It must be nice to live in Jerrance Howard’s world right now.
He’s young, still a relative newlywed, has a very young son named Jerrance Jr., and is hotter than the core of the sun when it comes to the college basketball coaching world.
Want a bright, affable, on-the-rise assistant coach who can recruit the lights out? Who you gonna call? Jerrance!
It was a fantastic, flattering offer that came Howard’s way this week when new Memphis head coach Josh Pastner pursued the young Illini assistant basketball coach and even dangled the title “associate head coach.”
That’s an intoxicating temptation for a guy who is not yet 30 and who, when Bruce Weber hired him in September of 2007, had no real experience as an assistant coach. He had been with Billy Gillispie at Texas A&M and briefly at Kentucky, but never with the title of assistant coach and never in a role that allowed him to recruit off-campus.
I remember when I first wrote about Jerrance and tried to tell readers that he would be the replacement for Tracy Webster. Much of the reaction was negative. “He’s too young, unproven and a Peoria guy. We need a Chicago guy!!!”
Rather quickly, though, Jerrance proved himself to be just what the doctor ordered for an Illini coaching staff that needed a personality-plus guy who was fearless enough to march into any Chicago Public League gymnasium, proudly wear his orange and blue, and talk to players, coaches and families about what it means to play basketball at Illinois. And what it means to play for Bruce Weber.
People sometimes forget, but one of Howard’s greatest assets is that he played for Weber. So if someone wants to say something they’ve heard about playing for Weber, Howard can set them straight from the perspective of a player who actually DID play for Weber.
He passionately describes Illinois as a special place, and he is a convincing salesman.
Maybe Howard has received too much credit for the players who have committed since he was hired. A lot of work was done before his arrival. But maybe he hasn’t received enough. I just know that Illinois’ recruiting fortunes have turned in a decidedly favorable direction since Howard arrived and I’m willing to give him all the credit in the world.
The good news is that Howard turned down Memphis, just as he did Kentucky when they began exploring for assistant coaches who could give them an edge in Chicago.
For Howard, the better news is that AD Ron Guenther will restructure his contract to reward him financially and, hopefully, keep him with the program for the near future.
But for how long?
We should all understand that Jerrance Howard may be at his dream school, but he would like to one day be a head coach. More opportunities will come. And eventually the right one will come along.
I think he’s wise to be patient. His star is shooting no where but up. Keep recruiting, keep contributing on the practice floor and with scouting reports. Keep drawing praise from Weber and those who work around him. And the right offer will materialize.
I don’t know what he’ll view as the right offer. Remember what happened with Gillispie? He was working in the Illini practice gym one day and the next he was head coach at Texas-El Paso. That was a pretty good first head coaching gig. Some success there and he was off to Texas A&M, then to Kentucky.
I don’t know if Howard can match that career arc, nor do I know if he wants to. I’m sure in his dream world he’d go somewhere to cut his coaching teeth, then re-emerge one day as the head coach at Illinois. But a lot has to fall into place. And timing is everything. At this point, no one knows what kind of a bench coach Jerrance Howard will be.
What we do know is that he deserves a chance to show he can be great. He’s already earned a reputation as a great recruiter and as a great people-person. What they’re offering him now, though, is similar to what he already has. They want him as a hired gun recruiter.
My advice? Stay put. Keep recruiting for the Illini. And take that UTEP offer that will surely come along before too long.
The rest of us need to understand that day will probably come. I hope Bruce Weber already has a list of candidates who can replace him. It was a critical hire in September of 2007, and it will be a critical hire the next time, too.
April 17th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Dee would be the next great assistant coach at Illinois and it might not be to far off. Dee is not playing anywhere at this time and would be a great replacement when coach McClain decides to retire.
April 17th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
BAM should give Jerrance half his salary as I firmly believe that without him, BAMS days were numbered.
April 17th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Legion is on his way to greatness.He just got rang up for driving with a suspended lic.Hope he turns out like Luther.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Very good article Tupps. I was one of those that wanted a former player from chicago. Jerrance Howard has done an excellent job since being here. I hope he waits awhile before taking a head coaching job, but i cant blame him if he leaves soon for one. He might want to move on while there’s good interest in him.
