John Groce Fired

#176      

RichardKeenesHair

R
RichardKeenesHair
Well, it was more like Kruger ran a strong first leg, Self put us within inches of the lead, Weber had a quick burst but then faded badly and then Groce dropped the baton and fell down

Golfer63 said:
+1

I get really annoyed by people who say that Groce has "ran this program into the ground" and act as if our next coach has a full on complete Mizzou-esque rebuild on their hands. Honestly, I just see it as a childish tantrum-like point of view to push an agenda of trying to say "Groce is the worst coach in the history of basketball."

The program is certainly not in a great place right now, but it is definitely in a BETTER place than it was back in 2012. Could you imagine if our next coach was able to duplicate the success that Groce had back in his first year? That coach would be bringing back that ENTIRE TEAM the following year. That would make the 2018-19 team a certain pre-season top 15 pick and many experts dark horse Final Four pick.

Groce didn't ruin our program. Weber did, and I can guarantee you the program would be in much worse shape right now if Weber was still our coach today. Guys like Kendrick Nunn, Leron Black, JCL, Cliff Alexander, Juwan Evans, and Elijah Thomas would have laughed and hung up the phone if Weber ever tried to recruit them.
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#177      

ILLHangOut

I
ILLHangOut
Now that Groce has been terminated is anyone willing to dish on how he ran his staff?

It just didn't seem like all of the pieces were pulling their weight. I read that Walker and Parham disagreed with Groce about the minutes distribution, and specifically wanted more Tejon. The exclusion of Ford in that statement implies he sided with Groce.

I'd love to know how all that went down. I truly believe that roster mismanagement, and poor game planning is what prevented us from being a tourney team, and top 25 team.

Is anyone willing to shed some light on how the staff's responsibilities broke down?
 
#178      

CARPET

C
CARPET
ILLHangOut said:
Now that Groce has been terminated is anyone willing to dish on how he ran his staff?

It just didn't seem like all of the pieces were pulling their weight. I read that Walker and Parham disagreed with Groce about the minutes distribution, and specifically wanted more Tejon. The exclusion of Ford in that statement implies he sided with Groce.

I'd love to know how all that went down. I truly believe that roster mismanagement, and poor game planning is what prevented us from being a tourney team, and top 25 team.

Is anyone willing to shed some light on how the staff's responsibilities broke down?
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So let me get this straight- You want 1000 Arm Chair reviews on what the staff did wrong? REALLY ?

What in the world would that solve for next year ?
 
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#179      

ILLHangOut

I
ILLHangOut
CARPET said:
So let me get this straight- You want 1000 Arm Chair reviews on what the staff did wrong? REALLY ?

What in the world would that solve for next year ?
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The opposite of arm chair. I'd like some insight from someone who maybe wasn't willing to divulge while Groce was still the coach. Tidbits and allusions have been made in published articles.
 
#180      

Roundball Shaman

R
Roundball Shaman
ILLHangOut said:
The opposite of arm chair. I'd like some insight from someone who maybe wasn't willing to divulge while Groce was still the coach. Tidbits and allusions have been made in published articles.
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It would be useful to learn something about what happened behind the scenes. There could be some good learning lessons there that would be helpful for the future.
 
#182      

bert1991

B
bert1991
mycitymytime said:
Now that we have a new coach I just want to say Thank Yiu to Groce and the staff. Appreciate all the hard work over the last five years. Didn't end up where any of us wanted it to, and so we both move on - hopefully to better situations for both of us.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4q1V0ZH7tFM
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Love John Groce. Kind of guy you want your kid to play his heart out for. Will always appreciate him and continue to root for him. It just didn't work out. No doubt that he will eventually find long term success.
 
#185      

Seagee

Seagee
Seagee
bert1991 said:
Meant to say thank you for posting this.
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Yeah, that was really cool of you to do. Wins can be tough to come by and John Groce had his share of bad luck, but his integrity never wavered and he represented the University as well as any of us could have wished for. I'm very happy with the new direction we are going as a program, but still will be rooting for JFG wherever he lands.
 
#186      

Dakota Orange

D
Dakota Orange
mycitymytime said:
Now that we have a new coach I just want to say Thank Yiu to Groce and the staff. Appreciate all the hard work over the last five years. Didn't end up where any of us wanted it to, and so we both move on - hopefully to better situations for both of us.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4q1V0ZH7tFM
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Thank you for posting! Groce gave everything he had and cared about the Univ. and his players. Wish him the best.
 
#187      

alexander58

A
alexander58
Golfer63 said:
Weber is also about a year away from being FIRED from KState. Probably would have been fired this year if he hadn't made the tournament. We do deserve better than what both provided. My point on those recruits is that if Weber were recruiting them, we would not have even been on their radar, let alone be a finalist for them.
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While it was time for Weber to go, Groce was able to make his only trip to the tournament at C/U with Weber's recruits.
 
#188      

Thor015

T
Thor015
I do want to thank Groce for the demeanor and integrity he held throughout. I truly believe he changed the trajectory of the Illinois program.

I believe it was the right time for a change and I am hopeful BWood is the right man to bring that trajectory to its height.

Best of luck John
 
#189      

618 Illini

6
Chicago
618 Illini
mycitymytime said:
Now that we have a new coach I just want to say Thank Yiu to Groce and the staff. Appreciate all the hard work over the last five years. Didn't end up where any of us wanted it to, and so we both move on - hopefully to better situations for both of us.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4q1V0ZH7tFM
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Appreciate the video tribute. I hope this makes its way to John. Wonderful representative for the University of Illinois and even better leader of men.

Thank you John for your help in advancing the program.
 
#190      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
Some more good things from the Groce era:

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