Meltdown in Champaign

[ssckelley]

One more thing/difference; Illinois' basketball fans expectations are realistic

True, but why do the top notch coaches avoid this job? As far back as Lou they have had to hire no-name mid major coaches. Look at what they had to settle for to fill the football job. You would think Illinois would be a top destination for any coach in either football or basketball.

 

[atomicblue224]

i played basketball at illinois , fans expect illinois to be that good every year, excuse my typing, i mean at illinois school for the deaf

 

[atomicblue224]

i played basketball at illinois , fans expect illinois to be that good every year, excuse my typing, i mean at illinois school for the deaf

players i played with are usually from chicago area or east st.louis area. all good players.i understand why we have meltdown over at illinois

 

[okeefe4prez]

They have a strong recruiting pipeline into Chicago and have had some highly ranked recruiting classes.

I don't watch HS sports, but my buddy (huge Illini fan) who has kids in HS who does tells me the talent in Chicago in both football and basketball is often significantly overrated and feeds Illini fans' expectations in both football and basketball. There are some good ball players, but the game changing dudes like D. Rose and D. Wade are few and far between. The next cut down in Chicagoland (Jereme Richmond/Brandon Paul/ even Jon Scheyer) are decent ballplayers, but they aren't dudes who can singlehandedly carry a team deep in the tournament like the studs going to KU, UNC, Kentuckah, etc.

 

[EddyP]

I don't watch HS sports, but my buddy (huge Illini fan) who has kids in HS who does tells me the talent in Chicago in both football and basketball is often significantly overrated and feeds Illini fans' expectations in both football and basketball. There are some good ball players, but the game changing dudes like D. Rose and D. Wade are few and far between. The next cut down in Chicagoland (Jereme Richmond/Brandon Paul/ even Jon Scheyer) are decent ballplayers, but they aren't dudes who can singlehandedly carry a team deep in the tournament like the studs going to KU, UNC, Kentuckah, etc.

Plus all the really smart kids are gobbled up by Northwestern. It ain't fair.

 

[GhostofBTT]

One more thing/difference; Illinois' basketball fans expectations are realistic

Not really. Illinois fans are just as delusional as anyone. They think that a media vendetta is all that separates them from being Kentucky or North Carolina. They think that all of the trouble they got into in the 90's was a combination of the NCAA attacking them to protect bigger programs, and a racial component because they were recruiting inner-city black kids who couldn't defend themselves. And obviously, it was a conspiracy as to why they lost the championship game in '05.

 

[JHHawk]

The Illinois BB job is very tricky. From the outside looking in,it appears to be a huge sleeping giant. Which sets up Orange Crush expectations that any coach could struggle to achieve.

The tricky part is that while Chicago is technically in the state of Illinois, and the U. of Illinois is technically the state school...neither is really true in reality.

Chicago is only slightly related to Champaign. It is truly its own state,in most everything,and especially in bb recruiting.
If Calipari was at Illinois, he would definitely be a big player in Chicago. Weber? No.
Bill Self? Yes. It takes a snake-oil guy to really succeed in Chicago recruiting at the top level. Weber and Howard can get quality players out of there,because there are so many,but the top guys like Anthony Davis,Wayne Blackshear? No. They go to UK and Louisville....money involved? Likely.
Jabbari Parker, #1 player in the 2013 class, out of Simeon,had Illinois on his list of 6,but he is destined for UK,KU,UNC,or Duke. I do not think he is looking for a payout,as he is a one and done guy,whose dad,Sonny,played in the NBA.
This is the problem. Illini fans think that Weber should have landed the very top guys in Illinois,mostly out of Chicago. Not gonna happen.

Honestly, he was never a good fit. He could have fit better at Purdue, or staying at Southern Ill. Weber is the whitest man in North America. A cheesehead,a square,a country bumpkin. He is a very good mid-major coach. He is Lick with better recruits.
Gene Keady without the charisma/personality.

Now, of course, the Illini fans want to wake the sleeping giant again. Go get Shaka Smart,who is young,black,hip, from Madison,Wis. The anti-cheesehead,cheesehead.
The new AD at Illinois,who has been on the job for 6 months,will have paid out 6.5 million in buyouts by the end of March and hired the two bell cows..fb and bb coaches. Mike Thomas gets a clean slate immediately,and his decisions will get tested early.

The Illini have never had a minority head bb or fb coach in history, a source of embarrassment for some on their board of trustees. I think that will change this time around,unless a Buzz Williams will take a kings ransom. Brad Stevens? Not likely,but they will take a run. My money is on Smart.

The irony is that Illinois will likely still make the NCAA tourny for the 3rd time in 4 years,with an NIT in the other year.
I am kind of secretly hoping that the Illini lose to Iowa but make the tourny,and get to the Sweet Sixteen with a lame duck...sound familiar? Much angst will ensue in Orangeland.

 

[HawkeyeRyno]

Yeah Illinois is struggling but I'm sure we will all meltdown when Illinois beats us by 30 points. They pose a serious matchup problem because our defense w/ no post presence collapses on Leonard leaving the 3 wide open or we lock down the 3 ball but open up the lane for Leonard and the guards. That's Iowa's problem right now, it's one or the other that doesn't work and sometimes both! Why next season is going to be so much better - post defense, guard defense.

