Its new players! Its the Draft! Its offseason talk at its finest.

Eff it, lets listen to the podcast.

CR552012

Warning to all of our sensitive readers: adult language ahead.


Please welcome aboard the newest member of #IlliniNation Sam McLaurin the fifth year transfer from Coastal Carolina.

And yes, that is indeed how Sam announced his intentions to head to Champaign. He later clarified that this tweet was a result of "over-excitement" on his part; but you can never take back your first impressions, Sam. It's too late, you are already my favorite player on the team.

The one thing I have to say though, is that "Fuck it", when I say it, doesn't usually come before something I am excited about, but rather something I know isn't a good idea. You know, like "Fuck it, I am getting a baconator" or "Fuck it, one more all-nighter of Call of Duty won't kill me."

You know, stuff I know I am going to regret.

My point is, I am proud to be your baconator, Mr McLaurin. We, like the baconator, offer an intriguing challenge of endurance and scale you just wont find everywhere, and also like the baconator, we will likely push you to your limits, leave you satisfied though slightly beaten up.

.....Fuck it, I am going to go get a baconator.

Champaign Room: Beckman Groce Era Ep 1 by Hailtotheorange

By the way, I know I said I'd cut out our mistake there about three minutes in, but clearly I didn't.

We clearly know what we are doing here.

If you will allow me, I would like to speak on behalf of a lot of Illinois fans who have become dissatisfied with the coaching search these last few days. After missing on two home run candidates, Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens, a sudden up-swell of media types began to report, late Sunday afternoon, that John Groce had become the next target for Mike Thomas.

That would be Ohio University coach John Groce, who took his team to the Sweet Sixteen this year, before falling in overtime to North Carolina. I applaud Groce for his run this year, I am sure he is a fine coach, and he could very well be a good coach at somewhere like Illinois. But frankly, the sudden unanimity of all Illinois media that not only will Groce be the choice, but that he is a good "fit" is what really gets to me.

The columnists, local, Chicago and national, have taken the rebuffs by Stevens and Smart as "putting Illinois fans in their place." Mocking Thomas for attempting to make two of the most coveted coaches in the sport his coach by offering him one of the most lucrative contracts ever. That ought to teach Illinois to dare to go beyond what the wider world perceives as their station. So when John Groce came up, a coach with one Sweet Sixteen to his name, a 34-30 record in one of a perennially one bid league, and no natural ties to Chicago, all of the columnists not only agreed that Groce would be hired, but that Illinois fans should be happy about it, because we are apparently a God-forsaken wasteland.

The rationalization it seems, when Illinois fans become indignant that a coach with Groce's resume is sold to us as exactly the sort of coach Illinois should have hired all along, is to remind Illini fans that "all good coaches start as mid majors" and "it worked out for Thad Matta and Bill Self."

Yes, I understand that there are many coaches that rise up from the lower ranks to become coaching greats, but frankly, there are many more Todd Lickliters out there than Bill Selfs. And frankly, Matta, Self and Lickliter all had far more impressive resumes coming into the Big Ten than does John Groce.

So what we are being told is that "Hey you never know, he could be the next great coach at Illinois!" Yes that is true. But frankly we shouldn't be admonished as a fan base for not immediately getting excited for a coach we all know is a gamble.

Continue reading this post »

Warning, NSFW language.

I will be honest, the Illinois coaching search hasn't exactly gone the way I would have hoped. We seem to have struck out on our first two choices. Shaka Smart, who said even this obscene amount of money wont make me go to your lousy school, which smells. And Brad Stevens who apparently didn't even know that that thousands of Illini fans had collectively lost their **** when we thought we might be sending the dump truck full of money his way.

So where does that leave us? Chasing the shadows of Frank Martin and Chris Collins? Giving up on all hope and choking down a Groce coaching administration?

There is however, another option. A guy with extensive coaching experience, all the way up to the professional level. Someone who is known in Chicago, and who has the vote of confidence of at least one prominent Illini: Lou Henson, who once turned over the keys to New Mexico State to Theus.

In some ways a Theus candidacy gives me a knee jerk reaction of no. The fact that he hasn't been in coaching for four years now, and that his college coaching and thus recruiting experience is really only limited to his two years at NMSU and as an assistant at Louisville.

Those are the drawbacks. But then, last night, as I was the classic teen television show Hang Time, which incidentally starred Theus for three years, a Theus hire seemed to come together in perfect clarity. Observe (it works best if you stop it after about 30 seconds)

That's right, Antonio Lopez, star player for Deering HS, the U of I did just fire their coach. Granted, the coach in question at this point in time was not played by Reggie Theus, but by our own immortal Dick Butkus. The fact is though, this is too much of a coincidence not to investigate further. The universe is telling us something.

The television show Hang Time, ran from 1995 to 2000, with Reggie Theus starring as coach Fuller for the first three seasons. This allows us a glimpse into what hiring Theus would be like for the Illini. Observe the insight that Hang Time gives us on what the first practice might look like:

Clearly coach Fuller/Theus has no room for anyone who thinks they are bigger than the team, but at the same time knows how to treat star players in a way to get the most out of them. But beyond that, we know that as Coach Fuller, Theus was able to have a strong bond with his players, and I fully expect that whenever the Illini would win under Coach Fuller Theus the famous victory dance will return.

