He may have had his hand forced a little, but from what I understand he reached out to Bennett and I believe there was one other and found out they didn't want to come. Then when Gard took them on a run, it made it much easier on him.

I thought the story was that Bo Ryan didn't think Alvarez would hire his guy so he forced the issue by retiring mid season

He had to hire him at that time and for the rest of the year, he didn't have to give him the permanent position. I believe the reason that Bo really retired is because he knew all of that shit was about to come out about his mistress and he didn't want to deal with it while still there coaching.

You keep making posts suggesting the Illini job is like some mediocre gig. You've already suggested it's equivalent to the Missouri job which it certainly is not. What "bigger opportunity" do you think Miller is going to have? I guess he could try to get the Indiana job. But I can't think of any other bigger opportunity than Illinois that is going to be available.

it is a mediocre gig right now. Even Dr Ken the biggest Illini fan around these parts understands the situation.

The Missouri job is mediocre too right now. But if Martin gets Porter, which seems likely at this point, that could change.

Miller does not need to jump to another place this year if the opportunity he wants does not come available. He has a pretty good thing going at Dayton.

That's a wrong way to look at it. Programs have tradition. You wouldn't say Indiana is a mediocre job right now.

And sure, Miller can wait for one of the handful of jobs that's better than Illinois to open up- Indiana, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, maybe there are a couple more I'm not thinking of- but good luck with that. He may have a shot at Indiana right now. I wouldn't suggest he take Illinois instead.

That's a wrong way to look at it. Programs have tradition. You wouldn't say Indiana is a mediocre job right now.

And sure, Miller can wait for one of the handful of jobs that's better than Illinois to open up- Indiana, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, maybe there are a couple more I'm not thinking of- but good luck with that. He may have a shot at Indiana right now. I wouldn't suggest he take Illinois instead.

Illinois is a far better job than Missouri.

While I wouldn't put Indiana in the same mediocre category as Illinois or Mizzou, it is trending in a downward direction. It is clearly not the job that it once was.

Illinois does have some tradition, but that is a long time ago. The same thing is true when they hired Groce. They could not get the guys they really wanted and had to settle for Groce. Of course it was billed as the guy they really wanted all along. But no one believes that.

And the success of schools like Wich St, Gonzaga and Butler over the last few years do not help places like Illinois. There is no reason for guys to jump to a mediocre Big 10 job when they can stay at their place, make the tournament every year and wait for a really good place to open up

I disagree. Indiana is still as great a job as it ever was and they'll be good again and the Crean years will be forgotten. And a guy can build a nice program at those mid-majors but it isn't like a Big 10 job.

That's a wrong way to look at it. Programs have tradition. You wouldn't say Indiana is a mediocre job right now.

And sure, Miller can wait for one of the handful of jobs that's better than Illinois to open up- Indiana, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, maybe there are a couple more I'm not thinking of- but good luck with that. He may have a shot at Indiana right now. I wouldn't suggest he take Illinois instead.

We knew Illinois wasn't a football school, but now it doesn't feel like a basketball school, either. We're going to have to invent a new sport for them.

There seem to be a bunch you aren't thinking of.

I disagree. Indiana is still as great a job as it ever was and they'll be good again and the Crean years will be forgotten. And a guy can build a nice program at those mid-majors but it isn't like a Big 10 job.

Indiana still hasn't proven they can be elite without Knight. And no, Branch McCracken doesn't count.

The old Millennial "If it happened before I was born, it didn't happen" philosophy!

The old Millennial "If it happened before I was born, it didn't happen" philosophy!

If we want to include all time stuff Purdue is elite!

Who? Don't give me some team that rolls the MAC or WAC each season.

The old Millennial "If it happened before I was born, it didn't happen" philosophy!

I would need a college hoops guy who isnt an Illini fan like Rick to help me with the list, but it's obviously a much longer list than six teams.

Off the top of my head, Michigan State, Villanova, Syracuse, Georgetown, Louisville, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, UConn without a doubt. I'd argue other teams like Michigan, Baylor, Ohio State, USC, Texas, Oregon, Xavier, Maryland, etc. And you said not to include mid majors but I think teams like Gonzaga, Butler, and Wichita State would even be as appealing considering Illinois' lack of recent success. RFDC is right about it not looking good that Missouri got a guy Illinois wanted. The point being, even a die hard Illini fan would have to agree to at least another dozen plus teams beside the six you listed.

Uh, JORR, the players that these schools are trying to recruit.... what generation do you suppose they are?

It's pretty clear you're irrationally biased about Illinois. It's insane to attempt an argument that Illinois is on the same level as Louisville, Arizona, and Uconn.

Are you making the argument that the current coach is all that matters? I'm not saying that isn't important, by the way. A guy like Izzo can establish a program by staying and being consistent over a long period, but that doesn't happen when a guy uses three good seasons at Dayton or Xavier a stepping stone to Ohio State or Indiana.

No, I'm saying 2005 was 12 years ago. We're getting to the point where Illinois hasn't been a respectable program since potential recruits have been watching and playing basketball. That matters a hell of a lot more than being a decent program in the 1980's does if we are ranking programs.