think that guy will be in the abstract. Every one of these programs hires/retains guys with that in mind.
At least 34 schools have MORE than 1 Sweet 16 since Underwood has been at Illinois. Underwood’s 1 trip past the R32 is below the standard.
 
Last edited:
#934      
For those of you who think we need to replace BU to get to the FF or a championship

Only four coaches have a Championship since COVID:

Todd Golden
Dan Hurley
Bill Self
Scott Drew

14 other Coaches have made a Final Four since COVID:

Kelvin Sampson
Jon Scheyer
Bruce Pearl
Matt Painter
Nate Oats
Kevin Keatts
Jim Larranga
Dusty May
Brian Dutcher
Mike Krzyzewski
Jay Wright
Hubert Davis
Mark Few
Mick Cronin

So 18 total coaches who have achieved what BU has not yet achieved. 4 of these guys are retired. Kevin Keatts got fired because outside of this run he was very unsuccessful. Despite making the FF I don't think people would be clamoring to replace Brad with Mick Cronin, Hubert Davis, or Scott Drew right now. Golden, Hurley, Self, Sampson, Scheyer, Painter, Oats, May and Few aren't coming here even if we wanted them. So I guess that leaves Brian Dutcher? I don't think hiring Brian Dutcher is the move.

So that leaves the option of hiring someone who hasn't gotten there, because we think they'd do a better job if only they had our resources.

Here are some major programs who've hired they guy (or the guys, plural) they thought would get them there since BU's hire and have failed to get to even the Elite Eight:

Indiana - last Elite Eight 2001, coached by Archie Miller, Mike Woodson, and Darien Devries in the time since

Kentucky - last Elite Eight was 2019. Does anyone have more resources than Kentucky? And yet...maybe this thing isn't that easy?

Louisville - hasn't made it since 2015* (vacated, whoops)

Syracuse - last made 2016

Iowa - hasn't made the Elite Eight since 1987, can't find the guy to get them there

Arizona - Shockingly has not made it to Elite Eight in the last decade, since 2015

Iowa St. - has not made it since 2000, a drought Brad Underwoods subpar coaching has contributed to

And here are some big time programs who haven't made more than one S16s since COVID:

Kentucky (1)
Kansas (1)
Florida (1)
Maryland (1)
Oregon (1)
USC (1)
Baylor (1)
Syracuse (1)
Ole Miss (1)
Texas (1)
Kansas St. (1)
BYU (1)
FSU (1)
Ohio St. (0 - last made in 2013)
Wisconsin (0 - last made 2017)
Iowa (0 - last made 1999)
Louisville (0 - last made 2015)
Georgia Tech (0 - last made 2004)
Notre Dame (0 - last made 2016)
St. John's (0 - last made 1999)
Georgetown (0 - last made 2007)
LSU (0 - last made 2019)
Oklahoma (0 - last made 2016)
Vanderbilt (0 - last made 2007)
Missouri (0 - last made 2009)
West Virginia (0 - last made 2018)
Wake Forest (0 - last made 2004)
Virginia (0 - last made 2019)

It's not easy to hire a coach who is going to get you even to where Brad has gotten (Elite Eight). All of these programs hire guys with that and more in mind. Most of them fail. BU has a better chance of getting us to a Final Four and Championship than any coach we can hire to replace him, no matter how good a fit we think that guy will be in the abstract. Every one of these programs hires/retains guys with that in mind.
Oh my gosh. Thank you for putting this together! The fire BU crowd should read this everyday before posting. Every school that has had some level of success in the past thinks they just need a new coach to get back there. They fail 99% of the time.

Check This Out Cookie Monster GIF by Sesame Street
 
#935      
At least 34 schools have MORE than 1 Sweet 16 since Underwood has been at Illinois. Underwood’s 1 trip past the R32 is not special.
Now do Elite 8s. But first read his post again. I don’t think it took.
 
#937      
Hey, probably a repeat link, yet lessons need to be learned if the Illini are to move forward:


* ILL had fewer rebounds (being the tallest team in the country?)

* ILL had a worse free throw %

* ILL had more personal fouls

* ILL had fewer assists

* ILL had fewer steals

* Refs sucked, yet coaches/players have to be able to do work-arounds and adapt when in that environment.

* Is this for real: ILL has lost 6 OT games this year? Say it ain't so, you got to be kidding!

* Pick your stat among the others in the boxscore, it wasn't pretty for supposedly the best offensive team in the country.

* We can only hope this ship can be turned around come tourney time.
 
