Cole Benjamin

@davidcevert @NIUHuskie2021 Agreed. People who know ball get why this is NOT a lateral move. Tourney appearances aside bc CAA is better than the MAC CoC has had +20 wins 4yrs in a row. It’s proven to be a plug & play school. Also, A-10 may expand at some point CoC & UNCW would be top of the list to join

@NIUHuskie2021 @ColeBenjaminH I would be stunned if CoC paid him less than $1.25 million base. I doubt Akron can come close to matching that. He is already close to the top of the MAC b-ball pay scale and Akron’s athletic department bleeds $ as it is

If this goes through I’m sure there will be ppl who wonder why or call it a lateral move but it’s a no brainer IMO. CoC has no fball, the last two guys have won & have elevated themselves making it a plug & play spot, better resources & $$$ in a growing market

Now the question is @tyschmit will the show do right & give some air time & attention to the team that won? Or will you guys blow over it bc the Hawks didn’t win? A lot more stories & personalities than just the regulars you trot out. Painter, Lloyd, Underwood, etc. #Illini

@NIUHuskie2021 I’m aware of his past work experience. Do your homework John & let the basketball people talk about this. You may want to sit this conversation out or better yet look at @KcSmurthwaite post about it, @GoodmanHoops & others.

@ColeBenjaminH He should leave for a job that is willing to at least double his salary in a conference that has potential to earn multiple bids (MWC, new PAC, or AAC) if going to another mid-major.

This is how. John Groce goes to Charleston, where he is the main sport, with $1 million more in budget. Akron Total Expenses: $4,065,757 Salaries, Benefits, Bonuses: $1,825,458 Travel: $429,365 Recruiting: $48,379 CofC TE: $5,199,977 SBB: $1,953,352 T: $828,363 R: $112,142

Not trying to be an asshole but Groce turns 55 prior to the start of next season. Hard to imagine a better final spot to coach at than Charleston, South Carolina, particularly given the school’s commitment to NIL. The alternative is Akron, Ohio.

Hey boys I understand that you can’t get to everyone. I understand there’s only so much you can cover as it pertains to the #Sweet16 but for god sakes can you set aside the fan boy / bias & maybe talk about a team / school that has a ton of personality & stories in the #Illini

“What did he whisper to you?” “I can’t tell you” “Come on, I won’t tell anyone” “No I can’t. Secret, secret” David Mirkovic is box office

I see that "Illinois has a bunch of 25 year-old European professionals!" is making the rounds again. The four players whose names end in "ic" in the rotation: Zvonimir Ivisic (22) - JR Tomislav Ivisic (22) - JR Andrej Stojakovic (21) - JR David Mirkovic (turned 20 in Jan) - FR They're all essentially prep school ages, just like college basketball seasons of the past where schools would add a player from a prep school that did four years of high school, one year of prep school, and then, depending on their birth date, entered college basketball as a 19-year old or 20 year-old freshman. Mirkovic was 19 years old when he enrolled and then turned 20. Zvonimir was 19 when he enrolled at Kentucky, turned 20 before that season, 21 before his season at Arkansas, and 22 before his junior season at Illinois. Mihailo Petrovic was the unique case and probably what sparked this debate. He enrolled as a 22 year-old (he turned 23 last month) and the NCAA labeled him a sophomore. But he didn't make the rotation, so the one "older Euro player" doesn't play. And Stojakovic grew up here and has followed the typical "turn 19 as a freshman, turn 20 as a sophomore, turn 21 as a junior" path. So no, the "Balkan Five" are not a bunch of 25 year-olds. They're college-aged kids from Europe.

@doubleep12 @DePaulPrepMBB @IHSAOfficial @IHSA_IL @NestoHoops @jo Teams schedule all year based on their sectional assignment only to have teams drop out & then the IHSA moves teams around at the last minute causing teams who may have earned a certain seed get pushed down.

@doubleep12 @DePaulPrepMBB @IHSAOfficial @IHSA_IL @NestoHoops @jo Preach! How about they focus on fixing the simple things like deadlines to withdraw from the State Series that ARE NOT 24-HRS before season summaries are due! Don’t know if this is a problem on the boys side, but it is a massive issue for girls & in the city sectional assignments

Absolutely ridiculous. So the end of the year rankings on Max Preps has us 45th in the entire country but 4th in the state? We lost to the same team twice in state and we are 18-2 against ranked teams in Illinois. The seeds would be comical. @IHSAOfficial @IHSA_IL @NestoHoops @jo

What was once earned & an avenue with purpose (i.e. competing at the highest level post high school) has now become nothing more than a status symbol, a parental social activity, & the ability to say “we play AAU”.

If I hear one more story of a select basketball team traveling to Vegas, Orlando, Dallas, etc. I’m gonna loose it. The kids are 10 years old! How about you pay for a membership to a local YMCA. Shoot hoops, lift weights, learn how to swim! That’s a better long-term investment.

Wait until you see the massive drop in facilities spending over a 5-year period. You don't need them now that you don't have to constantly build and renovate in an effort to claim to lose money on the balance sheet.

If your school has been left behind during NIL, this is a BIG reason why. University presidents have to understand the synergies between athletics and academics.

D2 Basketball winning at D1 in March! #WinnersWin #GoHuskies

Illini need to stop complaining and start playing to your strength. Dominate the lane. You have a massive advantage inside. Put Mirk on the block and not on perimeter. Get twins the ball on the block. Let Stoj go iso from the top. Stop messing around. 3’s from inside out only.

Gonzaga’s Mark Few was asked how mid-majors can get high-majors on their schedule & echoed some of Painter’s sentiment: “It's not something you're going to be given. You're going to have to go out and earn it … Once you prove yourselves, everybody wants to play you.”