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Gator, I’m not gonna argue with you about Zook and what happened to him at florida. If you want to blame him for Illinois loss in the Rose Bowl, that’s your opinon. One question though for you and Brooks. How many kids off that Rose Bowl team have gone on to play in the NFL compared to how many off the USC team? It’s safe to say we were big underdogs. Brooks, how many starters off the 2005 basketball team wound up being drafted in the NBA, compared to how many off the Rose Bowl team, where there’s 24 starter’s compared to 5 in basketball. If i remember, 2 off that basketball team was drafted, while a third was given a look. I know one of the 24 football player’s was drafted. Maybe someone else in a late round. Guess you can say Zook did a pretty good job getting to the Rose Bowl without having alot of talent or alot of very young talent. Weber on the other hand had a veteran talented team in 2005. If Zook was the coach of USC in that Rose Bowl game and lost to Illinois, then i would agree with you.
April 17th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
No one bleeds orange and blue like Dee Brown. It’d be great to have both Dee and Jerrance on the Illini bench.
April 17th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I hope Jerrance stays for the long haul. He is exactly the type of person the Illini need as a head coach. Let’s hope Weber doesn’t push for Frazier instead of Jerrance when the time comes.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
gator, Tell me it could happen…Dee would be great. Back in the Hall of Paign….
April 18th, 2009 at 1:32 am
Mr. Tupper, I was enjoying your above article and your sincere advice to the young man until I got to the part about “Guenther will restructure his contract…” and I thought Oh Oh there goes another good man that we’re going to lose.
Guenther is incapable of keeping any good coach by restructuring his/her contract (remeber Lon Kruger and Bill Self?). He can only restructure the contract of coaches who should be fired in the first place (remember Lou Tepper, Ron Turner, Gretz, and now Zook and Weber?). In short, Guenther can keep lousy coaches and allow good coaches slip right through his fingers.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:40 am
Mr. Tupper…I just thought of another brilliant idea (man, I am on a roll today!)…why don’t we get a jump-start on the young man, Howard, and fire Bruce Weber and make Howard the head coach now? With his recruiting ability and some knowledge as a bench coach, I’ll bet he would go much further in the NCAA March Madness than the current dud of a coach that we have!
April 18th, 2009 at 3:16 am
Howard is no where ready to be a head coach. He will need to get a couple of years at a mid major school before he gets a shot at a major college. The only reason these other schools want him now as an assistant is a player called Richmond. When Richmond said he would only not attend Illinois is if Jerrence wasn’t there. Richmond will be a one and done player, but he will do good things for the school he goes to. I think Howard understands that is the main reason schools are after him. Nobody was recruiting him until Richmonds comment.I’m sure in a couple of years he will do the same route Gillispi took.
April 18th, 2009 at 4:04 am
I looked up how many Illinois players who left after 2000 that played in the NBA. The number is 7 and of those 7 only one became a starter (Daron Williams). Luther Head is the only other player still playing. I don’t think Illinois looks like a top 20 school in producing Pro players. In football since 2000 17 players are in the NFL and 11 didn’t play more than 1 year. In 8 years only 17 players from Illinois have made it in the NFL. What does that say about the talent that has came to Illinois over the past 8 years. Some of you on this blog think that Illinois should be this hot shot team in basketball and football and get all these top recruits. The talent Weber has coming in is most likely the best Illinois has seen in many of years. Plus a couple of players on this years team could make the NBA. If you were an top recruit and looked at these figures would you attend Illinois? I think getting a Richmond, Paul, Richardson and Head to come to Illinois is a major step forward and the beginning of something special for the Illinois program.
DIF, that last blog shows me how much you really know about coaching and basketball. That had to be the dumbest comment you have made on this blog.
April 18th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Jerrance has the personality to be a tremendous ambassador for the Illini. The outgoing high school seniors can’t help but love the guy. And I truly believe he will be a great recruiter. But give him some time on being a head coach. That is a completely different ball game. A lot goes into a game plan. Let him learn for a few more years before he gets his feet wet. I just question who he is learning from.
April 18th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Legion isn’t the only Big Ten team memeber in trouble. LewJack has a problem also. Man, I thought this kid had better sense than doing something stupid like that.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Jerrance is happy right where he is for now. He knows he needs to put in some time as an assistant coach, & what better place to do it than where he played. Like gator said, he is also smart enough to know that he’s getting these offers because of his ties to JR.
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The only place where you are on a roll, DIF, is within the confines of your own mind.
