Apparently Whitman said there's no rebuild if Walker comes back. Sounds like the new coach agreed to retain Walker.
Really feels to me like they're going to offer Bennett and Marshall and if they whiff, it's Scott drew
This was posted this AM worries the shit out of me ---- Could be over, per Brad. Illinois could have their man. It may be a surprise name. Nothing sure yet.
And now the meeting is off apparently. A name that hasn't been mentioned yet is the front runner all of a sudden. Ugh.
From Sturdy Talking about Underwood getting multiple confirmations that it is him. A parent, an AAU coach, etc.... Evidently, Whitman recently got wind he was interested and went from there. I didn't realize he was interested, but.... Underwood background. Tremendous coach, Two assistants tell me today he is one of the best in the country....not Marshall, but not far behind. Kids were born in Illinois I hear, and he is a huge fan, a friend of his told me today that he has always loved the Illinois job, thinks it is an elite job. He will get recruits and do what it takes to win. He was a recruiter for Frank Martin and Bob Huggins at K-State. Coached at Western Illinois. JC's as well. Was 53-1 at SFA. Years back Illinois recruited one of his JUCO kid from Florida and he asked for Illinois gear for his kids because he loved the program. He will try and keep Walker. This is a homerun, even if people don't think so right now.
Recruiting questions are there, but I think he's a great coach and this is a good hire. Pleasantly surprised.
Lol Illinois hired Groce because he beat Michigan in the tourney and now they hired Underwood because he lost to Michigan in the tourney. Program is going backward. Spoiler jk seems like a very solid hire
Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN Josh Whitman is my hero. Illinois AD crushed it with the search and didn'tthrow away $75K of school's mone
Everywhere Underwood goes he wins, he's the anti-Groce. Evans is a stud recruiter and they are going to keep walker it sounds like
Also very excited. If we can hold this class together and add Smith we could have a nice season in 17-18
I like the hire. I've followed him pretty much most of his career living in Dallas. He did an unbelievable job at Stephen F Austin and a good job at okie state his first year. I think you guys will be happy.
I feel like our fanbase is about to become a huge asset again. Give them anything to cheer for and they'll show up.
To preface it, I hope Illinois land Tilmon, but I feel like Illini fans are acting like he is Anthony Davis. If anything, I think Smith is a more important recruit than Tilmon in the long term. Tilmon would be nice PR, and Illinois needs a big next year, but if he ends up going elsewhere, its not an Eric Gordon situation. Lots of angst over a player I think gives you probably 8 and 5 next year.
Is Illinois not feeling great about their chances w Tilmon or something? I'll add - Ive never understood his high ranking. I dont think he's all that athletic or skilled. More of a defensive rebounder than anything.
Such a weird situation. First it's "Wherever Walker goes, Tilmon goes." Then we hear Walker might come to Mizzou, then we hear he's probably staying, and now it's: "Walker and Tilmon may not be as tied at the hip as previously thought." We'd kill for 8-5 from a big next year though. I'm just gonna ignore it and either be pleasantly surprised or nothing.
It depends on whether Underwood retains Walker and that appears to be up in the air. Illini fans are just panicking for some reason, primarily because they've been trained to think everything is going to go against them over the last 10 years. I think Tilmon is a good prospect, but he certainly isn't a can't miss. I'd wager he'll never be the best player on any team he plays for.
I think Black will easily get that next year, I just don't know if he can be enough of a rim protector. That's what Illinois could really use. Just someone to defend, and score on offensive rebounds.
Tilmon reminds me of Alex Oriakhi or Patric Young. Will probably be good defensively, get boards, and score 10-11 ppg for most of his career on a good percentage.
Feels like Mizzou is feeding STL media rumors and they're running with it. We could never do that with Chicago media after an awful season.