2017 Coaching Carousel

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#7,826      
I have been watching CBS Sports today as an alum of UNM. Another name that got tossed around here earlier and I would be excited to hire: Eric Musselman.

Just a quick review on his Wiki page (I know, weak source) leaves me thinking he is very impressive. A quote on him from that page: "No coach in Nevada basketball history has done a better job of getting everything out of the talent on the roster. It might be the best coaching job in Wolf Pack hoops history."

Also cites his 2016 recruiting class as 35th in the country, 2nd in the Mountain West. Former NBA head coach, currently coaching at a conference just beneath the P5 (some question whether Keatts is coaching at a tough enough conference), some roots in the Midwest (spent time in Minnesota and Ohio as a kid).

I would put him on the same line as Keatts. Only concern would be his limited time at Nevada. Might not be ready to jump to another program quite yet.


I like Musselman as well but didn't bring him up earlier because he has substantial ties to the Northern California/Reno area.

Definitely a step up from Keats from a level of competition perspective. Certainly worth a phone call to an agent.



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#7,827      
Martin did take players from this area to Cal, though. That to me is somewhat impressive.

Not really. A kid from Illinois wanting an awesome college experience? Cal is a great choice.

If he were taking kids from Illinois and recruiting them to Mississippi, I would be impressed.
 
#7,828      
KEATTS TRAIN ROLLING INTO YOUR LIVING ROOM LIKE

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#7,829      
There's only a few "realistic," names that would win over the fan base immediately. Josh better bring his A game.
 
#7,831      
There's like a tiny, baby, little itty bitty sized chance we still make the NCAA Tournament, and because of that fact, Whitman will not fire Groce until after Selection Sunday. Even a chance of 1%, it would look terrible to fire a coach and then make the tournament.
 
#7,832      
So... We have a flight due to arrive at Willard tonight from Jacksonville.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N816FG

This plane is owned by N816FG,LLC.

The registered agent in the state of Illinois for N816FG, LLC is Thomas Clarkson of Urbana.

According to LinkedIn Thomas Clarkson is an accountant at Flex N Gate - Kahn's company.

Obviously, this is a common itinerary for this plane, but... solving the flight watch puzzle can be a lot of fun.
 
#7,833      
Doesn't Jim Delaney have an unofficial rule in the conference about not firing coaches while the Big Ten Tournament is in progress, so as not to distract from the games?

Bruce was fired the day after they lost to Iowa in the opening game of the BTT.
 
#7,834      
Tony Bennett from Virginia would be my #1 choice after Groce is fired. Wisconsin guy that has had a ton of success at Virginia and his style of play would work great in the Big Ten.
 
#7,835      
I am 99% sure Groce is gone. The one scenario I'm worried about:

Whitman makes the decision to fire Groce, but doesn't want to announce anything until after we're officially omitted from the NCAA tournament. The NIT starts up really quick next week and Whitman decides to wait to make an announcement post-NIT.

We go on a decent run ("fake run," as some would say) in the NIT. In the meantime, Keatts is hired at NC State. We strike out on all our home run targets and Monty Williams says he has no interest. Whitman looks at the NIT run (with a 20-point blowout loss in the final, of course), and decides to retain Groce.

But I don't think an NIT run is in the cards. First round loss to ISU would be more likely.
With Missouri looking for a coach, Illinois can't afford to wait long to fire Groce. If it's going to happen, it'll happen soon.
 
#7,837      
If I were in a similar position, I would have a crazy guilt complex over the very idea that my performance may have cost a man his job, even though that's twisted logic and unfair.

Groce and Groce alone will have cost himself his job. His fate will be based on multiple years of poor performance. Not one game.
 
#7,838      
Groce and Groce alone will have cost himself his job. His fate will be based on multiple years of poor performance. Not one game.

4 missed tournaments in a row for anyone at Illinois is a death sentence. This isn't a one game thing.
 
#7,840      
Groce and Groce alone will have cost himself his job. His fate will be based on multiple years of poor performance. Not one game.

Yep. I feel bad for JG like I feel bad for anyone who gives their all to a pursuit and fails. Failure is difficult, especially when it happens under the public microscope. However, in a pressure-packed, billion dollar industry, you either deliver results or hit the road. Time for Groce to go. I'll root for him the rest of his career and I have a lot of respect for the way he conducted himself.
 
#7,841      
Yep. I feel bad for JG like I feel bad for anyone who gives their all to a pursuit and fails. Failure is difficult, especially when it happens under the public microscope. However, in a pressure-packed, billion dollar industry, you either deliver results or hit the road. Time for Groce to go. I'll root for him the rest of his career and I have a lot of respect for the way he conducted himself.

This. And he will have no trouble finding a job.
 
#7,843      
So... We have a flight due to arrive at Willard tonight from Jacksonville.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N816FG

This plane is owned by N816FG,LLC.

The registered agent in the state of Illinois for N816FG, LLC is Thomas Clarkson of Urbana.

According to LinkedIn Thomas Clarkson is an accountant at Flex N Gate - Kahn's company.

