John Groce and his plan for Illinois

Bill Self won two conference titles in three seasons at Illinois before leaving for Kansas in 2003. Two years later, Weber led the Illini to a 37-2 record and a spot in the NCAA championship game, where they lost to North Carolina. Weber, though, could never get Illinois past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament after that.

"We can return to that level," said the 40-year-old Groce. "If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be here in the first place."

espn.com