12/3 John Groce press conference

[Dan]

Audio: First Word With John Groce 12-03-12

http://www.wdws.com/audio/2012-12-03...-12-03-12.html

[Dan]

Rob McColley

Groce: Team got Thursday off, non-contact day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday "practiced really hard and did a good job."

Groce: I think (the break) allowed them to get their minds and bodies back right. Allowed them to focus on academics too

Groce: WCU Larry Hunter used to be coach at Ohio, coached Dustin Ford, have some familiarity with them.

Groce: WCU is experienced. "It will be challenging for sure." Expect to see mostly man-to-man and some zone.

Groce: ran zone for 19 possessions vs. Ga Tech, it "charted out well." Didn't think they'd play it that much, more of a feel thing

http://twitter.com/WernerESPNCU

Groce: Got to quite a few things on his checklist for team during long stretch with no games. Made some strides.

Groce: Focused on getting the players some rest after playing so many games

Groce: WCU is an older team, lost to Davidson in Southern Conference championship game last season.

Groce: Got to get Abrams playing better, got to get Myke Henry locked in.

http://twitter.com/MarcusJ_NG

[Dan]

Groce: Got to get Abrams playing better, Henry needs to get more locked in, Egwu played better vs. Ga Tech. Langford making progress

Groce: will use zone "as they see fit." Could use as a change-up. "It's certainly something we practice." Team's secondary defense

Groce: Abrams a competitive kid, but his hardest critic. Wants to play perfect, but it's not a game of perfect. Has to let go of bad plays

Groce: Egwu needs to slow down a bit on offense. Wants to do so well, but plays too fast. "Not getting too anxious." Works tail off

Groce: Egwu needs to get stronger obviously, but he'll get there. "He likes to lift." Skills are developing. "Just needs to play."

http://twitter.com/WernerESPNCU

Groce: Older guys have been most consistent. Mike Shaw has had a couple good days of practice.

Groce: Langford continuing to grow,developing, taking care of the ball, rebounding well. Need to fine-tune defense.

Groce: Will use zone when sees fit. Man-to-man is their primary defense. Zone was effective against Georgia Tech.

Groce: Abrams is his hardest critic and he wants to be perfect. Basketball is not a game of perfect.

Groce: Egwu needs to slow down a bit on offense, wants to do well so badly. Works his tail off. Needs to understand speed.

http://twitter.com/MarcusJ_NG

[zoggle101]

I saw a clip from an interview and this might be it last night on the news.

Groce stated that BP is letting the coachIng staff manage him at an "elite level". I loved that wording. Coach is the man. A bonus was BP accepting that and saying some humbling things. Groce complemented BP on being able to take contructive criticism during film session when he apparently made Paul the center of attention,

FWIW I was frustrated with Paul at times in he Maui because Sam was working his butt off setting screens that BP failed to use. Anyone know or think that is a ploy to run the other teams big ragged. Seriously, having to chase a high ball screen three or four times will take it out of front court players and I'm wondering if coaches do this at any level? I could imagine with bigs with little endurance if you do this a couple times a game that it's going to help make them less effective.

[JimmyChitwood]

Groce is so dialed in. It's awesome.

[mattcoldagelli]

Originally Posted by Dan

Wants to play perfect, but it's not a game of perfect. Has to let go of bad plays

[Straining to hold back a Weber comment]

[ComplementaryColors]

I'm continually amazed at how much I agree with Coach Groce's philosophy. "Basketball's not a game of perfect."

Statements like that help to free our players from tightness and indecision and a deer-in-the-headlights type of play on the court.

[ComplementaryColors]

Originally Posted by mattcoldagelli

[Straining to hold back a Weber comment]

Exactly what I was thinking. In fact I typed something up with his name then thought naahhhh, not this again. But you can't help but see the obvious stark contrast. It's like night and day.

[Letswinagain]

Originally Posted by mattcoldagelli

[Straining to hold back a Weber comment]

Congratulations on your success!!

[Dan]

Groce zones in on Illini defense

On Monday, as Illinois prepares to host Western Carolina Tuesday night, Groce confirmed that Illinois stayed in its zone for 19 possessions in that game, or about 25 percent (maybe more) of the game.

Best of all, he liked what he saw and although he wouldn't say where or when, he said fans can expect to see more zone in the future.

"It was good," he said of Illinois' proficiency in the zone. "It charted out well. We knew we were going to play it some during the game, but I didn't know we would play it that much.

"It was more of a feel thing, but it was pretty effective during the game and as we continued to chart it, we stayed with it."

Tupper

[Kramer116]

Originally Posted by zoggle101

I saw a clip from an interview and this might be it last night on the news.

Groce stated that BP is letting the coachIng staff manage him at an "elite level". I loved that wording. Coach is the man. A bonus was BP accepting that and saying some humbling things. Groce complemented BP on being able to take contructive criticism during film session when he apparently made Paul the center of attention,

FWIW I was frustrated with Paul at times in he Maui because Sam was working his butt off setting screens that BP failed to use. Anyone know or think that is a ploy to run the other teams big ragged. Seriously, having to chase a high ball screen three or four times will take it out of front court players and I'm wondering if coaches do this at any level? I could imagine with bigs with little endurance if you do this a couple times a game that it's going to help make them less effective.

It also takes the opposing big out of his comfort zone and will lead him to be out of position more often than not. It can cause the other team to have be on the money with their defensive help rotations and not make mistakes with them.

[deadpool81]

i'm glad we're going to keep using the zone, i thought it was very effective at times against GT. That being said, did anyone else think it looked like we had a very tough time getting defensive boards while playing zone?

[stlrunner]

Originally Posted by Kramer116

It also takes the opposing big out of his comfort zone and will lead him to be out of position more often than not. It can cause the other team to have be on the money with their defensive help rotations and not make mistakes with them.

Is it me, or does Egwu seem to get stuck out on the perimeter on a defensive mismatch more often than I'd prefer to see?

[WizardBill]

You know what is cool? We have this coach who, like really gets it!

[Dan]

[2005ILLINIWHITESOX]

So I heard Groce has a talk show today, anyone have a link to that?

[PeoriaChief]

Originally Posted by deadpool81

i'm glad we're going to keep using the zone, i thought it was very effective at times against GT. That being said, did anyone else think it looked like we had a very tough time getting defensive boards while playing zone?

I actually thought we rebounded out of the zone extremely well vs GT.

[TruIllini89]

Originally Posted by deadpool81

i'm glad we're going to keep using the zone, i thought it was very effective at times against GT. That being said, did anyone else think it looked like we had a very tough time getting defensive boards while playing zone?

It's always tougher to rebound when you're in a zone vs man, each player has to find someone to box out and hope their not each trying to box out the same player.

[PeoriaSteve]

Originally Posted by deadpool81

i'm glad we're going to keep using the zone, i thought it was very effective at times against GT. That being said, did anyone else think it looked like we had a very tough time getting defensive boards while playing zone?

Rebounding out of a zone is always an issue. It's tougher to find a man to block out and it leaves gaps for the offense to exploit.