New Illinois Coach

[wizard1]

EGIB 52.....To answer your question, my primary reason for thinking Ill. acted too fast is that there are a large number of very good coaches available and more on the way. Instead, the Ill. A.D. reportedly selected his 3rd or 4th option very quickly when with a little patience, I feel he might have done much better although I hope I'm wrong.
Other reasons are:
1. He was at Okla St. only one year....Why did he leave so soon. He reportedly had some issues with the Okla St. A.D.
2. Except for 11 years as an assistant at Western Ill., he has really moved around a lot.
3. He finished 5th in the Big 12 with a 9 - 9 record.
4. Does he have really good contacts with Chicago area H.S. coaches?
5. His total head coaching experience in Div. 1 is 4 years.
6. Against ranked teams, his record is 3 wins & 12 losses. Now he will have to coach in the very tough Big 10.
Again EGTB, I truly hope I am wrong but these facts and my gut feel tell me that Illinois could have done better.
Wizard

[tornado]

well it's a done deal ... but it is unusual to hire while lots of teams are still playing....

who knows if in another week, coaches like Alford, Mack, Beilein, Alford, Few, Martin, Holtmann, Muller - will be willing to talk to potential suitors...

[egib52]

well it's a done deal ... but it is unusual to hire while lots of teams are still playing....

who knows if in another week, coaches like Alford, Mack, Beilein, Alford, Few, Martin, Holtmann, Muller - will be willing to talk to potential suitors...

Only time will tell, but if this is the guy the Illini AD was targetting then why wait? Who says if they had waited he would have been available? From all I have read he is well-respected in the industry with media and other coaches. Look how long Keatts and Martin lasted, it is very likely that the Illini needed to move quickly. He has already got blessing from some of the CPL coaches, and as we know recruiting Chicago is important.

[Vent]

I think it was a good hire for Illinois. Just listened to him in the Score out of Chicago. He understands the importance of recruiting within the state. If the AD at Illinois knew who he wanted, he definitely went and got him. You don't hear anybody say anything bad about him and he has been a winner. He seems to recognize talent and knows how to improve his players.

[wily coyote]

I think it was a good hire for Illinois. Just listened to him in the Score out of Chicago. He understands the importance of recruiting within the state. If the AD at Illinois knew who he wanted, he definitely went and got him. You don't hear anybody say anything bad about him and he has been a winner. He seems to recognize talent and knows how to improve his players.

I think it was a good hire but they better keep Jamal because it is very important to keep the recruits that have signed already and you can bet coaches are trying to raid the hen house. The Illini had a great recruiting class.

[Vent]

They did have a very good recruiting year. This guy will be an excellent recruiter. I would be surprised if any recruits leave.

[Da Coach]

They did have a very good recruiting year. This guy will be an excellent recruiter. I would be surprised if any recruits leave.

I have seen rumors that new Missouri Head Coach Cuonzo Martin has reportedly been in contact with the St. Louis Eagles AAU coach of Illinois' top 2017 recruit Jeremiah Tilmon, a 5-star 6'10" power forward, and some fans wonder if there may even be a possibility that Martin could hire him on his staff. If that happens, expect Tilmon to ask for his release from Illinois.

Cuonzo Martin may also be interested in hiring Michael Porter, who until last week was an assistant coach under Lorenzo Romar at Washington. Since Romar was fired, Porter is now out of a job, and his son, Michael Porter, Jr. happens to be the #1 ranked recruit nationally in the class of 2017. He also has another son, Jontay Porter, who is one of the top rated recruits of the 2018 class, all of which assures he will have multiple job offers.
Plus Cuonzo Martin is now reportedly pursuing Illinois' top remaining recruiting target, Edwardsville HS guard Mark Smith, who was just named the 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball today. So for a new coach taking over at Missouri, which has finished in last place in the SEC for the last 3 years, he could end up with a nice recruiting class.

[LongTimeFan]

Couldn't Illinois specify schools where Tilmon could not sign up with in the release. It seems like I have seen something like that.

[wily coyote]

I have seen rumors that new Missouri Head Coach Cuonzo Martin has reportedly been in contact with the St. Louis Eagles AAU coach of Illinois' top 2017 recruit Jeremiah Tilmon, a 5-star 6'10" power forward, and some fans wonder if there may even be a possibility that Martin could hire him on his staff. If that happens, expect Tilmon to ask for his release from Illinois.

