I posted about this in another thread, but I think this deserves its own conversation. What is the identity of the Illinois basketball program? I remember over the offseason hearing Underwood talking about how it was one of the best development program in the country. He might have said "the best". I'm not seeing it. Guys don't stay on campus long enough to be developed. Recruiting seems to be all over the place. They rarely seem to identify a guy, recruit him for a couple years, and then bring him on campus. Morez Johnson and Hansberry are the exception, not the norm. A lot of guys pop up on the radar late, and then they go hard and fast. Skyy Clark, Perrin, Moretti, and Gibbs-Lawhorn are recent examples. It's great to recruit nationally and globally, but none of those kids have anything that ties them to the university, and it's not surprising to see them leave so quickly.
Then you have patch and play guys. I like TJS, Mayer, and Dainja, but they all moved on from successful programs. When we have guys leave, we say screw them, they clearly have issues. Yet we take on transfers that probably had issues themselves. I understand it's the new way of college basketball, but bringing in more than a handful of newcomers every year seems like a bad strategy.
Underwood also talked about his juco experience and how he was ready for this new wave of college basketball. Well, it's year 6, and we are about as mediocre as it gets. I'm starting to think that Underwood was the right guy to get us back to respectability, but not the right guy to get us over the top.
Then you have patch and play guys. I like TJS, Mayer, and Dainja, but they all moved on from successful programs. When we have guys leave, we say screw them, they clearly have issues. Yet we take on transfers that probably had issues themselves. I understand it's the new way of college basketball, but bringing in more than a handful of newcomers every year seems like a bad strategy.
Underwood also talked about his juco experience and how he was ready for this new wave of college basketball. Well, it's year 6, and we are about as mediocre as it gets. I'm starting to think that Underwood was the right guy to get us back to respectability, but not the right guy to get us over the top.