April 18th, 2009 at 11:49 am
How do you get 24 starters on a football team? Help me out, what am I missing? Ok, if you have 11 on offense and 11 on defense thats 22. I can see that but where do the other 2 come from?
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Brian Cook is with the Rockets. So besides Deron Williams, he is the other Illini player that I know of that is on an active roster.
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I nominate DIF for atheltic director at Illinois. Just think of the unlimited possibilities we could have in football and baskteball! A coach that lasted more than a year would be considered successful. A continuous merry go round of coaches. Never establish any recruiting ground. Have to abolish both sports due to no one buying tickets. The list could go on and on but I think you all get the idea.
April 18th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I do not see any problem with letting Jerrance learn on the job. Weber has been here 6 years and “now he has figured it out”, so what is the difference?
April 18th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Gator. Starting with the incoming class, this is probably the best back-to-back-to-back basketball talent ever recruited at Illinois. As a historical reference, if anyone knows of another set of comparable classes, I’d love to hear about it.
April 18th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
DIF- I second what Illini Gator said. Dumbest comment ever. You want to promote a guy with absolutely no head coaching experience. You only want him based on his potential. Yet you rip Guenther for hiring up and coming coaches based on their potential who have actually been a head coach before? You make absolutely no sense.
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Bball- What’s your point? We all knew that USC was a far more talented team. So knowing that, and with a month to prepare, couldn’t we have tried something different? Tried to win the game? I rest my case.
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Illini gator- Great post.
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Legion driving on a suspended license. Oh my word. Let’s boot him off the team today. In the words of Napoleon Dynamite, “Freakin idiots”
April 18th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Gator, You say some of Weber’s recruit’s are the best we have had around here in a while. Couldnt you say the same about Zook and the football program. In the last 2 years, Weber has a 1 and done in the NCAA tourny and a record 19 loss season. Zook made the Rose Bowl 1 year and no bowl 1 year. Both are doing a good job getting some pretty good recruits. So why again do you guy’s think Weber is doing a fantastic job, and Zook should be replaced?
April 18th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
Mikeyduh,
22+2 kickers =24.
OK, Linda, what did Lewjack do? Some of us moved away and get 90% of our sports news from this column.
April 19th, 2009 at 7:04 am
I’m not saying Zook should be fired. I’m saying he isn’t a great game coach and his teams lack discipline. If he can surround himself with good assistant coaches and let them do their job, then I’m for keeping him. You say he is great recruiter, but other than good receivers what has he brought to Illinois. Other than Davis who has performed better than average on defense, that he recruited. Juice has been irratic and not lived up to his potential so far and his running backs have shown average ability. Last years offensiveline and defensive line were below average. The linebacking other than Miller was weak. but, it is an upgrade from Loser Turner. Recruiting at Illinois is not an easy job and I believe Zook has done as good as anybody can, but, the question is can his poor game preperation and in game adjustments be overlooked?
Weber has 2 or 3 possible NBA players on his roster now and a possibly could have 2 or 3 more int he next two classes more coming in. How many pro prospect does Weber have on his roster now and how many coming in. In football you have 80 some players on the roster, so you should have more potential for pro players than basketball, who only have 12 to 13 players. I can’t understand how you can keep knocking Weber and giving Zook a free ride. I do think you know more about Illinois sports than DIF
April 19th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Mikey - don’t forget the punter and place kicker.
Whippersnapper - if Abrems comes through we could have a three year influx of talent at a level that is unheard of in Illini history.
April 19th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Jerrance is a great person to have associated with the Illini. He was loved when he was a player, and has done a great job on selling the program. When is Jimmy Collins retiring? Can Illinois keep him and start him there, and then with success put a plan in place to have him succeed Weber when he is done. Being in Chicago he can continue to build his Chicago connections.
I look forward to all the talent coming in, but Richmond scares me. Trouble in HS, and comments like he won’t come here if Jerrance is gone. JR committed to the Illini before Jerrance ever stepped foot here as a coach. Hopefully he buys in and is a team player.
I hope Jerrance stays, but I agree, opportunity will come soon. Gunther, open the wallet, he is worth it.
April 19th, 2009 at 10:03 am
BBall- Come on. Now you try to compare Zook’s best year to Weber’s worst? Seems to me that Zook went to the Rose Bowl with alot of players he didn’t recruit. Shouldn’t we give Turner some credit like you do with Self? The difference? Weber has had only one losing season in 6 years. Zook has only one winning season in 4 years. You are right. Comparing the two coaches and their is no comparison. Weber wins.
