OT: Mark Smith to Transfer
- Thread starter NJCat
- Start date
I suspect Underwood is going to get some JUCO's to kick start things. Right now he has 4 commits from entering Freshmen.
Seems like he tried it for a year with "not his guys" and now he's going all in on a group of "his guys."
Will be interesting to see in a couple years...always tons of talent there.
Agree, Medill. They're in a down period right now, but Underwood can still show himself to be the guy they're looking for. Wouldn't sleep on the Illini in the long term.
Still looking into Underwood's past history , he won't be around long. That will be either due to his seeking a step up from Illinois or the university firing him because of his illegal recruiting.
How can you say that when Litchfield is a stone's throw from 55?
When I was a little kid 55 wasn't completed yet. We took 66. Added an hour and a half to the trip, and the adventure of driving through East St Louis. But we also had (the original) Dixie's truck stop and lots more signs for Meramac Caverns ("Jesse James Hideout")
Let’s have a non-heated, level-headed conversation. Where would he go? Illinois has lost coaches to the following EVER: UCLA, Kansas and the NBA. People who are successful at UI don’t usually leave for the likes of Syracuse or Georgetown or even Arizona. There is almost no precedent for a B1G coach leaving for another conference school, if there is even one. Underwood isn’t that young and is being paid quite well at Illinois, whose athletic department is ponying up WAY more cash for coaches and facilities than it has over the past 20-25 years now. He coached at Western for years. I don’t see him going anywhere by choice. Your other possibility: who knows?
Did you know that as chair of the board of the University of Illinois, Chris Kennedy voted FIVE TIMES to raise tuition? At the same time, Chris Kennedy voted for huge pay raises for administrators and coaches. Chris Kennedy approved $600,000 for university president, $1.6 million for football coach, $1.4 million for basketball coach!
Maybe NU needs to bring Chris Kennedy to it's board. Now back to the basketball discussion and where Smith might transfer to and will Underwood keep his job.
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Pontoon Beach might have been their pull off. The reference to my hometown Denny’s at Litchfield is off a decade or two. The Denny’s there was probably mid-80’s. After The Gardens burned.
Fine: to your first question, who knows? To your second question, yes, obviously.
"There's not much between Chicago and St. Louis. As of 20 years ago, not even a Denny's"
Mt. Olive and the Mother Jones Memorial.
Mt. Olive and the Mother Jones Memorial.
I'm a bit surprised he didn't just pull the trigger on that decision last offseason when Tilmon changed and went to Mizzu.
Anyway, I wish the kid all the best of luck. I would have liked to see him don the Purple, but regardless, seems like a good kid and a good athlete. Glad he's not in the B1G cause I think he's gonna be a good one.
Anyway, I wish the kid all the best of luck. I would have liked to see him don the Purple, but regardless, seems like a good kid and a good athlete. Glad he's not in the B1G cause I think he's gonna be a good one.
I'm a big fan of Funks Grove maple syrup. Funks Grove (the trees) is actually very scenic.
It stings because I like Mark Smith, and it's hard to like ANYONE who suits up for Mizzou. However, I think this was a strange move for him. He didn't really show that he could be a D1 contributor, IMO, and I think he could have had a really nice career at somewhere like Bradley or ISU.
He may yet do well at Mizzou; hope it turns out to be a good decision for him. Still plenty of upside there.
Agree that he disappointed last season. Maybe it was the coaching or the lack of same.
You forgot Springfield (and BN) . I lived in Springpatch for about 15 years. On second thought you are right.
Why? He was only a Frosh and with current transfer rules, he would have another year to get more game ready.
Grew up in Springpatch. Left in 1987, moved to the West Coast and never looked back. Occasionally missed the dogs at the Coney Island though.
Yeah, sorry, meant “Power Six” or whatever the heck it is called now. No disrespect to either of those good schools/programs that are both in towns I’ve had a lot of fun visiting over the years.
I left in 90. Dew and Den Chili , Horse shoes (best I could do is a pony) Enjoyed it when I was there but going back was pretty depressing. Was getting pretty run down in areas that should be good. Couldn't do much upgrading as property values would not support it. Bunch of companies had closed or moved out and what was left was state government
