Shaka Shocks Illinois Turns Down BB Coaching Position

Next up Anthony Grant (Alabama), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), and Leonard Hamilton (Florida State) per ESPN. Hamilton apparently wants the job and is lobbying for it.
 
Doug Gottlieb just sent out an interesting tweet...if Shaka turns down 2.5 mil to be the Illini coach, perhaps that is not the top tier job that some people are making it out to be? Me included
 
I got the answer right here, Illinois. BOOM!
lickliter3.jpg
 
This is huge news for Iowa. Smart would have made Illinois into a powerhouse. They can have Hamilton or Grant. Those two would not give the Illini the change they are looking for at all.
 
JonDMiller said:
Doug Gottlieb just sent out an interesting tweet...if Shaka turns down 2.5 mil to be the Illini coach, perhaps that is not the top tier job that some people are making it out to be? Me included
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Or Seth Davis who repeatedly claims its a top 10 job. I realize I'm not in the business but in my opinion right now it would be somewhere in top 40. With potential to move up the ladder, much like Iowa.
 
JonDMiller said:
Doug Gottlieb just sent out an interesting tweet...if Shaka turns down 2.5 mil to be the Illini coach, perhaps that is not the top tier job that some people are making it out to be? Me included
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Jon - you've been clammoring on and on and on about how great of a job it is and it is simply so far off base it's stunning.

No one in Chicago gives two poops about the University of Illinois. They care about the Bulls, Bears and Notre Dame. Add to it that far more people from the Chicagoland area go to out of state B1G schools than go to Illinois (in aggregate, not individually) that every B1G school has a huge presence in the sports bar nightlife, and you have a recipe for no one giving a ****.

Yes they have access to talent, talent that doesn't know Chief Illiniwek from the Land O Lakes logo.

If Illinois wants to be a top 10 job, they can start by hiring a marketing firm and reminding people in Chicagoland that they are not on an island and are actually in Illinois.

No One Cares. Hard for you to develop a following and a recruiting story when that is the case.

I'll do you one better. Iowa is a better recruiting job than Illinois, because at least when Iowa gets in state talent, there is a really good chance that kid grew up a Hawkeye fan and that is a big part of the battle. Kids in Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, have 18 years of emotional investment in a school before deciding. Kids in Chicago have Derrick Rose.
 
JonDMiller said:
perhaps that is not the top tier job that some people are making it out to be? Me included
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Ya think? I mean just imagine what would happen if someone could go to Illinois and lockdown Chicago.

It hasnt happened in the history of Illinois basketball but every time this job opens up, it is a sleeping giant!!! :rolleyes:
 
BSpringsteen said:
Jon - you've been clammoring on and on and on about how great of a job it is and it is simply so far off base it's stunning.

No one in Chicago gives two poops about the University of Illinois. They care about the Bulls, Bears and Notre Dame. Add to it that far more people from the Chicagoland area go to out of state B1G schools than go to Illinois (in aggregate, not individually) that every B1G school has a huge presence in the sports bar nightlife, and you have a recipe for no one giving a ****.

Yes they have access to talent, talent that doesn't know Chief Illiniwek from the Land O Lakes logo.

If Illinois wants to be a top 10 job, they can start by hiring a marketing firm and reminding people in Chicagoland that they are not on an island and are actually in Illinois.

No One Cares. Hard for you to develop a following and a recruiting story when that is the case.

I'll do you one better. Iowa is a better recruiting job than Illinois, because at least when Iowa gets in state talent, there is a really good chance that kid grew up a Hawkeye fan and that is a big part of the battle. Kids in Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina, have 18 years of emotional investment in a school before deciding. Kids in Chicago have Derrick Rose.
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All of what you are saying may be true... for now. But my thought is that things can change very quickly in college basketball. If they hire the right guy (let's say someone similar to Calipari), who maybe picks up 1 or 2 Chicago kids immediately, then things could start to snowball.
 
99topdawg said:
Next up Anthony Grant (Alabama), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), and Leonard Hamilton (Florida State) per ESPN. Hamilton apparently wants the job and is lobbying for it.
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I don't want Hamilton there. I don't think he would necessarily turn them into a powerhouse, but Hamilton teams are usually extremely physical. Lots of fouls, not fun games to watch.
 
HerkeyHawk said:
Crap, I knew the fix was in early. Miss the NCAAs once again...exit Carmody, enter Shaka. Damn. We're screwed. :D
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Hadn't thought of him for NW. Wouldn't that be a slap in the face!

They actually are saying that Chris Collins (Duke Asst. who went to HS about 10 miles from Evanston) is the leading candidate (FWIW).
 
There's always a chance that, top job or not, Shaka Smart doesn't want to be the coach at Illinois, just like some guys might not want to coach at Duke, Kansas, or North Carolina. It cracks me up when sportswriters make these lists of programs as if they are the universal truth-- as if a coach will leave his current position for any job that's higher up on "the list."

We've seen it in football over and over again. Why do people always say that Kirk Ferentz will never leave Iowa unless it's for the NFL? It's because he likes his job at Iowa, and he's not going to go to Penn State or Florida or USC just because some sportswriter thinks it's a "better" job.
 
FCAS said:
I don't want Hamilton there. I don't think he would necessarily turn them into a powerhouse, but Hamilton teams are usually extremely physical. Lots of fouls, not fun games to watch.
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That's the only name of the 3 that would worry me, although I don't know much about Grant, other than the fact that he has done a very good job at Alabama.

Fran vs. Romar would be the first one to 100, wins.
 
Assembly Hall is not very far from the ag school Champagne. A coaching candidate in past years turned down the job as the aroma of manure was too great the day he was there. Recruiting in Chicago has been a problem there for 50 years.
 
99topdawg said:
Hadn't thought of him for NW. Wouldn't that be a slap in the face!

They actually are saying that Chris Collins (Duke Asst. who went to HS about 10 miles from Evanston) is the leading candidate (FWIW).
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Wow...that would be an amazing hire for NW, all things considered. I wonder how many schools have pursued Collins over the years only to be shot down? Still, he has to know Coach K is in the 4th quarter of his career and would (should) be the leading candidate for that position. Interesting none the less.
 
HerkeyHawk said:
Wow...that would be an amazing hire for NW, all things considered. I wonder how many schools have pursued Collins over the years only to be shot down? Still, he has to know Coach K is in the 4th quarter of his career and would (should) be the leading candidate for that position. Interesting none the less.
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Agreed. Won't believe it until I see it. It it comes true, I hope he's the second coming of Tommy Amaker to the Big Ten.
 
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