 

[atomicblue224]

I don't watch HS sports, but my buddy (huge Illini fan) who has kids in HS who does tells me the talent in Chicago in both football and basketball is often significantly overrated and feeds Illini fans' expectations in both football and basketball. There are some good ball players, but the game changing dudes like D. Rose and D. Wade are few and far between. The next cut down in Chicagoland (Jereme Richmond/Brandon Paul/ even Jon Scheyer) are decent ballplayers, but they aren't dudes who can singlehandedly carry a team deep in the tournament like the studs going to KU, UNC, Kentuckah, etc.

yup thats why none of my teammates ever get recruited. we all have realistic goals.just normal life.

 

[hawkIhoops]

Illinois basketball and Weber do not have the luxury of a football program to distract fans from a down year. Hard to see a scenario in which Weber returns next season unless they finish strong. McCamey won a lot of games for IL last season and without him, they lack a go to scorer and live on the perimeter.

 

[JHHawk]

McCamey had a very disappointing senior season,and was disliked by fans and coaches by the time he left. Going into his senior year, he was talked about as a 1st round NBA pick...he was never drafted.

On paper,last year,with three senior leaders, Tisdale,McCamey,and Davis, Illini should have had a run in the tourny. They did win one game. It is somewhat similar to the 2010 Iowa football season,where a talented group inexplicably fell apart,only to salvage a bowl win over Missouri. If Iowa had been really good in 2010, KF gets a bigger pass in 2011. If Illini had a bigger year last year, Weber gets a pass this year with a young team....but no.

 

[JonDMiller]

How about Alford (NeAlford) to Illinois?

 

[GhostofBTT]

Epic win to the Trib's Steve Rosenbloom:

I’m not advocating Weber’s firing because I really don’t care and I really don’t think a new coach will matter the way Illini followers think.

I’ve heard it said that Illinois is a basketball school. Actually, it’s a bad-pig-farm-smell school, but as far as sports go, it’s a basketball school by default, which doesn’t mean it’s a prime job.

Sorry to break it to the fine burghers of Champaign and Urbana, but that’s not a destination for a coach who plans to stick around. I mean, they teach history down there, don’t they?

Look, if you land a Bill Self-type again, you’d better find a replacement at the same time because he won’t stick around much longer than most good freshmen do. Truth is truth.

And a further truth is, a new athletic director usually wants his own guys running the department’s two revenue-producing programs. Illini AD Mike Thomas brought in an underwhelming name to lead the football program. Wait, don’t tell me. I’ll get it. Tim Something?

Weber's honest and likely done - chicagotribune.com

 

[pmchawk]

He did coach those Self recruits to the championship game of the NCAA tournament.

That was also the closest I had ever come to winning an NCAA bracket. Illinois wins, I would have won, they lost so I came in 3rd and didn't win anything. Only 2 places were paid out.

 

[woodyk1]

How about Alford (NeAlford) to Illinois?

Imagine ...

wearing this ...

 

[JHHawk]

Epic win to the Trib's Steve Rosenbloom:



Weber's honest and likely done - chicagotribune.com

This is the collision of big city media and small college town sports.
It is part of the reason that Illinois is not as good a job as everyone thinks. They constantly belittle the Illini and college sports in general in the city. No respect. Rosie is the most cynical of the lot,probably,but generally, pro sports is king,and big slickster types like CoachK,Cal,Royboy and Self are the only ones who command any respect.

It filters down to the HS coaches, AAU coaches,and the kids.
Alford? Ohmigod...worst fit ever at Illinois. Only all the fans and the media in the whole state would hate him on his first day. Then it would get ugly.
They need a snake oil guy or a young,black hipster.

 

[GhostofBTT]

This is the collision of big city media and small college town sports.
It is part of the reason that Illinois is not as good a job as everyone thinks. They constantly belittle the Illini and college sports in general in the city. No respect. Rosie is the most cynical of the lot,probably,but generally, pro sports is king,and big slickster types like CoachK,Cal,Royboy and Self are the only ones who command any respect.

*facepalm*

 

[ssckelley]

Epic win to the Trib's Steve Rosenbloom:



Weber's honest and likely done - chicagotribune.com

This is what I don't get, what is so wrong with Illinois that they cannot get/keep a good coach? Are they not willing to pay enough?

 

[burky247]

This is what I don't get, what is so wrong with Illinois that they cannot get/keep a good coach? Are they not willing to pay enough?

I think part of the problem was the previous athletic director. I think Thomas will get them a good hire(assuming one is needed). It may not be the out of this world hire that Illinois' fans are expecting. But I think they will get a coach that is not currently coaching a mid major this time around.

 

[hawkfan33]

That was also the closest I had ever come to winning an NCAA bracket. Illinois wins, I would have won, they lost so I came in 3rd and didn't win anything. Only 2 places were paid out.

That was the easiest NCAA tournament to predict. Illinois and UNC were head and shoulders above everyone else that year, and it played out that way in the tournament too. Took pretty much all chalk picks with UNC winning it all and won two pools that year.