Obviously, this is a common itinerary for this plane, but... solving the flight watch puzzle can be a lot of fun.



Eh, my understanding from a friend whose son works for flex n gate is that Shad flies down employees and managers fairly regularly.
 
#7,845      
Home Run Unicorn
Keatts
Jankovich
Monty
Musselman
Cuonzo

I'm not as high on Jank as others. He's winning at SMU right now with Larry Brown's players, many of whom were "obtained" the Larry Brown way.

If this were year 4 or 5 post LB and he was still winning I'd be more impressed. Just too soon IMO.
 
#7,846      
Home Run Unicorn
Keatts
Jankovich
Monty
Musselman
Cuonzo

I understand it is a difficult name to spell, but that is a really bad misspelling of Krystkowiak. :suspicious:

And he belongs much higher on your list than 5th. :thumb:

I am assuming you also don't feel Archie Miller, the grand slam of hires, is attainable? I don't disagree, but I remain hopeful that JW will try.

Assuming no Miller, re-ordering your list:

1) Krystkowiak (duh)
2) Monty
3/4) Musselman
3/4) Keatts
5) Jankovich
 
#7,847      
Yep. I feel bad for JG like I feel bad for anyone who gives their all to a pursuit and fails. Failure is difficult, especially when it happens under the public microscope. However, in a pressure-packed, billion dollar industry, you either deliver results or hit the road. Time for Groce to go. I'll root for him the rest of his career and I have a lot of respect for the way he conducted himself.

Agreed. I really wanted it to work out with Groce. I don't think you could ask for a better ambassador for the University or role model for young men. If college basketball were decided on character alone, Groce would have us challenging for Final Fours on a yearly basis. I wish him well and will root for his success wherever that may be.
 
#7,848      
I think what bothers about C. Martin is its another branch off of the Coach Keady Tree. We have have been there done that, no thanks. Again, l think he is a fine person, but I believe Bruce Weber is a better Coach. I don't want to rehire him, nor Steven Lavin nor Painter or Larry Brown. Hubbie Brown maybe. Does Ricky Pitino have anymore Kids?
 
#7,849      
1) Krystkowiak (duh)
2) Monty
3/4) Musselman
3/4) Keatts
5) Jankovich

A non-essential, but very interesting point about the top 3 above... all three have been NBA head coaches. That said, I hope our next coach is either one of the five coaches below, or is an out of the blue "how did we not think of that" type hire:

1) Archie Miller
2) Larry Krystkowiak
3) Monty Williams
4) Eric Musselman
5) Kevin Keatts
 
#7,850      
Time for a Change

I haven't posted here in years, although I check the board almost every day. My love for Illinois basketball goes back to the days of Downey, Redmon, Small, Burwell, Colangelo and Brody. I was on campus for six years, went through the slush fund nightmare and the first couple of "semi-successful" years of Harv Schmidt before his program imploded in 1974.

I admired and appreciated the slow but steady progress with Hensen and Yates, as we started to attract the best talent in Illinois, culminating in the run to the Final Four in 1989. Then the treachery of Bruce Pearl set us back again. After Lou, (yes, it was time), Kruger got us back on the road to success and Self took us to the brink of a championship run. Hated like hell to lose him to Kansas, but it looked like we might have the last laugh after all when Weber took Self's players to the championship game in 2005.

During all those years, I tried to make it back to Champaign a couple of times every year, and when I couldn't be there in person, Illini games were "appointment TV," and my wife knew never to commit to something else when our games were on. After reaching but not quite conquering the summit in 2005, I suffered through the agonizing steady decline, when Weber just could not get the premier Illinois talent to Champaign, but my love and support for the team never wavered. When the decision to dump Weber was finally made, I kept an open mind on John Groce, and like many of us, after his first year and almost making it to the Sweet 16, I thought that Mike Thomas had batted .500 on his initial hiring decisions. I still never missed a game, and I followed the team as enthusiastically as ever.

But every year since year 1 of the Groce era, through the frustration of continually finishing second in the recruiting of the top blue chippers, and with the occasional and inexplicable home court losses to mid-majors and the maddening playing to the level of Penn State, Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa, I felt my passion for Illini basketball diminishing with every setback. Over the period of the last two to three years, I pretty much stopped watching the games on "live" TV. Sure, I would tape them, and if we won, then I would watch, but if they lost, why sit through the frustration of bad offensive and defensive execution, bizarre time-out strategy, and simply the team not being ready to play.

So here we are, bounced once again from the Big Ten Tournament after one game, with NO chance of getting an NCAA bid, trying to decide whether we should accept an NIT bid. I hope and pray that Josh Whitman understands the depth of the disappointment, frustration and anger that I feel today. To this point, I believe that Whitman is the best thing that has happened to Illinois athletics since Bill Self came to town. I desperately want to be able to look forward once again to watching Illinois basketball.

The fact that Whitman has refused all requests for interviews, plus the fact that so far, no "leaks" seem to be emanating from the athletic department, I feel that Whitman understands the situation and is working diligently to find and sign the best possible coach to lead us out of the darkness. I pray he is successful.
 
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