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Don’t forget the 2008 class. McCamey, Davis, Tis, and JJ still have 2 more years and will contribute alot. I’m very happy with the 2008, 09, and 10 classes. Abrams is on board and I hope we get Shaw, Beals, and Randle on board. Very solid.
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Bball- How about telling us what Zook has ever won? He’s never won a bowl game, title, etc. He can recruit the big names at QB & RB, but what about the rest of the team? I look at guys like Vontae and Martez and I don’t see them getting much better under Zook. Everything you read about Vontae is his upside on developing him. You guys rip a basketball coach who wins, but support a football coach who has won nothing. The only reason we went to a BCS game was because they wanted the traditional Big Ten team in the Rose Bowl. Mizzou got the shaft. You guys settle for Zook because of how miserable our program was before. News flash. Turner has a better record than Zook if you compare his last four years to Zook’s first four. Very similar results. How about getting a guy in here who actually knows how to coach football and develop players? You rip Weber for making the postseason and losing, but Zook can’t even get a team to .500 to go to a small bowl game. How about evening out your expectations between the two programs?
April 19th, 2009 at 10:59 am
DePaul should hire (or at least offer) Howard immediately. They’re already at depths they’ve never seen in the history of the program - so having a 2-3 yr “coaching” learning curve would not be a problem at all. DePaul has a strong basketball history and used to be a national player in Ray Meyer’s heydays. He could improve even further on his Chicago recruiting and lock down the city’s top talent. When BW is done at ILL he could transition back if its the right fit for him and his family. Does anyone really think Wainwright has 2-3 more years in him at DePaul - no way..he’s got next year and should be gone. I hope he stays at ILL for 2-3 more years, but if you’re the AD at DePaul you are either completely incompetent or just don’t plain care anymore about the bball program’s success.
April 19th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
First I would just like to express my appreciation to Jerrance Howard and the loyalty he has shown to his alma mater. I supported Jerrance’s hire because first and foremost he is an “ILLINI” guy. I could care less whether he is from Chicago or Peoria. What Jerrance may have turned down in terms of money from Memphis and Ky, he has surely gained in terms of being associated with a program that follows the rules instead of a serial rules breaker like Calipari. Jerrance has a bright future ahead of him - he doesn’t want to end it before it really starts by associating himself with Calipari, who mark my words will be exposed at Kentucky.
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Snacks’ hire was significant. After surrounding himself for years with former assistants from his Purdue and Western KY days, Bruce finally hired a former Illini player - a real turning point for a coach who keeps things exceedingly close to the vest and rarely ventures outside his tight comfort zone. Howard’s hire was followed by another good hire - Sean Harrington. Both got a chance to learn from other good coaches (Gillespie, Majerus, Judson) and bring some new ideas with them to Illinois. Both can also sell recruits on playing and going to school at Illinois in a way that non-alums can’t.
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I for one hope that Wayne McClain sticks around for awhile. He is another Illinois guy with a son and daughter who graduated from U of I. He is a great defensive coach and we have to have one of the most effective yet underutilized presses in all of Div. 1 basketball. Defense has certinaly not been the problem with the Illini in recent years.
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Memo to Calipari and Pastner: Please hire Jay Price or Gary Nottingham! I feel like Chris Farley doing the “Herlihy Boy” skit with Adam Sandler. Please take them. Somebody!
