Apparently you opt out right before the season opener.

This is an interesting conversation with some good input. Got me thinking for a couple of hours. Depaul, Loyola, UIC have historically been able to find local talent going back decades. So getting cozy with the local High School coaches both in Chicago Public League and the Suburbs is a great place to start. Kent, Ball State, Ohio and others have all had Chicago kids that made them competitive mid majors in the last 20 years. I am not sure if you can draw kids from Northwest Indiana like German that played for Northern recently but that area has produced some good players too.

Chicago State is not an academic mecca. Looking at the numbers their drop out and non returning student numbers are huge. That makes the APR a challenge but also provides an opportunity to get kids that other places can't get past admissions. Its not in a great area but it is a decent campus and they have a brand new arena and facilities. If you recruit local parents can follow pretty easily. Doing a search I see that making relationships with coaches at the Fire ( ChiState Coach Irvin's father was the famous Godfather of Chicago Basketball Mac Irvin), Mean Streets, Wolves and other area summer programs is one of the most important priorities I would think. DJ Cooper grew up and went to Seton not very far south of there though the difference between Hazel Crest and 95th and King is pretty significant in Chicago neighborhoods terms but there is plenty of talent there and out in the suburbs.

As for conference, if the former Summit does not want them back in then I would look at the OVC. Eastern Illinois is an OVC member south of there and in a bus trips league, access to Interstates leading to the rest of the OVC would seem easier than the trips from Charleston. WAC makes travel tough and OVC TV exposure might not be as good. Just some thoughts on an approach that makes sense to me. Pretty good conversation. In this era of BLM it will be interesting to see if a Chicago St, Howard or other predominantly black or HBCU colleges used that as a recruiting to attract a team of elite athletes or one an dones to an otherwise overlooked college.

If they can't get into the Summit, one option that's probably not TOO crazy is for them to go independent, at least for a while. There are 12 D1 conferences that currently have an odd number of teams: ASun (9), AAC (11), ACC (15), Big East (11), Big Sky (11), Big South (11), Big West (11), MAAC (11), MEAC (9), MWC (11), Southland (13), and Summit (9). That means every team in these conferences probably has two open dates after conference play begins. Plenty of chances there to fill up a schedule in January and February, and maybe even work a home-and-home -- play a team one year at home and on the road the next. Maybe get the team noticed to more recruits around the country. They could work their own TV deals with ESPN, local cable and others.

I very seriously doubt that Valeo shoves religion down kids throats all the time.

First up is scheduling team to play schools like Kansas Michigan state, duke, Iowa, Indiana, and Kentucky all on the road. After the game I'd take the other teams coach out for a meal and I would ask him to give pointers on how I could utilize and condition players better. In these games I'd make sure all my players got time on the court. N fact I'd do that every game to develop players and increase depth. During practices I'd emphasize shooting free throws and three point shots. Getting good at those two will lead to more points for the team. Another I'd have my team do is lots of suicides with a twist. The twist would be they'd be doing them while dribbling the ball down the court . They'd be swithching hands after every suicide.theyd also do the same thing and go side to side as well . The reason is cause it would serve the dual purpose of increasing stamina and ball handling abilities. The end result would be fewer turnovers . That would mean less opportunity for opponents and more for them. Recruiting wise I'd go to aau games and the mcdonalds all American game to look for players. Other recruiting sources would be all the top 50 high school teams in the country. I would focus on talking with recruits gguidance counselor to learn his interests, dreams and goals. Yes a lot of these players dream of the NBA. They also know how hard it is to actually get there. As such they usually know what they're in coolege for. I could use that by emphasizing how we could get him trained for a career. Also Chicago is a large city with lots of action and media exposure. A would be recruit would appreciate those two things. In other words thru hard ball conditioning , gettiing t he team noticed, and good marketing skills I feel I'd be able to whip this team into shape

I do not even know what this means. Duke, Wake, Baylor, Pepperdine, Butler are all affiliated with churches but I am trying to comprehend what you are saying here. Who is "some:? What college kids are you talking about being fanatical about religion? The opponents student body? I am so lost by this statement I can't figure it out. Besides ORU, BYU,Liberty or traditional Catholic schools requiring 16 hours of religion from the Jesuits or similar who "shoved religion down their throat every minute of the day"? I don't get your point.

SO the gist of your post was not directed at opposing schools?

I suspect those numbers are even greater at the D II and D III levels with the Nazrenes, Weslyans and myriad of colleges like Ohio Christian.

I would think any athlete considering attending a school of than nature would understand that they would be in religion classes. I would be shocked if the coach recruiting them would not have that piece of info laid out up front.

Did you mean to imply that Denominational schools "Shove religion down the throats" as opposed to educating the kids that attend a denominational school in some religion? From the Valpo curriculum catalog I see 6 hours of theology and religion as a core requirement next to 11 hours of cultural diversity and 8 hours of World languages and Cultures. Does not look like a whole lot of specific shovin going on.

"The decision comes after a decadeslong debate that had intensified recently because groups such as the Ku Klux Klan began using the symbols and words."

Seems like a good reason.

I guess Mississippi gave into flag shaming - smh

I’m from Cleveland and the baseball team is being renamed. Some are upset about it, but most have no idea what it would be like if their nationality were being lampooned with an exaggerated caricature.
Stick to animals and plant nicknames.

Downtown Chicago has been booming with 30 new skyscrapers in progress as of last summer. Development is spilling over into the west loop where Google has an office, many condos and new restaurants catering to highly educated young professionals. A lot of what is driving it is the relatively low cost of commercial real estate downtown compared to NYC or SF while its still a global city.

https://chicago.curbed.com/2018/3/16/17121148/chicago-sup...

Companies across Illinois have downsized and move their headquarters to Chicago partially because they believed it was an easier sell for attracting executives from the outside than smaller communities like Peoria and Normal. Rent and condos are reasonable in price compared to coastal cites. It does have a feel to it that you're smack right in the middle of North America and a relatively isolated metro.