Dick Allen

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 07:06 PM) Not sure what he inherited. The guy left for Bryant because it was his hometown I believe He's 20-99 at Bryant. 2-28 this year. He probably left for the job security.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 06:44 PM) Fwiw, Groce didn't inherit a mess. He inherited a program that won 80 games the previous four years(he's improved on that, but just saying) What kind of roster did he inherit? Where there still starters from the teams that won games the previous years? One reason coaches bolt, especially to places like Bryant University, is the future doesn't look so great where they are at. I have no idea about Ohio's rosters FWIW. I do know this guy has got that school in the tournament 2 out of the last 3 years and has won 3 games. He also recruited a lot of Ohio State's top players when he was an assitant there. He's certainly not the sexy hire, but probably the most competent at this point, but if I was him, I wonder how much Illinois really wants me. This is a crazy situation. I can't remember a school having such a hard time, especially with the money they have been willing to throw out there.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 06:42 PM) I wont comment on why he was fired, but its simply more than a blanket statement like recruiting or coaching. As for Jerrance, he's 29. That's why. 29 year olds get jobs, especially if they show they are outstanding as assistants at major schools. Maybe he doesn't want to, I obviously don't know, but IMO, Weber got fired because the AD is new and he wanted to be a tough guy, and probably thought he'd have no problem landing a guy like Smart, but that new AD has a reputation that is scaring away a lot of people. If the Illini get Groce, it will still be OK, I don't see how he could be a disaster, although the longer it takes if the reports were true and it was a done deal already, the better the odds Groce tells Illinois to go scratch. If they named Howard or Theus the new head coach, it would mean they will still be paying Weber while paying an inferior coach as well. If I'm a trustee, I'd be wondering about the new AD.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 06:28 PM) First his recruiting sucked. Then once he got that turned around, his coaching suddenly went to s***. . I think he's probably a better option than the candidates being considered, although I don't think Groce is a bad choice. I think he may be better than Shaka and Stevens. He can recruit, and knows the Big Ten. People are too hung up on his record. If you inherit a mess, it takes a while to clean up especially at a school like Ohio where 4 star recruits aren't going to be lining up to attend no matter who the coach is. I don't think Weber forgot how to coach. If this assistant is as good of a recruiter as some claim, the Illini would have been just fine without making a change.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 06:02 PM) Howard has a great basketball mind. He surpassed the other two assistants very quickly when it came to game prep. What happened with Illinois goes beyond that. So he's a great basketball mind and a great recruiter, how come no other schools are interviewing him for a head job? I think his popularity is back up QB syndrome. Why did Weber get fired? Coaching? Recruiting?

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 28, 2012 -> 05:13 PM) Pfff. I hope to god nobody actually believes that. Some OSU fans actually believe that he's considering us too. In this case, $$ talks. I don't think so. Parker may be an exception. He comes from a solid family. But for Illinois and/or their fans to think he has to be an Illini for them to have much of a future, if he's anywhere near as good as expected, he's only going be playing for one or two years in college.

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 02:08 PM) The Worm is broke...and I'm not shocked. http://www.insidehoops.com/blog/?p=9553 According to his manager, he's nowhere near broke. He's trying to get by on 30k a month.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 02:49 PM) Because we are in a worse position for football and the MAC is at least respectable in football. It's the natural progression for mid-west mid-major football coaches. You don't make the Big Ten jump in basketball. It's been a bottom 15 (or worse) conference for awhile now. If a guy can coach and recruit, it really doesn't matter what conference he comes from. There have been bad coaches in the Big Ten and good coaches in the MAC.

Bruce Weber if not so classy would probably be getting a kick out of this.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 02:47 PM) Illini Loyalty is reporting that the 3pm presser stuff was to see who was leaking the news. Funny, if true. Now add some paranoia and you have Illinois athletics.

Groce appears to be as good of a candidate as anyone who is willing to take Illinois' money. If you're Thomas and the Trustees say no, how do you continue as the AD? If you had any pride wouldn't you walk?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 27, 2012 -> 02:43 AM) Well, Iowa certainly learned the lessons of going with the "hot" coaches in Steve Alford (coming off a Sweet 16 at SW Missouri State) and Todd Lickliter. Looks at all the names from the past, like Bruce Pearl, Tommy Amaker, Quin Snyder, Jeff Lebo, Stan Heath, Billy Gillespie, Matt Doherty, Mike Davis...all "coaches of the moment" at different points, but usually coming off strong NCAA appearances. The George Mason coach, for another example. The list goes on and on. For every Mark Few, Billy Donovan or Brad Stephens, there's 5 who flamed out completely. Don't forget Keno Davis.Unless they were selling their souls and bringing in a Calapari I think tbis guy from Ohio is probably just as likely to succeed as Smart or Stevens in Champaign at a fraction of the cost.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 26, 2012 -> 12:32 PM) I can see the frustration of Illinois fans in that it's not as good of a hire as other schools in the conference have made like Michigan, Indiana, OSU, Iowa (somehow), but you have to look at it without orange and blue glasses on, Groce is a pretty decent hire with a good pedigree. Kind of exactly like the football hire. If you want someone who has a chance to recruit extremely well and stick around even if he's successful that he's your guy. If you want a stepping stone guy then guys like Martin, etc would be just that. Haugh made a good point today. If Akron makes an open shot Ohio doesn't make the tournament and this guy is never considered. He may turn out to be the greatest coach in Illinois history he may be awful. It will all come down to recruiting

