But yall say this pretty much every year and he just gets bigger contract and extension… currently thru 2031
Wisconsin 91, Illinois 88 OT Postgame
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But yall say this pretty much every year and he just gets bigger contract and extension… currently thru 2031
You are drunk. Weber would get eaten alive in this environment.
We're gonna win the first game next week. We may win a second time next week; I sure hope so. We probably won't win during week two of the NCAA tournament, but there is a tiny chance of that happening. And then, most likely, it will be time to start rebuilding a roster/staff/culture that can win an actual, real-life, not metrics-based, but actual in-the-flesh and no-whining championship. Maybe a B1G championship. Maybe at B1G Tournament Championship. Maybe the championship that Coach Underwood has set his sights on: the NCAA Tournament (National) Championship.
I have a savage, visceral, bleeding hope that Underwood will find a way to win a championship that matters. Give him the money, hold his fat feet to the flames until he howls, and let the blockhead with the heart of a champion and the vocabulary of a John Deere-dependent corn farmer rip. If not year 9 of the Underwood era, then let's roll in year 10. And 11.
I have a savage, visceral, bleeding hope that Underwood will find a way to win a championship that matters. Give him the money, hold his fat feet to the flames until he howls, and let the blockhead with the heart of a champion and the vocabulary of a John Deere-dependent corn farmer rip. If not year 9 of the Underwood era, then let's roll in year 10. And 11.
But the facts are the facts.
Okay? But they were all ahead of Illinois on the list. Look back at my post, we were NINTH.
We only need to be top 10, since this was the comment everyone was crucifying:
Here’s the rest of the list after Illinois:
1. Houston: 86.6%
2. Duke: 79.7%
3. Arizona: 78.4%
4. UCONN: 78.3%
5. Purdue: 76.4%
6. Alabama: 72.7%
7. Tennessee: 72.7%
8. Kansas: 72.5%
9. Illinois: 70.3%
….
10. UCLA: 69.3%
11. North Carolina: 69.1%
12. Baylor: 69.0%
13. Auburn: 68.7%
14. Virginia: 68.2%
15. Florida: 68.2%
Take this however you’d wish. All of the teams after us:
have had at least one TRAINWRECK season in that 7-year timespan (so much so that some have even fired their coach).
but yes, have made a F4 (other than Virginia). I’m certainly not blaming folks for craving more March success. It’s just there’s a logical limit.
I, personally, would much rather hang my hat on consistency. If you keep knocking on the door with high seeds — year after year — it’s more significantly more likely than not your time will come.
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If I was Josh Whitman, and if as well this year's team does not make it to the Sweet Sixteen, I would for the coming year offer Brad Underwood no raise and no extension.
In his post-season review, I would tell Underwood: "You've been selling 'Final Four' for several seasons now. I love that, 100%. I love it. Because our diehard fans dream of the Fighting Illini in the Final Four. They lavish their attention and love on this basketball program, on this place, on their alma mater. And because, selfishly, I want this program and this school to win it all."
"All of it. Not close to winning it all; not winning some sort of statistical construct; not almost won it, and not coulda, and not if only. Win.It.All."
"Until then, is there anything we really need to discuss? Just win, baby. Right?"
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So I've definitely been pretty unhappy with how Brad handled the late game today and his overall in game coaching, but I think there's nuance here. I'm not advocating for a coaching change or to fire Brad. In fact I don't think we should do that unless we have someone lined up you just can't say no to. And Brad has proven he can build a program and recruit at a high level. Those are no small feats and he's been good at that.
Instead I would advocate for hiring strong X and O assistant or game coaches this offseason. If that coach is solely in charge of timeout management, OOB plays, and a couple set plays for late game situations, so be it.
Weber could do everything well but recruit. He would have followed up a National Championship game with getting D Rose. He would have won a ton with top 15 talent.
