If Groce gets fired after this season, would that mean that we most likely have a homerun hire already in place? I just can't see him being fired after this season with all of the injuries unless we have a good candidate ready to take the job.
John Groce at Illinois
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FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
That would certainly be the hope, but I'll be shocked if Josh can have a home run hire all lined up by mid-March or even the beginning of April (after that home run coach might have ended his NCAA run). So, I would think that if Groce is fired, a search is required.
I like the idea someone else posted of Bryce Drew with Roger and Dee as assistants. I think that would excite the fan base. I am out on Groce. Groce is good at getting recruits attention, and not so good at closing the deal.
This is an ABC business
Always
be
Closing
And Groce isn't getting a car or steak knives
I'm sure we insulted Shaka... Texas offered him 2.8M, that increases to 3.4M in 2022. Not a huge salary, but if we really wanted him, you offer to put him towards the higher end of the B1G, with Izzo, Matta, Crean and Beilein. Is $50,000 - $100,000 more worth risking losing the right guy? This is my point, we never offer the right money for the right people. Always try to be cheap and get what we can, not what we want.
Stevens wasn't going to go to another NCAA team. An unbelievable basketball mind, not a savvy guy or great recruiter.
Although fan base is important, "exciting fan base" is not the goal. If we win, everything else will take care of itself.
I seem to remember a figure of 3M being bandied about during Shaka-mania. Correct me if I am wrong. I don't think Shaka was coming here. Wrong school (at least in the state it was in) at the wrong time for him. Given different circumstances, I think we could have landed him. I don't think it was about money.
Bottom line, if you think you have a homerun hire, than you absolutely must be paying near the top quarter of the B10. Anything less is bargain hunting and/or grooming a coach for his next gig.
Mike Thomas had a very specific box he wanted any of his coaching hires in any sport to fit into. That being a young, high-effort, high-energy person who was going to focus their recruiting within the state of Illinois and go after the best prospects to try and make Illinois the destination school for all young athletes in the state the same way tOSU is in Ohio. He was very clear on that in both public and private.
That wasn't Brad Stevens' cup of tea, and while you can kinda see Shaka fitting into that box, ultimately he didn't relish the idea of working under those parameters either.
It wasn't the money, in either case.
Ryllini
- Lombard
If JFG is shown the door, what about a guy like Bobby Hurley. Duke pedigree, NBA experience, assistant coach experience, head coach at Buffalo where he did pretty well and now at ASU. I know ASU doesn't have the wins right now, but I thought I heard he has a couple of 4 stars headed there next year.
You know who doesn't have a couple four-stars headed there next year? Illinois.
Put any Power Five coach who isn't on the hot seat or have obvious, deep ties to our job off your list. Those moves are even rarer in college basketball than they are in college football, Lon Kruger's nomadic career notwithstanding.
So MT was probably bristling over JG going after the Texans JEvans and EDaniels.
I have no idea whether that's true or not, but at that point the goal was surely more just to see that Groce didn't have to be fired.
Having said that, Groce's apparent preference for Jalen Brunson over Jawun Evans, even when it was inconvenient to the situation on the ground, sure seemed mystifyingly stubborn, didn't it?
Ryllini
- Lombard
Rare, yes, but it does happen. I think that might be a guy you could shoot for before he gets to comfy at ASU while he is waiting for Duke to open.
:hurl:
Yeah...I'd hate for the MT "box" to force coaches hand on a 20% chance of getting an in state player (JB) over a 60 to 70% chance of filling a need with a very good out of state player (JE).
Mike Thomas had a fantastic relationship with Groce and was a strong supporter, yet, if nothing else, Groce is a coach who went very hard and frequently after many out-of-state prospects. More than anyone could have even expected. If Mike Thomas had such specific box that coaches had to abide by, Groce would have either followed it, otherwise him and Thomas would not have been so close in their relationship.
As I have said many times, Evans decision had nothing to do with Brunson. People on this board make it sound that Evans was ours if not for pursuing Brunson. I know many people in AAU circles and it was pretty well known that OSU had caught up in that recruitment and by the time his visits were set many were convinced that Evans was going to OSU, Brunson or no Brunson.
Not denying any of that, but Thomas' vision for DIA was what it was, especially as sold to prospective coaches circa the Beckman, Groce, and Bollant hiring spree.
Not arguing on JE.
In general I think we burned too much time and resources on unlikely top 10 instate recruits like CA and JB. I was not aware "instate" was a Mike Thomas focus.
Thomas vision was not different than the vision of all previous ADs, even the current one. Of course all ADs want UI to become a destination school for the state's top recruits, as would all UI coaches. But I think you misconstrue his statements to mean that he did not like coaches who would also recruit top players from out of state. If that was the case, he would have absolutely hated Groce, whereas in reality Thomas had a particularly strong liking to Groce.
Never heard this before...very interesting and maddening.
It seems really stupid to set these parameters for coaches and shows a complete lack of appreciation for the history of Illinois athletics. We have never dominated the state of Illinois recruiting and never will. It's been good enough in basketball to get some of the best players. Our best football teams have always had a fair amount of out of state talent and at times we've been competitive for good players in state (occasionally landing a great player like Martin O'Donnell, Rashard Mendenhall, Juice, Martez Wilson).
I never believed money was the problem with Thomas' coaching hires. It had to be more than that and you're confirming it. The very idea that Beckman had a remote chance of making Illinois the destination school for Illinois kids is a farce. I still believe Groce can land some of the best Illinois kids if he can improve the product on the court.
sdfidaho
- Boise, Idaho
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Shaka told his assistants he was leaving for Illinois. He then slept on it, changed his mind, and told his team he was staying.
If that was true, I don't believe we insulted him.
He then chooses a football school where the majority of the alumni probably don't even know his name....go figure.
I'm not sure if I want this to be true or not.
As for picking Texas, talent rich area, Rick Barnes was the best coach in school history so expectations are reasonable, Austin as a city is awesome, and the athletic department is swimming in money. Texas might be one of the best jobs in the country.
We have to be the school with the most ridonkulous stories like this in all of sports
I don't know anything for sure but I think Shaka saying he was coming here to an assistant was message board hearsay.Almost as soon as VCU exited the tournament last year Shaka was reportedly out recruiting for VCU.
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