April 19th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Again Gator, You keep saying, Weber has potential NBA players. Thats good. Are you saying Zook hasent? I bet Benn goes some where. Liguet looks like he might get a shot in a couple years at the NFL. Along with maybe Fayson, Brent, Thomas, OH OH, along with some others. So whats your Point? My argument with you guys on the difference between the 2 coaches boils down to, you guys telling me How much better of a job Weber’s has done “to this point” then Zook. You guys keep arguing the future. We havent won 1 game in the future yet. Weber took over a basketball program that was in alot better shape then what Zook took over. Basketball has had some success at Illinois on a consistant basis. As Illini fans we all know the problems Illinois has had in the past in football. Thats why i think Zooks done a heck of a job getting some very good players to come here. Remember, A very good horse can win a race with an avg Jockey. A very good Jockey is not gonna win a race with an avg horse. I agree with you about Zook needing good asistant coaches Gator. What makes him any different then most head coaches? I think Weber looks alot better with Howard then with out him. Your right there is more potential for more football players being drafted then basketball. Thats what i have been saying about the talent Self left for Weber. All 5 starters got looked at by Nba teams. 4 out of the 5 went on to play in the Nba. Not many kids even get a look by the Nba. So how unusual is that for 1 team to have 4 of its starters play in the Nba? Guess you can say there was alot of talent on that team. Nba scouts dont draft kids because they played on a winning team. Thay draft kids because they have talent. With all that talent on 1 college team, guess you can say an avg Jockey could of won with them. Zook on the other hand, didnt have much talent to work with win he beat the #1 team late in the season on there home field, and went to the rose bowl.
April 19th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Major Illini fan! Like both Weber and Zook. Have to agree with BBJones on the latest, though. Zook has great lbs and linemen becoming sophs and jrs. He was fair enough to give his upperclassmen first shot. Thought his OC did horrible job with his insistence on power football.Respect IllGator’s knowledge but, was living in S Fl during Spurrier’s last couple of years at FL. Did a horrible recruiting job, which he admitted. They were going after avg players in Miami and Ft Lauderdale areas. They were calling for Zooks head the day after he was hired. Weber needs to loosen up in his restictions in his offense. Only the pg is allowed to freelance. Think he will in the coming season.
April 19th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
Dennis D from Danville–L Jackson got picked up on I72 outside of Decatur and they found Marajuana and I think liquor in the car. I’m not sure of the details but that is what the paper said about 2 or 3 days ago. It did not sound good. He was stopped for speeding at 85 in a 65 zone.
April 19th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
A suggestion for Tupps:
Can you please start a second private blog and grant access only to Brooks and BB Jones. This will allow them to carry on their Zook vs. Weber debate ad infinitum until one develops carpal tunnel and has to concede defeat. Better add a few GB of disk space and extra RAM while you’re at it.
April 19th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Utah doesn’t stand a chance against the Lakers, but you gotta love Deron’s 17 assists vs. only 3 TO in Game 1. He played 45 of 48 minutes too. I hope Utah can steal a game or two and the exposure of playing the Lakers will give Deron some national publicity that is lacking from the bi-coastal bias of the media. Go Deron and go Jazz!
April 19th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Dennis and Namber - Thanks. I was just thinking 11 on D and O.
April 19th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Shooter- Love the Herlihy Boy reference. One of my all time favorite skits.
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Jay Price was big with the recruitment of Griffey. I know he’s involved with Beals too. Not sure I would let him go just yet. It’s hard for us as fans to see what the assistants do on a day-to-day basis. I like the staff as it is. Nice to see Howard and Harrington back on the bench.
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Hedge- The funny thing is that last year, Wainwright was on the Chicago radio and criticized Weber. Guess he’s not the great coach that he thinks he is.
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Shooter- Continue to post more and I won’t have to argue with Bball anymore.
April 19th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
BBJ Daron is the only player on that team that has made it in the NBA. Aigustine, Brown, Powell never were a factor with any NBA team. Head has never been a starter and has been a disapointment in the NBA. Powell has been playing in minor league basketball and the D league. This makes Weber look pretty good
that he got the best out of these players and made them very good college players.
Brooks I couldn’t agree with you more about LaRussa. He has blowthe last two games, because he won’t advance runners with a bunt that could have put the winning runs on third with less than 2 outs. His taking out players in the 7th inning for defensive reasons, have come back to haunt him. He has been blessed with very good players over the last few years or he would have been gone a long time ago. Why didn’t the Cardinals go for a good closer over the off season?
April 19th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
ktc.Its good to hear from someone that knew the situation at Florida before Zook got the job. I always said that Zook wouldnt have a chance there. Guess in one way you have to give the Florida people credit for hiring Zook for a couple years and getting the recruiting straightened back out, then hiring a very sharp x-os guy to get them a National Championship.
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Gator, There is not very many openings on NBA rosters each year. So getting 4 out of your 5 starters any playing time means you had some good talent. We can agree on LaRussa though. I was at thursdays game. In the 7th or 8th ining, Chris Duncan got a base hit which put the Cardinals in a first and third situation. I turned to my son and said, they will take him out now for a pinch runner cause you know Shumacher will take his place in the field next inning. Nope. Skip took his place in the field but not on the base path. Thats LaRussa.