#938      
Serious question: how is "1 for 9 on second weekends" a true statistic?

He hasn't made a second weekend in 2026. Exactly ZERO other college basketball programs have made a sweet sixteen in 2026; the tournament is still a week away.

He didn't make a second weekend in 2020. Exactly ZERO other college basketball programs have made a sweet sixteen in 2020; the tournament was cancelled.

After our 18-19 season, at the beginning of our 19-20 season - if I told you most BIG wins over the next 7 years, would you say great or good? Just curious.

You can reword it however you want … He’s got 1 second weekend to his name … He’s been here since 2017 … We aren’t a second weekend team right now … Unless we magically figure things out …

Regular season wins ? Good … Not great … Are we hanging banners for regular season wins now ?

I’d gladly be 3rd or 4th in Big Tens wins and have 3 more sweet 16s and two more elite 8s … And maybe that’s just me … 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
#939      
It’s time to have to Chris Beard conversation that no one wants to have.
If someone like Beard is ever our coach, I stop being a fan that minute. We all know what happened regardless of the payoff that brushed away the charges. Sometimes being a good person matters more than winning games.
 
#940      
At least 34 schools have MORE than 1 Sweet 16 since Underwood has been at Illinois. Underwood’s 1 trip past the R32 is below the standard.
Nobody was expecting Underwood to even make the tourney his first two years, and his third season was Covid, which is why I used that as the operative timeline. How many of your 34 programs does that take out right there?

And then, genuine question, would you rather have made 2 S16s instead of 1, but not made the Elite Eight? Because that's where a lot of those programs are. And then some of us do actually care about conference accolades and BU has 3 conference titles. How many if those 34 can say that? But let's just distill it down to this:

Is there any coach out there that meets both these criteria:

1. More success than Underwood in the last 5 years AND

2. We would actually have a real shot at hiring if we moved on from Underwood

Who fits both those criteria?
 
#942      
I just realized part of the annoyance of this end of the year has been the scheduling. Our team is/was special so I looked forward to every game. Waiting a week between games only to be crushed by Michigan or edged out by Wisconsin is really frustrating as a fan and hard for the team to get their rhythm back. Now we have another week to wait and think about giving up big second half leads. Part of my melancholy is the end of the season fast approaching - no matter how well they do - and having to say goodbye to another great roster.
 
#944      
For those of you who think we need to replace BU to get to the FF or a championship

Only four coaches have a Championship since COVID:

Todd Golden
Dan Hurley
Bill Self
Scott Drew

14 other Coaches have made a Final Four since COVID:

Kelvin Sampson
Jon Scheyer
Bruce Pearl
Matt Painter
Nate Oats
Kevin Keatts
Jim Larranga
Dusty May
Brian Dutcher
Mike Krzyzewski
Jay Wright
Hubert Davis
Mark Few
Mick Cronin

So 18 total coaches who have achieved what BU has not yet achieved. 4 of these guys are retired. Kevin Keatts got fired because outside of this run he was very unsuccessful. Despite making the FF I don't think people would be clamoring to replace Brad with Mick Cronin, Hubert Davis, or Scott Drew right now. Golden, Hurley, Self, Sampson, Scheyer, Painter, Oats, May and Few aren't coming here even if we wanted them. So I guess that leaves Brian Dutcher? I don't think hiring Brian Dutcher is the move.

So that leaves the option of hiring someone who hasn't gotten there, because we think they'd do a better job if only they had our resources.

Here are some major programs who've hired they guy (or the guys, plural) they thought would get them there since BU's hire and have failed to get to even the Elite Eight:

Indiana - last Elite Eight 2001, coached by Archie Miller, Mike Woodson, and Darien Devries in the time since

Kentucky - last Elite Eight was 2019. Does anyone have more resources than Kentucky? And yet...maybe this thing isn't that easy?