As Hawk says, everyone, with the exception of Michael Jordan is always available.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 24, 2012 -> 06:25 PM) A very convincing article for Reggie Theus to Illinois I think Jerry Sloan would be rolling around laughing when the subject of Reggie and defense came up. I really wonder what his Chicago connections are these days. He was traded by the Bulls 28 years ago. He also doesn't seem like a guy that would enjoy Champaign for very long, but he still might be a decent coach, but I think it would be short term. If he were successful, IMO he'd look to get back into the NBA or a more urban location. Something fun, Reggie dated Michael Jordan's ex-wife before Michael met her. Michael was even more intense than usual when he played against ready and with Reggie's reluctance to play defense anyway, MJ used to come up huge.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2012 -> 03:38 PM) They got Corzine's word on it obviously. And trust me the people who transferred the money will testify that Corzine told them to do it because they aren't going to go down for it. Which plays right into Corzine's strategy. He said/she said isn't going to get him either. Usually if someone is going to go down in one of those situations, its the best lawyer wins. They both have excellent representation. Corzine the ex Senator, Governor, testified when most said he shouldn't speak. He's not going down unless there's a smoking gun, and that gun hasn't come out yet. Since Edith did send the money and it was customer seg funds, she's starting the race a little bit behind. She shouldn't testify if not granted immunity and I doubt she will. In the end, as much as it pains me, I don't think anyone is going down for this.

Unless they have an email or a taped phone conversation or something else which shows Corzine knew the money was customer money when he ordered it sent, nothing is going to happen to him. The fact that no one would sign the confirmation JPM sent to MF clearly indicates to me someone knew, at least soon after. This internal memo is really nothing new and definitely not a smoking gun. Maybe if they get Edith to talk, she can give them something. I would think MF customers want someone to pay, but would rather it be Corzine than an assistant treasurer who was just doing what she was told. IMO JPM is clearly not innocent either. If they required that confirmation, why did they post the money to that overdrawn account without it? MF has hurt the entire industry.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 24, 2012 -> 02:46 PM) Irrelevant. If it is true that the CRO of JPM called them and point blank asked the CEO if the funds were from customer segregated funds, and even took the extra step of attempting to have him sign an attestation to that, they are easily in the clear. They did their due diligence and then some. Taking down Corzine for misrepresenting that fact will only help that out. Corzine already went over this in his testimony. This latest email isn't anything new. The account the money came out of at least at one time contained both customer and firm funds. JPM tried to verify the funds were segregated, but no one signed their confirmation. I would think Corzine probably knew the funds at least partially were customer funds but maybe figured JPM was going to be crediting the account far more than $200 million when this money was transferred, which didn't happen, as supposedly JPM was really slow crediting MF accounts. I used to work at MF Global. I can say without any doubt in my mind, Edith O'Brien would never send the funds illegally unless she was forced or tricked. I don't think Corzine is innocent, but he'll skate around this pretty easily. I doubt Edith even testifies. They are just wasting money and time with the next dog and pony show. The CFO already said he knows nothing, Edith will use the 5th unless they grant her immunity, and the North American CFO is going to be there and she was on vacation when all this went down. A couple of banks are now offering many MF accounts 90% of their account value for their claim. They have been paid 72% and the trustee announced it will soon bring that up to 80%. I'm pretty sure they are going to "find" a pretty big portion of the "missing" money in the near future.

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ Mar 24, 2012 -> 10:36 AM) Granted AJ might not have the best arm but the pichers have to help keep runners close, which they didn't except for Mark Buerhle. I wonder what the percentages were? Mark threw a lot because he had such a great pick off move. Yes, and he threw over a lot because he tries setting guys up. These days, most pick off attempts at first base are called by the dugout. Maybe it was Ozzie's attempt to try and combat the slow releases of White Sox pitchers.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 23, 2012 -> 03:20 PM) I was kidding. I don't really know. But fwiw, Hayward was a Stevens recruit. Mack presumably was too. Not sure on Howard. These mid major guys are crapshoots. Lickliter was thought to be quite a catch, but his style didn't go over very well, in terms of execution and recruiting, and fan interest. They were drawing more for wrestling than basketball watching Lickliters teams struggle to score 50 points a game. BTW, when Hayward committed to Butler, Lickliter was coaching. He committed his junior year in HS. Anyway, its something I will be able to rub into Illini fans until Stevens shows he's a little different.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 23, 2012 -> 03:17 PM) Stevens was clearly the genius behind Lickliter. If the Illini hire him, they better hope you're right. If he's anything like Lickliter, the athletic department will add another to the line of people they are paying not to coach their teams anymore.

I wonder how much better Stevens is than Todd Lickliter. Same school. Lickliter had 2 Sweet 16s and was the reigning national coach of the year when Iowa hired him. and Stevens had 2 finals games, albeit with Lick's players. Lickliter is now an assistant at Miami OH, still getting checks from Iowa. What an awful hire he was.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Mar 23, 2012 -> 12:11 PM) JR does not own the Sox. JR has won more championships than any owner not named Jerry Busse in professional sports. JR has won more combined games as an owner than any other current owner in professional sports. ( I made that one up.) If your first sentence is true, your last 2 cannot be true.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 03:37 PM) I get both sides really, it isn't that complicated. Football is different because of the non-guaranteed nature of their contacts. I understand a player holding out because their contract means nothing. I also understand the Bears not paying up, because RBs historically fall off of cliffs very quickly, and oh yeah, Forte is coming off of a pretty serious knee injury. Exactly. The NFL is the only league I have no problem with players with contracts holding out. If they have a bad year they get cut. If they have a better than expected year, they should get paid.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Mar 22, 2012 -> 05:58 PM) Wish we could see that guy we saw in his first ST. You saw him last spring. How did that work out? Let's see what happens when the games count.