No excuses for Illini against Northwestern
January 17, 2013 8:35 AM
Aware that Illinois went into a free fall and lost 12 of the final 14 games last year, Groce has made a point of saying, "We can't change the past," all season. So he's prepped his team on the topic, telling them there will be no excuses this time.
"I'll tell you what, 10 to 15 years from now if they think they're not going to get hit in the mouth in life, we're teaching them the wrong things at the University of Illinois," Groce said Wednesday. "That deal? Fragile confidence? I said to the staff today, 'That's out.'
"Pretty soon (players) will have to deal with their kid being sick, with a family emergency. You will have to deal with things in life that aren't easy. We have to figure that out. We have absolutely no excuses. We have to man up and play. We have to fight. That's the expectation that we have."
Tupper
"I'll tell you what, 10 to 15 years from now if they think they're not going to get hit in the mouth in life, we're teaching them the wrong things at the University of Illinois," Groce said Wednesday. "That deal? Fragile confidence? I said to the staff today, 'That's out.'
"Pretty soon (players) will have to deal with their kid being sick, with a family emergency. You will have to deal with things in life that aren't easy. We have to figure that out. We have absolutely no excuses. We have to man up and play. We have to fight. That's the expectation that we have."
Tupper
Filed under: Illini Basketball, Northwestern Wildcats