Louisville - hasn't made it since 2015* (vacated, whoops)

Syracuse - last made 2016

Iowa - hasn't made the Elite Eight since 1987, can't find the guy to get them there

Arizona - Shockingly has not made it to Elite Eight in the last decade, since 2015

Iowa St. - has not made it since 2000, a drought Brad Underwoods subpar coaching has contributed to

And here are some big time programs who haven't made more than one S16s since COVID:

Kentucky (1)
Kansas (1)
Florida (1)
Maryland (1)
Oregon (1)
USC (1)
Baylor (1)
Syracuse (1)
Ole Miss (1)
Texas (1)
Kansas St. (1)
BYU (1)
FSU (1)
Ohio St. (0 - last made in 2013)
Wisconsin (0 - last made 2017)
Iowa (0 - last made 1999)
Louisville (0 - last made 2015)
Georgia Tech (0 - last made 2004)
Notre Dame (0 - last made 2016)
St. John's (0 - last made 1999)
Georgetown (0 - last made 2007)
LSU (0 - last made 2019)
Oklahoma (0 - last made 2016)
Vanderbilt (0 - last made 2007)
Missouri (0 - last made 2009)
West Virginia (0 - last made 2018)
Wake Forest (0 - last made 2004)
Virginia (0 - last made 2019)

It's not easy to hire a coach who is going to get you even to where Brad has gotten (Elite Eight). All of these programs hire guys with that and more in mind. Most of them fail. BU has a better chance of getting us to a Final Four and Championship than any coach we can hire to replace him, no matter how good a fit we think that guy will be in the abstract. Every one of these programs hires/retains guys with that in mind.
I'm frustrated with Brad as much as anyone, but you make a very compelling case. I do think NIL changes things quite a bit so evaluating pre-NIL may not be totally fair. But certainly some valid points here.
 
#946      
There are only 2 people whose coaching opinion matter. Neither of those people post here (probably).
One is Brad, and whether he wants to continue at Illinois. I think he does.
The other is Josh Whitman. I trust his leadership completely. All indications are he wants Brad to continue. Not sure the OT losses and a 3 seed are going to change his mind and roll the dice on a new hire.
 
#947      
Hey, probably a repeat link, yet lessons need to be learned if the Illini are to move forward:


* ILL had fewer rebounds (being the tallest team in the country?)

* ILL had a worse free throw %

* ILL had more personal fouls

* ILL had fewer assists

* ILL had fewer steals

* Refs sucked, yet coaches/players have to be able to do work-arounds and adapt when in that environment.

* Is this for real: ILL has lost 6 OT games this year? Say it ain't so, you got to be kidding!

* Pick your stat among the others in the boxscore, it wasn't pretty for supposedly the best offensive team in the country.

* We can only hope this ship can be turned around come tourney time.
What was our FT% in the last 6 minutes of the OT games we lost?

And to add to what you have already written. There is definitely a reason for the drop off in the FT% in important situations. But as an observer (not a coach) I have no idea how that problem gets remedied.
 
#948      
You can reword it however you want … He’s got 1 second weekend to his name … He’s been here since 2017 … We aren’t a second weekend team right now … Unless we magically figure things out …

Regular season wins ? Good … Not great … Are we hanging banners for regular season wins now ?

I’d gladly be 3rd or 4th in Big Tens wins and have 3 more sweet 16s and two more elite 8s … And maybe that’s just me … 🤷🏻‍♂️
Teams have hung banners for regular season wins since the beginning of basketball time.
 
#949      
Nobody was expecting Underwood to even make the tourney his first two years, and his third season was Covid, which is why I used that as the operative timeline. How many of your 34 programs does that take out right there?

And then, genuine question, would you rather have made 2 S16s instead of 1, but not made the Elite Eight? Because that's where a lot of those programs are. And then some of us do actually care about conference accolades and BU has 3 conference titles. How many if those 34 can say that? But let's just distill it down to this:

Is there any coach out there that meets both these criteria:

1. More success than Underwood in the last 5 years AND

2. We would actually have a real shot at hiring if we moved on from Underwood


Who fits both those criteria?

It’s a lot more fun to just keep screaming unacceptable everytime the team loses than actually share names.

Everytime this question is asked, it’s never actually answered and you’ll get some speech on demanding more and some bizarre formula on ROI that makes no sense
 
#950      
I would call winning more games in the Big Ten this decade than any other team the definition of consistently competitive. The last game of the season isn’t going the way we want it to but we are consistently competitive
and what we've got from that is 1 conference title and 2 tournament titles. Hey I love winning, but where's the hardware?

What frustrates me is, we had Ayo and Kofi, 2 AAs and we couldn't win the conference. In fact, that team lost 2 home games. We got a #1 seed and basically got our butts kicked in round 2.

We've seen a string of AAs, 1st team All Big Ten, NBA 1st round draft picks. But we always blow some stupid game and end up having a nice season with ultimately nothing to show for it. As I mentioned in a previous post, we're very grateful that Underwood has brought us back to consistent success, but the goal is always championships, and I don't think Underwood is going to bring us championships.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back