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Shooter, While he’s at it maybe he can start you an NBA blog. I dont like to argue so much with brooks, its all in fun. Although he gets me worked up when he runs down Zook. Brooks is right when he says Weber has a better record. He took over a very good program and took it downhill after a couple years. Zook took a down and out program and took it up hill. Not quite sure why him and Gator dont like the guy. I like alot about Weber as i have stated before, just hate his offensive style of play. Never liked it at Purdue and dont like it here.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Brooks - You will argue with BBJ on this blog until one of 4 things happen. One, you die. Two he dies. Three, Tupps gives this blog up. Four, we get nuked by North Korea. Now for God’s sake and the rest of us, I hope its not numbers 1,2, or 4.
April 19th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
For crying out loud! Miss North Carolina wins the Miss USA contest. Go figure.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:47 am
I guess it was just a year for heels.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:53 am
LaRussa is one of the few managers who can under manage and over manage in the same game. The other few are no longer managing.
April 20th, 2009 at 7:13 am
HedgeHog, It takes more than a good recruiter to win in D1 college basketball. Depaul has some decent talent on their team this year. Dar Tucker has declared for the NBA draft. Pat Kennedy had a bunch of first round draft choices at Depaul but he could not win. That is why I really like Weber and why Jerrance needs a lot more seasoning before becoming a head coach.
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Next season the Illini should compete for the Big Ten title with their improved taletn. By season’s end it should be interesting to see how many minutes Jeff Jordan gets. I predict not many.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:00 am
ktc, great post, keep it coming.
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Shooter, I agree on the separate blog. Please let it go guys, it’s obvious you are never going to meet in the middle.
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Gator, you are wrong on two things. First, Luther also made it in the NBA and even Dee played a while too. Deron isn’t the only one. Even Augie was on the Orlando roster for a year. Secondly, the interest in Jerrance goes back a lot further than you know. It just hasn’t been since the Richmond comment. Marquette and a couple other schools inquired some time back. Just because it doesn’t make the paper doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Those in the coaching world know what impact Jerrance has had here, and it’s a lot more than you or Brooks would like to give him credit for. Let’s not forget the total whiff that the staff had on the 2008 class before Jerrance arrived. They missed all 6 of their top targets.
April 20th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Mikeymouth, I hope none of the 4 happen. I’m just filling in for Kentucky mike. Guess he’s on vacation.
April 20th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I hope Jerrance is working the 2011 recruiting class right now. I just heard the Weber offered to Nnanna Egwu this past weekend. From what I hear, Egwu (at 6-9) is a great defensive presence but has a little ways to go on offense (great Weber recruit, BBJ, huh?). Many consider him the best post player in the 2011 class. Has anyone seen him play (St. Ignatius, Chicago)?Egwu also has received offers from Northwestern and Wisky.
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Wisconsin could be a major player in recruiting the Illinois 2011 high school class. Bo has already received an oral committment from Devon Hodges, a fellow 2001 prospect and an AAU teammate of both Egwu and Chasson Randle. Wisconsin has made an offer to Randle also (as has six other B10 teams, including the Illini).
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It is reported that the 2011 class is the best and deepest that the state of Illinois has seen in over 30 years. Go at it, Jerrance!
April 20th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Bosco, There isnt really a middle. I dont like Weber’s offense, and they just dont like Zook.
April 20th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
BBJ, in his second year, BW took us to the NC game and only lost 2 games. So first he brought the program up and then it has come down. I am confident that next year will be at least as good as this year and will improve in the foloowing years, assuming there is no substantial fallout (not from North Korea) from the recruiting.
Zook has given us one good year, hopefully more to come, but I am not confident it will happen. I will grant you that Zook has had a lot more to turn around, but it is time for him to show us what he can do at this point.
GO ILLINI!
April 20th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I didn’t say they didn’t make the NBA, I said they didn’t start and played little roles on the teams they went to. Augie, Dee, Roger are no longer on any NBA roster and Luther is about 10th man for Miami.
