So much to discuss. Timing is everything and that is why the hire of oscar Weber in 2012 was awful.
History lesson
oscar was a hot commodity in 2003 because he had won the Valley in 02 and 03. He also had a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 02. It was much more rare for a "Mid Major" to make the sweet sixteen at that time and it got a lot of press. ESPN at the time gave Southern Illinois some love and that helps fans and recruits respect the hire.
It doesn't feel as impressive today after Gonzaga, Butler, VCU, Florida Gulf Coast, Wichita State, St. Joseph's, and George Mason have all done better things since then.
At the time of oscar Weber's hire, it made a lot sense for Illinois to make that hire and nobody really batted an eye about it. Illinois had hired Bill Self from mid major Tulsa and lost him to KU. Self went to a program that was at worst 10th in the country at the time. Illini fans were mad that Self left but were not outraged by Weber being hired. Thus Illinois was the unlucky school to get oscar Weber.
Illinois didn't run off or appear to run off Bill Self. Self didn't go to a significantly worse coaching job like South Carolina.
The Illini were initially pleased with Weber's performance as he was 1st in Big 10 play in 2004 and 2005. He also was 2nd in 2006. He got his 2nd sweet sixteen in 2004 and a national title appearance in 2005. 3 players were drafted in 2005 James Augustine (41st), Deron Williams (3rd), Luther Head (24th). One player was drafted in 2006 Dee Brown (46th). With Dee Brown and Co. oscar had 3 NCAA appearances, 8 NCAA tournament wins and 2 Big 10 titles with a 2nd place.
At this point in his career, most Illini fans would have been suicidal if oscar would have left Illinois and K-State fans would have been almost universally ecstatic to bring him to Manhattan.
Then the wheels fell off. Over the next 6 seasons oscar Weber had one 2nd place finish, two 9th place finishes, and only one NCAA tournament win. After the last major Bill Self NBA recruit left (Dee Brown), one can easily make the case that oscar was driving that program into the ground. This got him fired from Illinois and caused oscar to nearly accept a job with the College of Charleston (showing how well oscar handles pressure).
At this point oscar should have went to a floundering program like Texas Tech or Nebraska to try and redeem himself. With his own recruits, he has only 2 good years to hang his hat on. A Sweet Sixteen with Southern Illinois and a 2nd place finish in the Big 10 in 2009. He should not be allowed to go to a K-State Program that had been into the tournament 4 of the last 5 years, with 6 NCAA tournament Wins, a second place finish in the Big 12 and an Electric Elite 8 run in 2010 which really put Frank Martin and K-State on the Map Nationally.
Where do we stand today?
One can say whatever they want about Frank Martin but the fact is that his program was very successful in most respects over the last 5 years (with the exception of being obviously inferior to Bill Self). Most likely any coach that we could have hired, would be widely despised in year 3, 4 or 5 and fired or chased out after year 5. The chances of oscar outdoing Frank were already slim (four of five years in the Dance is a tall order) and losing Angel virtually seals the deal.
1 or 2 tournament wins in 5 years won't cut it.
Losing to KU every time won't cut it.
I think that oscar needs to have 4 NCAA tournament wins to be our coach past 2016-2017 and I would bet that he will get 0.
I will change my opinion and apologize to everyone on this board and gopowercat, if oscar gets to an Elite 8 or wins another Big 12 title during these next 4 years. That is my mark for a fantastic year. I consider last years Co Championship more of a Frank Martin/Brad Underwood championship than a oscar Weber championship.
