The late night visits were for Ortega
Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread
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I mean … After the tourney loss … I told Josh to go get Sean … And if you paid attention to where Josh was … You’d know how that conversation went …
Wouldn’t necessarily say I was Brad’s #1 fan …
Also - I am a fan of Brad but I also have criticized him when necessary … He deserves credit for getting TJ and Coleman back … He also deserves criticism for how the entire rest of this off-season has gone …
Antigua, TA, Chester and pay Gentry $1 million to be Special Assistant … Call it done …
I mean Tevian was a bucket for Southern Utah … Kid always had talent …
Griffin loves Brad … Has nothing but great things to say …
Recall a ringcam video showing both of them pounding on someone's door....
His estimated net worth is $9 million. That's some pretty big debt that you are in there. /s
Sean has a net worth a lot higher than $9 million and I can tell you that with 100% certainty …
Yes … There’s a video … And that’s all I’ll say about it …
With the lack of PG news and the reports that DGL has been lights out and Ty is coming along....I think that BU believes that the situation is already resolved internally. If that's the case and they're going to be the guys not only this year, but the next three, that works. He knows his guys, he knows his team, he knows the guys out there in the portal...it's his job to make the best decision. After two days of him getting blistered, probably best to see how it all plays out.
To go along with that, TSJ and Hawk have played against both Mulcahey and Krissa. Maybe they just don't like those two? Maybe they don't think that they're a fit?
I say this because I have to believe that with the NIL benefits that we have....we would have gotten a significant target.
I also think that many of us want a big name vs believe in non portal, recruited out of HS guys...which really isn't fair to the freshman/sophomores.
To go along with that, TSJ and Hawk have played against both Mulcahey and Krissa. Maybe they just don't like those two? Maybe they don't think that they're a fit?
I say this because I have to believe that with the NIL benefits that we have....we would have gotten a significant target.
I also think that many of us want a big name vs believe in non portal, recruited out of HS guys...which really isn't fair to the freshman/sophomores.
I think that Guerrier and Domask were extremely solid add ons. Can't discount those guys. They're good veteran pieces. The PG situation is what's looming. Probably not fair to bury him when we could have been replacing 90% of everything.
drsmitty74
- Rochester
Yep. Saw it.
Yeah brad should have called one there, no excuse.
Irvin certainly would have
Not discounting those guys … Good role players … One will start … One will come off the bench …
We needed a PG … It was our biggest need … The entire country knew it … We still don’t have one …
No he wouldn’t have …
Because we would’ve been up 30 … No need to call a dang timeout …
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
How quickly we forget. Here is a conference record breakdown since the start of Bruce's decline:
2007-2019: 89 - 129 (tail end of Weber thru Brad's inherited team; I refer to it as the only "period of irrelevancy" during my fandem)
2020-2023: 55 - 25 (the four years of "turnaround" putting us back on par with the Lou, Lon and Bill regimes)
That's a conference winning % of .408 vs .786. Staggering improvement!
This roster feels like when you’re waiting for 2k to load and it’s stuck at 99% and just freezes on you. Damn shame with the amount of talent & experience we have 2-5. A kid like Mulcahy or Kriisa or (gulp) RayJ and we’re all probably talking about an elite 8 or big ten championship with this group… unbelievable.
Agree. Illinois will field a basketball team this year and they could be pretty competitive and will definitely be more watchable and coachable than last year's train wreck.
What was Whitman's public position after the NCAA loss? Was he supportive?
I'm not so sure. Want to be optimistic, but where is the leadership going to come from?? Big problem last year.
Big Jack
- Decatur
Think you meant isn't...... But we will let it slide this time... /s
It's an obvious statement that nothing is a sure thing, but even if a coach told Josh they'd take the Illinois job, I feel like there's still a 50% chance it doesn't happen. Coaches/recruits say the things that leave doors open for them and often when the rubber hits the road, the minefield appears. And of course random curveballs can come up.
Maybe I feel that because I just watched succession and every plan in that show backfires.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
The absolute depth of this program's slide into irrelevancy, I think, was the 2014 home loss to #12 Michigan by an embarrassing score of 84-53 when we were fighting for an NCAA berth. You can point to a lot of other bad years, but here is my argument:
- In 2007, we were still all riding the high and many still had an almost faith-like belief that Illinois basketball had a RIGHT to be good ... we wouldn't stay down for long!