You guys think Weber had a problem after the NC game, look at what is happenning at Florida. Two years in a row and haven’t made the NCAA tournament and they have had 4 players either transfered or left the team in the past year and a half. These players were top ranked recruits and part of a top 10 recruiting class. It wasn’t like they were bench players, they were all starter. the Gainesville Sun blog question of the day was, has Donavon lostcontrol of his program. I haven’t seen this at Illinois, but I’m suprised it hasn’t happened with Cole and Semarau getting very little playing time. I think Cole could be a starter at alot of schools. With Richmond and Simpson coming, it seems less likely he will ever get any playing time.
April 20th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Illini Gator and other extremely-seriou-souls on this blog…smile guys…joke, joke, joke…I was joking about making Howard our head BB coach. But, if you insist, yeah…he just might do betetr than Weber…couldn’t do any worse than weber’s “one and done” 2004-5 season (with somebody else’s players, I might add)…could he now?
April 20th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
If the rumor is more than just a rumor Findlay prep could be getting a new student. Evidently Richmond has some academic issues due to falling behind his freshman year. Some on here were worried that if he went to a prep school we could loose him, but it sounds like he could be a potential nonqualifier if he doesn’t. I haven’t seen anybody on here comment about this possibility.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I think if Illinois can land the 2010 recruits without hiccup, Weber should be able to land the 2011 class without too much problem even if Howard leaves. With all of the top recruits in place from 2009 and 10, who wouldn’t want to play for Illinois and try to compete for a NC, which should be able to be done.
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I think Jerrance could stay on through 2011, but by then I’m sure he’ll be getting offers from many schools to head coach. I hope the Illini continue to recruit well at that point, and I wish Jerrance the best because he may very well be the Illini coach some day.
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The Egwu thing is awesome, and I’m glad we’re in the mix this early. There is going to be a lot of attention towards this kid in the coming years. Go Illini.
April 20th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Joe J, That was a great year in 2005. Dont forget Gunther hired a coach who’s system fit perfectly with the talent left in place, and that the talent left in place was very good. Zook had to start from scratch almostmand had a very good season year before last going to the rose bowl. I do agree Zook and his team needs to have a good year this year. Tough schedule this year too.
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Illiniwhirlpool, In Weber’s offense, the center position is the one place you can get by with a defensive player that you dont have to count on for scoring. I have to agree with Gator. Why hasent some of the player’s transferred yet? You got to beleive Semrau, and Cole, got to be thinking about it.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:28 am
DIF, you are so far out there that the only time we believe you are joking is if some praise for any Illini program slips out.
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BBJ, hopefully the incoming talent in hoops gets us back into serious tourney talk. Yes, Zook gave us one good year and a great victory over #1 OSU at their place. Let’s see if we can get two football seasons back to back with a winning record. That would be a start.
GO ILLINI!
April 21st, 2009 at 6:20 am
I just read where Lew Jack pleaded guilty and is sentenced already. You think Painter will give him another chance or give him the boot? I say give him another chance. I don’t condone what he did, but who didn’t make stupid mistakes in their life at that age?
April 21st, 2009 at 6:54 am
BBJ - In post #44, you told Bosco “I don’t like Weber’s offense,”. In post #50, you said to Joe J “That was a great year in 2005. Don’t forget Gunther hired a coach(Weber)who’s system fit perfectly with the talent left in place, & that the talent left in place was very good.” I could be wrong, but it sounds like when the Illini have talented players who can run his offense well, you are perfectly happy with Weber’s system. We have very talented players coming who will make his system look efficient again, compared to the way it looked the last couple of years. A little tweaking will probably need to be done, but the offense will be basically the same. Based on what you’ve written, you don’t seem to dislike Weber’s offense as much as you are frustrated with the lack of talent we’ve had in our guards trying to run it. Any offense looks bad without the talent to run it. I think you’ll be happy with Weber’s system again in the next couple of years.
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DIF - Your satirical side sounds just like your serious side, so it’s hard to tell the difference between the 2.
April 21st, 2009 at 8:51 am
SD Running Red: Apparently Richmond admits himself that he slacked off his freshman year and first semester sophomore year, leading to his current academic deficiencies. If he goes to a prep school (e.g., Findlay in Nevada), it would be comparable to what D.J. Richardson did. It worked out well for Richardson as he reportedly has made considerable academic progress and is on track to qualify at Illinois and play next season. Hope it works as well for Richmond if the move is necessary academically.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:10 am
I wouldn’t be too sure about that Luke, Howard was the key to getting Abrams to commit. I could see him decommitting if Jerrance were to leave, and that would be a big blow for 2011. Many think Abrams will be like Dee and get other kids to follow suit in coming here.
