Even as an Illini fan, I’d have to say Pikiell. While it’s a bit of a surprise that we’re ranked in the top 20, in first place and on an 6-game win streak in B1G play, many analysts identified the talent on our roster preseason and gave us a bit of hype. Additionally, there is plenty of precedent for winning teams at Illinois, as we have been a remarkably self-sustaining program historically without relying on one “legendary” coach - Henson, Krueger, Self and Weber all won at least one Big Ten title, for example.
Pikiell, on the other hand, has flipped the conference’s preconceived notions on their heads ... RU went from being a graveyard to a respectable team with a pretty good home court atmosphere and plenty of potential going forward (if he stays) in a matter of weeks, haha. He’s done an amazing job, and I really like the guy.