FaIllinois Basketball Coaching Search Thread

[FirstTimer]

No idea Larry.

Just read a Trib story saying Illinois might try and get Leonard Hamilton from F$U

[calgaryballer]

Um...why would Shaka turn Illinois down?

Shaka makes $1.2 mil at VCU. Weber was making $1.3 mil.

With his style of play, VCU will probably be back in the tourney next year and he can pick his jobs when he wants. If he didn't come in and turn the Illini around ASAP, he'd be back looking for a job

[Herm]

Um...why would Shaka turn Illinois down?

It's going to take an elite high major job to get him to leave vcu. I was kind of surprised Anthony Grant took the alabama job, so many times if you dont jump at the first big payday you can pick your spot and wait for that great job.

[FirstTimer]

Shaka makes $1.2 mil at VCU. Weber was making $1.3 mil.

With his style of play, VCU will probably be back in the tourney next year and he can pick his jobs when he wants. If he didn't come in and turn the Illini around ASAP, he'd be back looking for a job

FWIW lllinois was supposedly offering around $2.5 million to Shaka

[Senser81]

Shaka makes $1.2 mil at VCU. Weber was making $1.3 mil.

With his style of play, VCU will probably be back in the tourney next year and he can pick his jobs when he wants. If he didn't come in and turn the Illini around ASAP, he'd be back looking for a job

Thats kind of a huge risk, don't you think? IIRC, VCU was one of the last teams into the tourney two years ago, and I don't think they won their conference last year. Shaka would be making almost double the money at Illinois, have better facilities, better talent base, better exposure.

I don't know what "elite" program is going to hire a relative unknown like Shaka Smart. Kansas didn't hire Bill Self from Oral Roberts. I think its a big step going from small-time program to big-time program. Look at that idiot from Texas A&M, Billy Gillespie. He was from a major conference and he still couldn't handle Kentucky.

Maybe Shaka will be like the Butler guy...happy to get his payday then fade back into obscurity in a couple years. But its stupid if he's holding out for a
"better" job.

[jeffx]

Thats kind of a huge risk, don't you think? IIRC, VCU was one of the last teams into the tourney two years ago, and I don't think they won their conference last year. Shaka would be making almost double the money at Illinois, have better facilities, better talent base, better exposure.

I don't know what "elite" program is going to hire a relative unknown like Shaka Smart. Kansas didn't hire Bill Self from Oral Roberts. I think its a big step going from small-time program to big-time program. Look at that idiot from Texas A&M, Billy Gillespie. He was from a major conference and he still couldn't handle Kentucky.

Maybe Shaka will be like the Butler guy...happy to get his payday then fade back into obscurity in a couple years. But its stupid if he's holding out for a
"better" job.

I think your last paragraph nailed it. Maybe Smart is one of those coaches that's happy where he is.

[Champ]

Shaka wants a big name school.

[Bomberooski]

Shaka doesn't need to step into a huge rebuilding project unless they are throwing him $2.5 or more.

$1.2 with a good thing going and not a lot of pressure/stress is a tough job to give up.

Same reason Mark Few will never leave Gonzaga. Not worth giving up a stress free job to go take a job where you are under a HUGE microscope

[FirstTimer]

Shaka doesn't need to step into a huge rebuilding project unless they are throwing him $2.5 or more.

$1.2 with a good thing going and not a lot of pressure/stress is a tough job to give up.

Same reason Mark Few will never leave Gonzaga. Not worth giving up a stress free job to go take a job where you are under a HUGE microscope

Honestly, Shaka would have like a 5 year honeymoon with Illinois. If I were Shaka I'd make the move. Worst case is that it doens't work and you end up going back to a school like VCU anyways.

[ralaw]

Illinois also just isn't that great of a job. The only people that think Illinois is a good job are those people that live in Big 10 country. Chicago's top players leave the city and I don't think he has the reputation to keep them. It would take several years to get his program in, which is a hectic, full-court, press and trap system. His offensive philosophy leaves a lot to be desired, which simply is a dribble, drive and kick, so he needs to work on that.

[FirstTimer]

Illinois also just isn't that great of a job. The only people that think Illinois is a good job are those people that live in Big 10 country. Chicago's top players leave the city and I don't think he has the reputation to keep them. It would take several years to get his program in, which is a hectic, full-court, press and trap system. His offensive philosophy leaves a lot to be desired, so he needs to work on that.

Wut?

[ralaw]

Wut?

In order to win at Illinois the way people would expect he needs to be able to recruit in Chicago, which is where the talent is. I thought this was common knowledge?

[Bomberooski]

Honestly, Shaka would have like a 5 year honeymoon with Illinois. If I were Shaka I'd make the move. Worst case is that it doens't work and you end up going back to a school like VCU anyways.

My guess is he has his list of the five jobs he would take in a heart beat and you just kind of go snake in the grass and wait until one opens up and jump at it.

$1.2 at VCU is still unreal.

[FirstTimer]

In order to win at Illinois the way people would expect he needs to be able to recruit in Chicago, which is where the talent is. I thought this was common knowledge?

Not really the point.

Kids "leaving the city" or wanting to leave Chicago doesn't have much bearing on U of I recruiting because...well...... U of I isn't located in Chicago. So kids could "leave the city" and attend U of I.

On top of that nearly half the current Illinois roster is from Chicago.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Thats kind of a huge risk, don't you think? IIRC, VCU was one of the last teams into the tourney two years ago, and I don't think they won their conference last year. Shaka would be making almost double the money at Illinois, have better facilities, better talent base, better exposure.

I don't know what "elite" program is going to hire a relative unknown like Shaka Smart. Kansas didn't hire Bill Self from Oral Roberts. I think its a big step going from small-time program to big-time program. Look at that idiot from Texas A&M, Billy Gillespie. He was from a major conference and he still couldn't handle Kentucky.

Maybe Shaka will be like the Butler guy...happy to get his payday then fade back into obscurity in a couple years. But its stupid if he's holding out for a
"better" job.

It is a huge risk, because as soon as VCU has a bad season, the bloom will be off the rose and he'll be "stuck" at VCU.

That assumes he wants to leave at some point. He is well paid, and maybe he wants to be like Mark Few and Brad Stevens and build VCU into a Gonzaga or Butler (and believe me, Butler had a down year, but they will be very good next year).

Mark Few & Gregg Marshall turned down Nebraska too, this week. Yes, I know it's Nebraska, and hoops will always be second fiddle, but it's still a big school in a major conference. The point is, in hoops these days, the little guys have proven that they can compete with the big guys. So if you are well paid, and have a program at a point where you are a tournament lock every year or went to back-to-back championship games, why leave? Programs like Illinois or Nebraska or Alabama are death traps if you don't win right away, and aren't exactly dream jobs.

Bruce Webber is a good coach who had a "down" year, and it looks like he'll be back at Southern Illinois where he started. If i'm Smart, fuck that, i'm good where I am.