- Even in 2008, we had some good young talent and help on the way.
- 2009, while pretty boring, was a pleasant surprise ... many took it as "proof" that Weber still had it.
- 2010 and 2011 were massive disappointments, but I think a lot of people had turned on Weber by now and were excited at the opportunity of "self-correcting" with an elite new coach who would bring us back. 2012 was an utter disaster, but it led to Weber finally being let go.
- While Groce was a disappointing hire for many, 2013 started off with a BANG. Even with the slump through the midseason, we still beat #1 Indiana and entered the Tournament with a respectable #7 seed and easily beat Colorado. We were SO close to knocking of Miami (FL) and making the Sweet Sixteen, and I think a lot of people really had optimism for this program.
However, by 2014, I would argue things came crashing down for the first time and we officially slid into the "irrelevant" category. 2005 was all of a sudden a LONG way back in the rearview mirror, and the future did not look bright after this campaign. Were 2015 and 2016 worse? Sure. However, I would argue our fans were just numb and depressed by that point. We started off the season 7-0 and then were 13-2 (2-0) and ranked #23 as we traveled to Madison. We got demolished by 25 points and went on a losing streak (including some REAL stinkers like losing 49-43 at Northwestern...), but we had won 3 in a row and were back to 17-12 overall when #12 Michigan came to town, and a Tourney berth was still in sight. They crushed us so badly that I remember having a bit of an "oh $hit" moment that we had literally turned into a truly mediocre basketball program. Michigan expected to win that game, and there was no mystique of entering the House of Paign or knowing that "Illinois will always make you fight for that W!" It was so depressing.
We did end up winning at #24 Iowa the next game and only lost to Michigan by one in the BTT (if we had one that game, we would have been 20-14 overall and could have gone Dancing), but I think the dagger had been fully inserted. We missed the Tournament again in 2015, we'd have a losing season in 2016 and Groce was fired in 2017 after we failed yet again to make the Tournament. By the time Underwood got here, even many of our own fans started to view the 1980s and 2000-2006 as sort of "miracle runs" that we should no longer have any right to expect ... we were just lil' ole Illinois, and we couldn't have nice things. Dee Brown wasn't walkin' through that door.
All that is to say that for Underwood to endure two losing seasons and have us finishing the third year ranked, one game away from a Big Ten title and playing our best basketball in March was astounding ... if that 2019-20 Tournament doesn't get cancelled, I'll bet ANYTHING this narrative of Brad always losing before the Sweet Sixteen never exists. The next season, we were all of a sudden BTT champs and a #1 seed, and we followed that up (after losing Ayo) with a Big Ten championship. We have not had the NCAAT success we would have liked, but ALL you can do is to continue to get back there with the highest seed possible and give it your best shot. No sane person holds Underwood accountable for the first two years of cleaning up Groce's mess, so consider this as a potential "4-year cycle" for our regular season resumes with Brad:
2019-20: 21-10 (13-7). Second in Big Ten (1.0 GB). Ranked #21. NCAAT #6 seed?
2020-21: 23-6 (16-4). "Second" in Big Ten (0.5 GB). BTT champion. Ranked #2. NCAAT #1 seed.
2021-22: 22-9 (15-5). Big Ten champions. Ranked #16. NCAAT #4 seed.
2022-23: 20-13 (11-9). NCAAT #9 seed.
If that fourth year is a baseline for our rebuilding year after losing our entire starting five, I think you're insane not to be happy with that. The Tournament success WILL come if we keep getting high seeds more years than not ... and if it doesn't after long enough, Underwood will rightfully no longer be here, but he has not had anywhere near enough opportunities in March where he "should have" won more games (really, only 2020-21). Now, I'll fully admit that this year will show us if last year is our archetypal "rebuilding year" and we are much better this year - a situation where I think we would all be extremely happy - or if this year is a continuation of last year and we have a new "baseline normal" - a situation every single one of our fans would find alarming.
The point is that based on the body of work to-date, you are a straight-up hater if you have already turned on Underwood. Let's let this season - an admittedly huge one for his tenure here - speak for itself. He's earned some patience from us, and that means more than ONE rebuilding year not going as planned.
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