John Groce (OHIO coach) to Illini is official
Dylan Burkhardt @umhoops
RT @GoodmanCBS: John Groce to Illinois is a done deal, source told CBSSports. News Conference likely tomorrow.
March 28th, 2012 at 11:29 PM ^
March 28th, 2012 at 11:54 PM ^
Cooper to transfer to MI to play alongside Burke in a couple years?
March 29th, 2012 at 12:08 AM ^
it's growing up in Illinois and having Illini alums as teachers, for the most part, but I think Illinois was probably the best available job this offseason. I know Shaka Smart turned them down, but I think this is a hire that will please their fans.
March 29th, 2012 at 12:25 AM ^
Yeah, the fans will be happy -- it was only their SIXTH choice.
March 29th, 2012 at 12:44 AM ^
I have only heard him, Shaka and the guy from...Simeon Academy (I think)? Were there other people I missed?
March 29th, 2012 at 12:58 AM ^
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, yes:
But with Thomas apparently down to his sixth choice after Smart, Stevens, Alabama’s Anthony Grant, Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton and Washington’s Lorenzo Romar reportedly rejected offers or overtures, it remains to be seen if the Illinois coaching search is truly a ‘‘national embarrassment,’’ as the Score’s college basketball expert Dan Bernstein described it.
I had no idea it was that bad for them.
Blame it on the Champaign
The media loves to run with the "New Coach is only the ______th choice," but a lot of times, those earlier "choices" are just guys who get a preliminary "Do you have any interest in the position?" phone call - or who have agents that milk job openings for pay raise. Illinois probably did not actually offer the job to all five of those coaches.
March 29th, 2012 at 12:39 AM ^
March 29th, 2012 at 12:55 AM ^
Maybe he thinks he's got a really good thing going at VCU, with an AD and a school that adores him, and doesn't wanna throw that aside for money.
I think he is holding out (if he ever plans on moving) for a destination job like Duke, UK, UNC, etc. Illinois is a middle-of-the-pack B1G team. Even if he returns the program to 2005-like levels, it's still Illinois and the big schools will still be calling. The way I see it, a job like Illinois can do more harm than good for Smart. If he does well, it'll be no surprise, but if he does poorly, then his name won't mean so much once the big schools start calling.
March 29th, 2012 at 10:22 AM ^
The other thing at Illinois right now is that the leadership situation is in flux. The president of the university just resigned due to several reasons, but mainly because he and the faculty couldn't get along. He was there for less than two years. The guy before him (Joseph White, who used to be the dean of Ross at Michigan) was also forced to resign after a scandal over admissions policies. It's a bit of a mess over there.
March 29th, 2012 at 12:42 AM ^
I think this a good hire. Yes, Cooper helped them with their development, but that team was built on defense, which I think will transfer well to Illinois
March 29th, 2012 at 12:58 AM ^
He will do well there. I have followed him a while and he is a winner. I expect him to get kids and compete very well in the Big Ten. The league is stacked with good coaches and I expect him to fit right in.
Good luck (seriously) to Groce. He'll need it when dealing with all the BS politics of the Chicago HS basketball coaches, many of whom think they're 5th-degree VIPs.
He looks way too much like Jim Furyk
March 29th, 2012 at 10:28 AM ^
Illinois also hired its coach for the women's team and just announced it yesterday too. So, the report may have been accurate depending on if they named the right guy for the right position.
March 29th, 2012 at 10:45 AM ^
They showed Groce giving a locker room speech and the caption said womens basketball coach.
March 29th, 2012 at 11:44 AM ^
FYI, for an OSU prespective, this likely means we lose our best assistant coach Jeff Boals. He is an Ohio alum who is a great recruiter. He will be the lead candidate to replace Groce and if he leaves, OSU recruiting will have to recover.
March 29th, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
As an alum of both Illinios and Michigan, I can't help but feel a strong sense of deja vu.
In this sequel, Harbaugh is played by Shaka Smart, Miles by Brad Stevens and Hoke by John Groce. At the outset, most fans were convinced that it had to be Harbaugh (Smart) and that anything else was epic fail. The mention of Groce in the early days was met by similar responses the mention of Hoke received in the early days. Once the hire is finalized, both fan bases start to warm up.
Let's hope that Groce pulls in the same kind of recruiting classes that Mr. Hoke has been signing!
Let's hope that Groce pulls in the same kind of recruiting classes that Mr. Hoke has been signing!
Why would we want that?
March 29th, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^
Illinois has fickle fans that turn on coaches after one bad season, even if they have had a decent career at the school. Lou Henson got the benefit of the doubt, but his "retirement" looked more like a "mutual decision," considering that he would go on to coach at New Mexico State for eight more years after taking a year off. Lon Kreuger and Bill Self were smart to move on.
Looking at their football coaches, the fans have unrealistic expectations and turn on the coaches when they have a bad year or two. Then, the administration fires the coach. This happens with basketball coaches, too. It happened to Bruce Weber, whose only real mistake at Illinois was expecting the luxury of some understanding after putting in eight good years and having one bad one.
Illinois is one of "those schools" in which a coach needs to be very careful to manage his "shelf life" before the administration and fans manage it for him.
If Groce is smart, he will coach there for about five years and then take a better offer.