We have seen many turndowns for the men’s head basketball coach at the University of Illinois including Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens. It’s now time for Athletic Director Mike Thomas to get creative. Since his goals are:
- To hire an Afro-American candidate.
- Get a winner.
- Recruit from the Chicago area.
One idea is to hire Simeon head basketball coach Robert Smith. You may say, “Smith does not have any college experience.” That’s true, but he needs to get it some day. Why not now? Also, I recommend bringing in a mentor to acclimate him to the college game. For example, how about John Thompson, the former, successful Georgetown coach? Coach will have nothing to worry about because Thompson isn’t interested in coaching anymore. Instead, he will gain a lot of valuable tips and mentorship from coach Thompson on route to achieving Athletic Director Thomas’ goals.
