Illinois fans are still bitter about Bruce Pearl

[oifdeserthawk]

I read the reaction to that same story on an Illini site, and it was hilarious. First, they were incredulous that the author concluded that Collins was not pure as the virgin snow.

They honestly believe that Jimmy Collins was completely innocent, and was thrown under the bus because the NCAA refused to take the word of a black coach and a black player over a white coach. Why the NCAA in the late 1980s transformed into a Klan rally, I have no idea.


Illinois fans, much like Iowa fans here, have a bizarre self-image of themselves that in no way faces reality. In both football and basketball, Illinois thinks they SHOULD be so much better than they are; They should be a force in the Big 10, but there are always forces at work, outside of their control, preventing that from happening. Bruce Pearl and Bill Self are two people who are part of that conspiracy. Also, every coach has a personal vendetta against Illinois, and uses questionable ethics, while their coaches refuse to sink to such levels.

Seriously....can you start trying to have a clue? Just saying...."Illinois fans think they should be a power in the Big 10....".....um hello....17 regular season conference titles, 4 since 2000, 2 conference tourney championships, 29 NCAA tourney selections, 10 since 2000, 18 second round appearances, 8 since 2000, 10 sweet sixteens, 4 since 2000, 9 elite eights, 2 since 2000, 5 final fours, 1 since 2000, National Title Game, 2005...and a national championship to claim before the NCAA started using a tournament to crown champions....I don't know.... maybe it's just me, but anyone with a clue knows Illinois has been throughout history one of the strongest basketball programs throughout history....

 

[Iowafarmgirl]

Seriously....can you start trying to have a clue? Just saying...."Illinois fans think they should be a power in the Big 10....".....um hello....17 regular season conference titles, 4 since 2000, 2 conference tourney championships, 29 NCAA tourney selections, 10 since 2000, 18 second round appearances, 8 since 2000, 10 sweet sixteens, 4 since 2000, 9 elite eights, 2 since 2000, 5 final fours, 1 since 2000, National Title Game, 2005...and a national championship to claim before the NCAA started using a tournament to crown champions....I don't know.... maybe it's just me, but anyone with a clue knows Illinois has been throughout history one of the strongest basketball programs throughout history....

They think they're North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, etc, but because of the conspiracy, they cannot sustain that success because the powers that be don't want them there. I mean Illinois was a great team in the late 80's, with the Flyin' Illini teams of Gill and Bardo, but then got hit with sanctions, and fell into the toliet. Then In the early to mid 2000's, they rose again, but fell apart after that trip to the championship game with Deron Williams and Dee Brown. Now, they are mired in mediocrity, winning one tournament game in the last 5 years. Bruce Weber has lost a HUGE portion of their fan base, and he pretty much has next season to turn it around, or he will be gone.

 

[HawkForce]

Yeah Pearl might be scum, great coach....but I have never understood Illini fans....ummm you guys were CHEATING!!! Like Idc if it was Jesus himself that recorded the convos you were paying/bribing recruits. period.

 

[ColumbusHawk]

Iowa fans don't seem to understand that Pearl's actions in the Deon Thomas matter are one of the reasons Iowa basketball is where it is today.

Iowa has a long history of excellent players from Illinois. Arnold, Kevin Boyle, Gamble, Horton, Lester, Payne and the list goes on and on. However, Pearl entirely destroyed the excellent relationship Lute & Raveling had developed with the high school coaches in Illinois.

Ever since the Deon Thomas incident, Iowa has been persona-non-grata with the Illinois high school coaches. Please name one quality Big Ten ballplayer, Iowa has recruited since the incident. Acie Earl doesn't count because nobody other than Iowa recruited him.

Iowa should be able to recruit Illinois the way Tom Izzo recruits Ohio. However, because of Pearl, Iowa has had no luck in Illinois for almost twenty-years.

Even McCaffery, who has recruited from coast-to-coast and border-to-border, doesn't recruit Illinois. The whole Deon Thomas incident has hurt Iowa far worse than it did Illinois.

 

[HawkForce]

Iowa fans don't seem to understand that Pearl's actions in the Deon Thomas matter are one of the reasons Iowa basketball is where it is today.

