John Groce teleconference (2/16)

[Dan]

Groce: Took day off on Thursday. Great to get our bodies refreshed, give guys a chance to mentally get away for a day.

Groce: Practiced fairly well Friday, good today. We're a better team than we played NW first time but have to be resilient

Groce: NW played really well against OSU. We'll have our hands full tomorrow

Groce thinks team is playing the best they have this year but lots of room for improvement still. Haven't reached full potential

Groce: 2nd time around during Big Ten schedule is probably beneficial for both sides of matchup.

Groce: DJ Richardson giving more to teammates and earning benefits. Loves playing for Illinois. Playing with free mind.

Groce: NW system "rock solid." take care of ball, very precise, can muddy game up with few possessions - did that vs. OSU

http://twitter.com/WernerESPNCU

Groce: Practiced fairly well yesterday, today's practice was really good.

Groce: Better team now than they were in Game 1 against Northwestern. Not easy to win on road, looking forward to challenge.

Groce: NU played really well at Ohio State. Will have hands full with Wildcats.

Groce: Have been getting a lot better since Nebraska game. Biggest thing is guys are trusting system more.

Groce: Playing best basketball of the season right now. Still had errors against Purdue, guys want to clean that stuff up.

Groce: Haven't reached full potential yet and that's what makes it fun.

Groce: D.J. Richardson has been giving more to teammates and reaping benefits. Playing with a lot of confidence.

Groce: Unbelievable what NU is doing with all the injuries. Impressed with execution. Guys stepping up, system rock solid.

http://twitter.com/MarcusJ_NG

[ILLINISTU]

Trust the System It is amazing the caliber of team Carmody still puts on the floor each game with depleted roster.

[Dan]

Groce: Offense has gotten better and guys are letting offense work for them, despite B. Paul not scoring at a high level.

Groce: BP's foul trouble slowed him in the Purdue game. Need him to score, that's his role, but other guys stepped up.

http://twitter.com/MarcusJ_NG

Groce: We're a team. Other guys have gotten better. The offense has gotten better. Paul stymied by foul trouble on Wednesday.

Groce: Paul's role on the team is to score. We need him to do that. Long-term, that's his role. He's good at it.

Groce: “If you said, ‘Hey, do you feel like you’re playing right now the best you’ve played this particular year?’ I think we are.”

http://twitter.com/WernerESPNCU

[IlliniTilDeath]

ESPN just showed rankings of B10 teams right now based on how they are currently playing....Illinois #3.

[Dan]