But can the guy fit in at a place like Illinois? We have a reputation to blame things on the referees, a trait that is often represented with our coach. So would Reggie Theus tear into the Big Ten referees like Valentine, Hightower and Sanzier like Illinois fans do? Well you tell me.

It wont be touted in his CV, but Reggie Theus, as Coach Fuller led his Deering Tornadoes to the Indiana High School State Championship, with a team that not only featured a girl, but also Anthony Anderson. The man can clearly coach, and if he can get a sold post presence out of the guy from Kangaroo Jack, well I can only imagine what he can do with guys like Tyler Griffey and Nnanna Egwu.

But in all honesty, the Theus possibility isn't nearly so bad as we might have originally thought. Every coach seems bad in comparison to Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart, and until those home run candidates were formally eliminated, it was hard for me to really consider a guy like Theus. He certainly would be a striking hire in the media, and he does know basketball So if given the choice between Theus and say Groce or Collins, I take Theus every time.

I mean seriously, there are enough Hang Time clips out there that I would never be at a loss during his tenure in Champaign.

Sources tell Peegs.com Illinois' interest in Brad Stevens is high but there has not yet been an offer. #marchmadness

— Jeff Rabjohns (@JeffRabjohns) March 23, 2012

And you thought you might have an uneventful Friday night, didn't you?

Rabjons, as well as Brad Sturdy, started propagating this story a little after lunch today, and by the end of the work day, twitter, the message boards, and most of all my phone were exploding with the same question: Is Brad Stevens really considering coming to Illinois?

So far rumors are all we have. "Interest" on one end, "possible interest" on another. The same contract offered to Shaka Smart possibly, the same promised renovations of Assembly Hall, and the same promises of getting a staff together to get Chicago.

I for one have a hard time believing this will get much further than rumors. Brad Stevens has his choice of jobs. No matter that he did not go to the Dance this year, largely due to his early season struggles and an overall weak Horizon league. But still, he can have Duke, he can have UCONN, and he can have UCLA. And he has TWO seasons of extraordinary performance to back that up.

I just don't want to end up getting burned yet again. If Mike Thomas is serious, good for him, but I am sure he thought Shaka and Sumlin were too. I don't want to be the guy everyone uses to get raises.

That said, the fact that IU Purdue and Notre Dame will not be opening up any time soon, and frankly Duke is also still a few years away from looking for a new coach, if Brad does want to jump, and stay in the area that he has grown up and lived most of his life, Illinois would be the best option for that.

So take that for what it is worth. I'll be waiting, pessimistically.

Everybody has a source somewhere. Whether its someone who knows someone, or someone who is literally in the room, everyone is getting conflicting reports. Shaka Smart is negotiating staff.... HORRAY! Smart is unsure of the Chicago recruiting environment OH NOES!. It has been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster over the past 48 hours, no?

I don't have a guy, a source, or someone close to the principles. But I do know that until one side or another issues a concrete statement, from an AD or SID or from the coach's mouth, its all negotiation. "Unless something drastic changes in 24 hours..." that simply means something drastic needs to happen.

If it was a done deal, in either direction, we would have heard so by now. And until then, we are in the same position we have been for two weeks, trying to craft a deal that will get Shaka to Champaign.

Spend what you need. If you are sure this is the guy to get you back to real, honest prominence, it will be well worth the investment. Sell out streaks, lots of people buying Illini merchandise, more ESPN games etc etc.

Pay the man. Pay to have his house shipped to Champaign from Richmond. Give him a gigantic wardrobe budget, solid gold suits, pay to open a franchise of his favorite pizza place on Green Street. Leverage your advantages, while you have them.

But rest assured, we wont. No, we are going to be that guy checking twitter during dinner. No I don't care whose grandma's birthday it is.

It has been quite some time since Illinois fans have really gotten their hopes up, and this time, yeah we are a little bit more than just emotionally invested. (I mean it worked out so well with Sumlin, Eric Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Bill Self, Lon Kruger, Chris Collins and so on. Surely this time things will go better.)

I wish all of my fellow care way to much about this basketball hire comrades out there good luck. As in good luck carrying on a conversation or thinking a non Shaka related thought these next few days.

Champaign Room: A Lion Eye, Shaka, and Illini Football

This week, Schmidt is off having the time of his life somewhere, and yours truly is holding it down with Special Guest A Lion Eye.

We talk Shaka, Shaka and more Shaka, as well as how the football team, yes football team is shaping up for the fall. Fun was had by all involved.

Come Monday morning, we will all be hoping to hear about a press conference announcement.

Tonight, just hope and speculate.

Tonight's guest is Jim Weber from Lost Letterman, we get into the nitty gritty of expectations at Illinois, what it means to be a "good job" and a larger look at the NCAA tournament.

Champaign Room With Jim Weber