Illinois Basketball: 3 Reasons Mayan Kiir Should Choose Illini Over VCU
Nov 8, 2013; Champaign, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce high fives fans after the game against the Alabama State Hornets at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Bradley Leeb-USA TODAY Sports
Twitter can be a hotbed for trolls and as an Illinois basketball fan, I tend to get sucked in sometimes myself.
The latest issue on hand has been with the Virginia Commonwealth University fans. Also known as VCU, for those who enjoy a good acronym. Personally, I hate acronyms.
VCU fans took to Twitter to let me know that their program is a better landing spot for coveted power forward/center Mayan Kiir.
I respectfully disagreed with their opinion and presented facts and knowledge, but like usual I got hit with the “stop living in the past” comment.
These comments weren’t surprising because most of the Illinois Fighting Illini success happened prior to four years ago.
In addition to that fact, VCU’s success started here in the last six years so, really, that is the only argument they have to come back with.
VCU doesn’t have much in the way of hard proof that their program is a better destination.
Yes, VCU has won more in the last few years than the Illini. But, just because Illinois hit a rough patch of injuries does that mean it is a worse program than VCU?
The answer to that questions is clearly, no, but these fans elicited such a fire in my fandom that I had to give them three reasons why Illinois is a better landing spot for Kiir.
Here are the three reasons I came up with.
Dec 31, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A general view of a Nike Xavier Musketeers basketball on the court at Cintas Center. Xavier won 70-53. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Class of 2017
There are many factors that go into a team winning each season. One of those factors is recruiting.
Recruiting has not been a specialty since Shaka Smart left VCU last year. Currently, the Rams have zero recruits signed up for 2017.
Who will Kiir be playing with if he decided to commit to VCU? They might end up relying on graduate transfers and walk-ons by the looks of things.
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But, with Illinois, you cannot say the same. While they do have a few walk-ons and graduate transfers on the team already, the class of 2017 is packed with championship talent.
In 2017 the Illini will be trotting out a talented team of experienced players. Joining them from the class of 2017 will be 3-star Javon Pickett, 4-star Da’Monte Williams, 4-star Trent Frazier, and 5-star Jeremiah Tilmon.
This class has the building blocks to compete for a national championship and that is a lot more than what VCU can say.
In addition to that fact, Kiir can also play multiple positions on the floor and Groce is good with versatile players. He would fit in quite nice.
Mar 9, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini coach John Groce coaches on the sidelines in a game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the Big Ten Conference tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Better Competition/TV Presence
A big selling point to some of these talented recruits is the ability to be seen on national television. This enables the player to be viewed by fans and NBA scouts around the world.
The comparison between Illinois and VCU when it comes to nationally televised games isn’t even close.
Just last season, Illinois totaled 13 games on the ESPN platforms. This is by far the most widely known sports television entity on the market.
The ESPN platforms consist of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN3. These are all viewable channels by anyone across the world.
While the Illini had a total of 13 ESPN televised games last season, VCU only managed to be on the ESPN platforms 6 times.
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What these numbers mean is a player of Kiir’s caliber can be watched on national television, if he committed to Illinois, over double the amount of time than if he selected VCU.
Illinois has a lot more national exposure and the reasoning for that is they play in a better conference.
The Illini have the ability to play nationally ranked teams in their conference. This will enable Illinois to play on channels that are viewed worldwide.
In 2015-2016 Illinois played against 9 ranked teams in both non-conference and Big Ten play. All of these games were on some type of national platform.
VCU, on the other hand, only played against 3 ranked teams. None of these ranked teams were in conference and on a side note, they lost all 3 games.
Illinois clearly has more television exposure and they play better competition night in and night out. This is a huge selling point compared to what VCU brings to the table.
Jan 4, 2014; Champaign, IL, USA; Former Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Lou Henson (center) during halftime of the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at State Farm Center. The 1989 “Flying Illini” Final Four team was honored during halftime. Illinois defeated Penn State 75-55. Mandatory Credit: Bradley Leeb-USA TODAY Sports
Rich History
The only quality that VCU has over the Illini is the fact that in the last six years they hit a hot streak of winning with head coach Shaka Smart.
Well, Smart’s players are still there and that is why Will Wade had a solid season last year. But, that talent pool is about to dry up.
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One quick burst of winning doesn’t stray away from the fact that VCU hasn’t been a traditional winner over time.
The Rams also had a solid 6-year run back in the 80’s but then flamed out and missed the NCAA Tournament 10 years in a row after a coaching change.
Smart was a great coach but he is not with VCU anymore. This is going to change everything and their great run will likely come to an end based on history.
But, with Illinois, there is a long track record of winning.
There is no question the Illini have been disappointing in the last three seasons. They haven’t had a streak of missing NCAA Tournaments this long since the 1970’s.
History shows, though, that Illinois is likely to rebound this season.
Lon Kruger missed the NCAA Tournament with a 14-18 record back in 1998 but the following season the Illini made the postseason and finished ranked No. 21 in the nation.
Legendary coach Lou Henson missed the 1991-1992 postseason with a 13-15 record but the following three seasons made the NCAA Tournament.
When there is a lull in Illinois basketball history, it is usually followed up by at least one NCAA Tournament.
Illinois has a much longer history of success despite some down times. But, with VCU it is possible with the coaching change that the team could go in the dumps for a decade.
I think it is clear that Illinois is the better option here. They have a better supporting cast, more exposure, and a rich history. There is no doubt that the Illini are the right fit for Kiir.