John Groce: "We've had a great summer"
July 2, 2013 8:38 PM
John Groce was on WDWS Tuesday night.
Groce: "We've had a great summer. We're completing week 4 right now with 4 more weeks to go. We've made a lot of strides."
Guys are lifting 5-6 days per week. That's more than usual.
Groce: "With such a young team we think we've got a strength deficit that we have to address."
Coaches get 2 hours per week of on-the-court time with the team-
* 90 minutes of team activity.
* 30 minutes of 1-on-1 skill development.
Team also has open gym 3-4 days per week, regular time on the "gun", plus classes throughout the summer.
Groce on the young team-
"A lot of new faces, it's exciting & challenging at the same time. We're really looking forward to growing closer as a team & developing something special. Obviously we've got a lot of work to do. We're not nearly close enough yet. We haven't been tested enough yet. Guys don't know the system well enough yet. The learning curve hopefully throughout the summer will continue to get a little bit more shallow."
On Malcolm Hill-
* Has great size for a perimeter.
* Loves contact.
* Has a knack for scoring.
* Mental side & defensive side, needs to grow in those areas.
Loves the toughness & winning attitude of Kendrick Nunn & Jaylon Tate.
On Jaylon Tate-
* Makes everyone else better.
* Rock solid on defense.
* Needs to get stronger.
On Kendrick Nunn-
* Wins most of the competitive drills in practice.
On Maverick Morgan-
* Lost 16 lbs in 4 weeks, from 260 to 244.
* Lots of upside.
* Biggest concern is getting him in tip-top shape.
On Austin Colbert-
* High hoops IQ.
* Sees the floor extremely well on offense.
* Biggest concern is getting him stronger & more of a force rebounding the ball.
On Ahmad Starks-
* Very experienced & played at a high level.
* Has a big time stroke.
* Right now we need him to do more toughness things for us.
* No timeline on waiver, hopes to hear before fall semester.
On Joseph Bertrand-
* Ahead of schedule from shoulder surgery, cleared to do non-contact activity in workouts.
On Nnanna Egwu-
* Bigger & stronger.
* Last year he weighed around 225-228. Now, he's at 250 & dropped body fat.
On Tracy Abrams-
* Much more confident & poised as a leader.
* On-court performance has been much more consistent this summer vs last summer.
On Rayvonte Rice-
* Lost 38 lbs in a year. Now weighs 230. Tons of improvement to his conditioning.
Starts 6:20-
wdws.com/audio
Groce: "We've had a great summer. We're completing week 4 right now with 4 more weeks to go. We've made a lot of strides."
Guys are lifting 5-6 days per week. That's more than usual.
Groce: "With such a young team we think we've got a strength deficit that we have to address."
Coaches get 2 hours per week of on-the-court time with the team-
* 90 minutes of team activity.
* 30 minutes of 1-on-1 skill development.
Team also has open gym 3-4 days per week, regular time on the "gun", plus classes throughout the summer.
Groce on the young team-
"A lot of new faces, it's exciting & challenging at the same time. We're really looking forward to growing closer as a team & developing something special. Obviously we've got a lot of work to do. We're not nearly close enough yet. We haven't been tested enough yet. Guys don't know the system well enough yet. The learning curve hopefully throughout the summer will continue to get a little bit more shallow."
On Malcolm Hill-
* Has great size for a perimeter.
* Loves contact.
* Has a knack for scoring.
* Mental side & defensive side, needs to grow in those areas.
Loves the toughness & winning attitude of Kendrick Nunn & Jaylon Tate.
On Jaylon Tate-
* Makes everyone else better.
* Rock solid on defense.
* Needs to get stronger.
On Kendrick Nunn-
* Wins most of the competitive drills in practice.
On Maverick Morgan-
* Lost 16 lbs in 4 weeks, from 260 to 244.
* Lots of upside.
* Biggest concern is getting him in tip-top shape.
On Austin Colbert-
* High hoops IQ.
* Sees the floor extremely well on offense.
* Biggest concern is getting him stronger & more of a force rebounding the ball.
On Ahmad Starks-
* Very experienced & played at a high level.
* Has a big time stroke.
* Right now we need him to do more toughness things for us.
* No timeline on waiver, hopes to hear before fall semester.
On Joseph Bertrand-
* Ahead of schedule from shoulder surgery, cleared to do non-contact activity in workouts.
On Nnanna Egwu-
* Bigger & stronger.
* Last year he weighed around 225-228. Now, he's at 250 & dropped body fat.
On Tracy Abrams-
* Much more confident & poised as a leader.
* On-court performance has been much more consistent this summer vs last summer.
On Rayvonte Rice-
* Lost 38 lbs in a year. Now weighs 230. Tons of improvement to his conditioning.
Starts 6:20-
wdws.com/audio
We love @JohnGroce & can't help but notice that he SLAYED his 1st Diner Stack!!! #goillini pic.twitter.com/FmMmnENZyJ
— Merry Ann's Diner (@MerryAnnsDiner) July 3, 2013
Filed under: Illini Basketball
