[Oskee] Ouch - Is Weber another Turner?

[Keith Magnuson]

I agree with Chad.  People gave me all kinds of hell last year for posting
on one of the boards that there was a comparison between Turner and Weber.
And people I see on here still want to say there isn't.

Problem is, it hasn't been just been one kid. And it hasn't just been one
year.  This is the third year we continue to miss.  The first year I gave
him a pass because he was the new coach and he did not have the time to
cultivate the realtionships on the recruiting road. The second year I gave
him a pass because it looked as if there were some below the table things
going on for a couple of different recruits and/or their handlers.  But now
you have to start to wonder if the problem doesn't have to do with Weber/the
staff.  Its not that we are missing on the #1 guy, its that we are missing
on guys 2-4 consistently as well.

And as far as the comparisons between Turner and Weber, there are more
similarities than people want to admit I guess, other than Weber was handed
the keys to a program in alot better shape than Turner ever was.

Both were considered great X's and O's guys, both have failed to capitalize
on big runs (see Final Four and Sugar Bowl), both seemed to be a little too
proud to change recruiting philosophies.  Now I'll give Weber credit, as it
seems he has realized some things when it comes to his style/pitch, but it
has yet to pay off.
Turner always wanted to be done with recruiting very early and not want to
battle for those top guys that might come down to January/February and never
did change.

And now the big argument is that a sophomore in HS to be is proof he can
land a big one.  Well he's along ways from sealed and delivered and if he
fails to land any more big fish until him, why would he want to come to
Illinois???  Also, said recruits recent comments seemed a little less than
glowing.

I'm a huge fan of Weber's coaching/development of players, but at some point
you have to have the horses to maintain the level and/or try to make another
run at the whole enchilada.  I understand alot of targets are still on the
board, but we've heard this argument the last two years and we all see how
that ended up.

Keith Magnuson
"OrangeKrush99"


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Anthony L Hooker" <hooker at cs.uiuc.edu>
To: "Fighting Illini Sports Enthusiasts List" <oskee at heins.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 11:34 AM
Subject: RE: [Oskee] Ouch - Is Weber another Turner?


So, you're basically saying that because one kid changed his mind, we
should throw Weber under the bus?  If IDKWTI had stayed true to his
commitment, we wouldn't be having this discussion, period.  Shumpert
hasn't committed.  Suggs hasn't committed. Miller hasn't committed.
They may all go elsewhere, but they haven't YET.  He won 23 games last
year with half his team in the infirmary and you want wholesale change
because he's missed on some high profile recruits?

They didn't offer Humphrey last year because his play didn't warrant an
offer, and he felt slighted.  I say too bad for him.

In closing, I think we should at least see McCamey, Watkins, Alexander,
et al. play collegiately before deciding that he's not getting the job
done on the recruiting front.  I think we're going to be pleasantly
surprised by how good they are.


-----Original Message-----
From: oskee-bounces at heins.net [mailto:oskee-bounces at heins.net] On Behalf
Of Chad Kahl
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2007 12:27 AM
To: oskee at heins.net
Subject: [Oskee] Ouch - Is Weber another Turner?

I want to post this thought here, rather than throw more bait into the
pack
of hyenas on Orange and Blue...

I keep hearing that the class of 2009 and 2010 are going to be great,
but
isn't that what we've been hearing as Weber misses top target after top
target?

Between the style of play we saw last season where it got to the point I
had
to make myself watch the games and the inability to land top recruits
(Jereme Richmond is a long ways off), I'm really starting to worry.

I know Weber's Xs and Os are top notch, but something has to change when
it
comes to recruiting.  We have to start landing the top ten/twenty type
of
player.

My fear when Weber started was that we were going to become another
Purdue.
I envied their success year in and year out, but they rarely did
anything in
the tourney, because they rarely had the top, top shelf talent.

Weber needs to change his staff and figure out what he's doing wrong,
because the list is growing, with Dunigan and Schumpert (Humphrey is
good,
but not great) added to Gordon, Collins, Wright, Rose...  While a number
of
them may have taken a deal during recruitment, the guys we just lost out
on
where the type of young men and stable families that were supposed to
end
Weber's dry spell.  I also heard that Weber needed time to establish
himself, because we did not have the track records of Duke, North
Carolina,
etc.  However, the recent guys had Weber on their trail from the start
and
they recognized the Illini staff for that.

Before everyone starts mentioning all the recent recruits at me, just
remember that most of them are in the 75-150 range.  That's great, but
you
need the occasional great player and Weber has failed miserably at
recruiting them to Illini.

I'm really at a loss.  You can't possibly fire someone with his track
record
on the court, but he also will have difficulty sustaining Illinois'
program
if he can't land the elite players (before the 2010 class).

Chad, AKA UofIx3

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