I liked Weber a lot and you're absolutely correct. The NIL era is almost the exact opposite of his coaching strengths. He'd fail miserably here as a head coach in this era. But, if we were to give him a million dollars to be our defensive game coach or special consultant in charge of running defensive drills for the team in practice, I would say that might be money very very very well spent
Not gonna flop their way to any wins in the Dance, early exit.
The Sprouting Divot
Invisible and Bulletproof
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Weber could easily (or at least likely) succeed with someone else as his primary recruiter/bag man.
What scares me is if we change coaches can the new coach find guys like this? Ty is out, Morez got poached, we lost players we couldn’t afford, but still are having a great year with a team that can still potentially win it all. MI had to beat WI on a last second 3pt shot. We aren’t bad and we can play much better.
Could Brad Underwood be the next Kentucky basketball coach? He is being mentioned
Illinois men's basketball coach Brad Underwood is being included on lists of possible replacements for John Calipari at Kentucky.
Using the B1G tournament seeding, from Michigan #1 through Penn State #18, and considering the league in tiers (1-6, 7-12, 13-18), this year's Fighitng Illini team went in a total of 21 games:
1-6 against Tier 1 (Michigan - Nebraska - Michigan St - (Illini) - Wisconsin - UCLA)
14-0 against Tier 2 (Purdue - Ohio St - Iowa - Indiana - Minnesota - Washington) and Tier 3 (USC - Rutgers - Northwestern - Maryland - Oregon - Penn St)
This year's Illini reliably defeat teams they are better than. They struggle badly against teams at their level (Nebraska, Michigan St, Wisconsin, UCLA) and above their level (Michigan).
In the round of 64, this crude analysis predicts the Illini win, almost guaranteed.
In the round of 32, the Illini may win but as a 3 seed they may run into a team like Wisconsin of UCLA, which this year's Illini have often lost to. Making the Sweet 16 will be a challenge. Making the Elite 8, from this crude analysis, appears very unlikely.
1-6 against Tier 1 (Michigan - Nebraska - Michigan St - (Illini) - Wisconsin - UCLA)
14-0 against Tier 2 (Purdue - Ohio St - Iowa - Indiana - Minnesota - Washington) and Tier 3 (USC - Rutgers - Northwestern - Maryland - Oregon - Penn St)
This year's Illini reliably defeat teams they are better than. They struggle badly against teams at their level (Nebraska, Michigan St, Wisconsin, UCLA) and above their level (Michigan).
In the round of 64, this crude analysis predicts the Illini win, almost guaranteed.
In the round of 32, the Illini may win but as a 3 seed they may run into a team like Wisconsin of UCLA, which this year's Illini have often lost to. Making the Sweet 16 will be a challenge. Making the Elite 8, from this crude analysis, appears very unlikely.
Weber didn’t lose when he had equal or better talent. His weaknesses is he had no ability to recruit. Give him a checkbook and he dominates.
On the one hand we think we are going to land Nate Oats or Todd Golden, but on the other hand we think we are a stepping stone program and the only reason BU hasn't moved on is everybody thinks he's bad. No logical consistency, just whatever advances the anti-BU narrative at that given moment.
Exactly. The staff deserve all the credit in the world for bringing in Keaton and putting him in a position to excel. And the same for David.
At the same time -- this is not criticism, it is a critique -- is this a recruiting system than can bring championships? I sure hope so.
But the grass is always greener…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.
I agree 100%.
I’ve also wondered if BU is pushing them too hard in practice during the season. Player injuries and as you said, obvious fatigue by end of season. Practices don’t need to be like ‘Nam.
I’d also like more Americans and limit our “ic” count to 2-3 max next year. We need dawgs. Only Mirkovic fits that bill.
This won't be popular but I would legitimately hire Luke Murray. Best offensive scheme in the country.
It's only a matter of time before he gets a major head coaching gig and if that happens I think he's on a short list for a blue blood soon after. Get him early, win, and retain him.
I’ll always appreciate that BU hasn’t treated us like a stepping stone program. I was there when Self left and it was brutal.
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