Cuonzo Martin may also be interested in hiring Michael Porter, who until last week was an assistant coach under Lorenzo Romar at Washington. Since Romar was fired, Porter is now out of a job, and his son, Michael Porter, Jr. happens to be the #1 ranked recruit nationally in the class of 2017. He also has another son, Jontay Porter, who is one of the top rated recruits of the 2018 class, all of which assures he will have multiple job offers.
Plus Cuonzo Martin is now reportedly pursuing Illinois' top remaining recruiting target, Edwardsville HS guard Mark Smith, who was just named the 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball today. So for a new coach taking over at Missouri, which has finished in last place in the SEC for the last 3 years, he could end up with a nice recruiting class.

IMO Porter Jr. will end up at Missouri as will his Dad. I also think Tilmon could also be headed that way especially if Walker is not retained at the U of I. I think he will be retained but not sure if that's gonna help. We'll know soon.

[tornado]

Couldn't Illinois specify schools where Tilmon could not sign up with in the release. It seems like I have seen something like that.

the release can come with conditions, but he could still play wherever he wants, the release is only to allow him to get a scholarship elsewhere

coaches who give releases with conditions often come over in the media looking very petty..and the negative press can be used against them in future recruiting...

http://archive.jsonline.com/sports/badgers/ryans-handling-of-uthoff-sparks-criticism-8q51t55-147853385.html

.

[Da Coach]

Couldn't Illinois specify schools where Tilmon could not sign up with in the release. It seems like I have seen something like that.

Sometimes schools will release a committed athlete only if he accepts a list of schools he is excluded from going to. This is usually done when the coach moves to another school, and the original school doesn't want that coach to take the player with him. Or it might happen if the original school thinks there was tampering.
But almost always when a school fires a coach, the school will release the recruit. As of now, I can't see a legitimate reason why Illinois would exclude Tilmon from going to Missouri, unless they believe tampering occurred.

[Da Coach]

I have seen rumors that new Missouri Head Coach Cuonzo Martin has reportedly been in contact with the St. Louis Eagles AAU coach of Illinois' top 2017 recruit Jeremiah Tilmon, a 5-star 6'10" power forward, and some fans wonder if there may even be a possibility that Martin could hire him on his staff. If that happens, expect Tilmon to ask for his release from Illinois.

Cuonzo Martin may also be interested in hiring Michael Porter, who until last week was an assistant coach under Lorenzo Romar at Washington. Since Romar was fired, Porter is now out of a job, and his son, Michael Porter, Jr. happens to be the #1 ranked recruit nationally in the class of 2017. He also has another son, Jontay Porter, who is one of the top rated recruits of the 2018 class, all of which assures he will have multiple job offers.
Plus Cuonzo Martin is now reportedly pursuing Illinois' top remaining recruiting target, Edwardsville HS guard Mark Smith, who was just named the 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball today. So for a new coach taking over at Missouri, which has finished in last place in the SEC for the last 3 years, he could end up with a nice recruiting class.

Michael Porter, Sr. just posted this, hinting not so subtly where he might end up-

https://twitter.com/coachporter8/status/845041143188340736

[Vent]

Tillmon may wind up at Missouri. If he is as good as they say, he may be a one and done or two and done. Either way I think you will see a dramatic up tick in the quality of basketball players joining the basketball program at Illinois.

[tornado]

I would be surprised if Tilmon is one and done...
can you cite a few games where he dominated?
They didn't even make it out of their Regionals

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/highschool/ct-spt-1203-prep-bbk-curie-east-st-louis-20161202-story.html

http://www.theintelligencer.com/sports/article/BOYS-BASKETBALL-E-ville-earns-SWC-victory-at-10907996.php

http://www.ny2lasports.com/daily_dime_one.aspx?dimeid=3518

[Vent]

I have no idea if he had any dominating games. That's why I qualified my statement by saying "if he's as good as they say". I do know he's a 5 Star recruit. If Bradley landed him we'd be jumping up and down and giving all kinds of praise to the Bradley staff. I wish we could get a 5 Star recruit at Bradley.