Iowa has a long history of excellent players from Illinois. Arnold, Kevin Boyle, Gamble, Horton, Lester, Payne and the list goes on and on. However, Pearl entirely destroyed the excellent relationship Lute & Raveling had developed with the high school coaches in Illinois.

Ever since the Deon Thomas incident, Iowa has been persona-non-grata with the Illinois high school coaches. Please name one quality Big Ten ballplayer, Iowa has recruited since the incident. Acie Earl doesn't count because nobody other than Iowa recruited him.

Iowa should be able to recruit Illinois the way Tom Izzo recruits Ohio. However, because of Pearl, Iowa has had no luck in Illinois for almost twenty-years.

Even McCaffery, who has recruited from coast-to-coast and border-to-border, doesn't recruit Illinois. The whole Deon Thomas incident has hurt Iowa far worse than it did Illinois.

Pretty sure Pierre Pierce was from Illinois...and Earl was one of my least fav Hawks ever.

 

[Thawki]

You can't say we never got a quality player from Illinois and then say Acie Earl doesn't count. He is from Illinois. Pierce and freeman were too, at least I think Freeman was.

I get your point, but you said there were none and that's three off the top that I came up with. Now, that might be all, but three is more than none, which is what you said. J.R. Koch is another. Joey Range and that Walker (wasn't that his name) dude that got in trouble for stealing money with someone's ATM card before he ever had a practice his freshman year and never played.

Okay, I know I am reaching. I like busting people when they make overreaching statements to make a point. But there was more than one, and you said none, didn't you? You did say quality. Koch, Walker, Pierce and Freeman were all quality players.

 

[Iowafarmgirl]

Still, 5 players from a huge neighboring state in 20 years would indicate some kind of problem. We seem to recruit Indiana and Michigan better than Illinois.

 

[pistons]

JR Koch

 

[burky247]

I think not getting players from Illinois has more to do with our coaches we've had over the last 15 years than the Deon Thomas affair. Mr. Davis was more interested in being on the golf course than recruiting. Alford seemed more interested in hitting Indiana and Canada. Lickliter felt recruiting was overrated. I'm not saying it didn't have an effect on Iowa. But Iowa has had bigger issues than that over the last 20 years that resulted in our current predicament.

 

[Iowafarmgirl]

I think not getting players from Illinois has more to do with our coaches we've had over the last 15 years than the Deon Thomas affair. Mr. Davis was more interested in being on the golf course than recruiting. Alford seemed more interested in hitting Indiana and Canada. Lickliter felt recruiting was overrated. I'm not saying it didn't have an effect on Iowa. But Iowa has had bigger issues than that over the last 20 years that resulted in our current predicament.

Still, you don't think it has something to do with the fact we have gotten 5 players out of a state with 12 million people in two decades? Trust me, I know how bitterly some people in Illinois still view Iowa basketball, and this doesn't suprise me a bit. There is probably less resentment now, but the old hands, particularly the people in Chicago, haven't let it go.

 

[JHHawk]

I agree that the Iowa-Chicago relationship was tainted by the Deon Thomas affair...but Chicago has always been a wide open town for out of state and out of conference recruiters. Even Weber and Kruger of Illinois did not do well in chicagoland until recently...while the ACC/Big East has done fine coming into chicago.

The other issue until recent years is that kids in the Chicago Public league often (like 17 of 19 top recruits one year back in the mid-2000's) simply could not qualify,sadly.

I am a chicago resident for 20+ years,and have beaten the drums for Iowa to get recruits out of here,but I recognize the obstactles. It did not help when Tony Freeman,out of BB power St Joe's, gets sent packing by Lick,adding yet another bad tale to the legacy of issues for Illinois kids at Iowa(Ray Thompson,Jeff Walker,Joey Range,PP,ect)....all of them talented players,but problematic behavior ended their runs very early at Iowa.

Now, in recent years, academics have improved in the Public league,especially at schools like Whitney Young,and Brooks Academy,but Iowa is not yet making an impact here under Fran. To be fair, I know that Lavelle Jordan and Cornette were working chicagoland pretty hard the last couple of years, but now we are back to scratch.