April 21st, 2009 at 9:25 am
Arter, I have also said, That talented 2005 bunch, could make alot of coaches offense look good. Weber has some new guys coming that are in that 6′-6″ range that can move with the basketball. That gives us more of a small forward look. Not crazy having 3 guys on the floor at the same time under 6′-3″. Augistine made it work for us in 2005, with his ability to run the floor and he was a very good rebounder. We also had 3 guards that were good defenders and all were good at shooting 3s. One of the 3 always had a hot night it seemed. I think his offense wears down, not only during the game but during the season. Hopefully, It sounds like he has figured out, he needs to give his starters more rest during the game, and also speed up the tempo. Changing these 2 things, along with designing some out of bounds plays or after timeout plays that attack the basket, and get us a basket at times, sure would be nice.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:22 am
bbj, his offense wore down at guard, mainly because of depth at guard. It really hurt when he lost Smith. This left only 4 guards, one who really was a small forward (Brock) and a walk on recruit in Jordon. Jordon was to much like Frazier, decent defense, but no offensive threat. The recruits coming in will give him the depth that was missing this year. Illinois will have so many different options next year. They could play 3 guards or 3 big men. I am really looking forward to seeing the Illinois team in the future. If you get rid of Weber, you could have what is happening at Memphis. Weber would have a new coaching job right away. I can’t see why some of you are after his job, it can only lead to disaster for the Illinois program at this time. I may not be satisfied with Zook, but I don’t think he should be let go, at this time.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:43 am
Howard does deserve credit but players have forever played a role in convincing others to join them. Dee Brown was a major influence in getting his teammates to join him and Richmond has done the same thing.
Also don’t forget that the assistant gets all of the credit for good recruiting and the head coach hets all of the blame for bad recruiting. Neither should be the case.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:04 am
Bosco- Howard wasn’t even here when Richmond committed so I’m not sure how you can say it goes back even farther than that. Abrams himself said he really got along well with both Weber and Howard so that is why he committed so soon. Of course you give Howard all the credit. Howard is the young, energetic face of Illini basketball. He bleeds orange and blue. I don’t see him leaving for another assistant’s job, but I could see him getting taking a head coach job down the road. His stock will only rise after the success we will have over the next few years. My only question is his basketball IQ. Can he coach? Is he an X/O guy?
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Bball- Check the roster again. We have a very tall, athletic team. Now you are worried about us being short at guard when you are the one who wanted the 5′8 LewJack? We only have one guy on the roster who is uner 6′3″. Also, weren’t you the one praising Weber for his inbounds plays earlier in the year?
April 21st, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Umm, Brooks, that comment from Richmond was in the paper a couple of weeks back. He said himself the only thing that would make him consider leaving is if Jerrance left. He said that quite plainly. I’m not just giving him credit for no reason, I’m going off what Richmond himself said.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Well said Gator. BBJ, all I can say about the past two seasons is, a Mule never won the Kentucky Derby. Weber was winning with Mule’s at guard. That alone is a credit to his coaching ability. I am saying Chester, Meachem and Brock would have been decent mid-major players. They would never see the court next year if they were freshmen. Again, I agree with Gator, if we lost Weber, it would be like Memphis. No matter what fans want to dream, the Illini will never be a consistent elite caliber team. I cannot even see them as good as MSU, year in and year out. I really like what I see in the next two three years. I do not see it lasting indefinately. Heck, look at all the trouble COach K is having at Duke. He has now dropped to a seciond tier team. When Nova beat them by 20 that showed how far they have fallen.
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Enjoy the next few years, they may be the best years in modern times as an Illini Fan ! Yes, with Weber at the helm.
April 21st, 2009 at 6:54 pm
[...] The most important off-season development has already ocurred: Jerrance Howard is staying put. After overtures from both Kentucky and Memphis, Jerrance will meet with AD Ronnie the G about a raise. Open up the checkbook Guenther; J-Ho is on the rise. [...]
May 20th, 2009 at 11:00 am
I know Dee and his family. If he’s an assistant anywhere it will be with Bill Self at Kansas. Sorry, wish I was wrong but we shouldn’t hold out hope for something that’s not going to happen.