John Groce at Illinois

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#1,776      

homesickalien

homesickalien
Springfield
homesickalien
Just some guys that have done well at the mid major level and will be on the short list for most openings.

Bryce Drew
Brad Underwood
Tim Cluess
Rick Byrd
Keith Dambrot
Ben Jacobson
Russell Turner
Will Wade

Vermilion beat me to it, but there's a couple new names.
 
#1,778      

Second and Chalmers

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Second and Chalmers
Vermilion Slim said:
8. Dan Majerle: Grand Canyon: 50
Pros: 3x NBA all-star; NBA assistant coach; Has Grand Canyon at 17-2 this year with a win over San Diego State
Cons: Grand Canyon’s competition is pretty abysmal; might jump for pro job if he has success at a high major
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Very, very close with Jerry Colangelo, for whom GCU's foray into D1 sports is a personal pet project.
 
#1,780      

Foggy Notion

Foggy Notion
San Francisco
Foggy Notion
PerennIaLL said:
I was not specifically referring to Groce's tournament record at Ohio, but I can see how you took it that way.

Regardless, I still put more emphasis on four regular season conference records compared to a relatively small sample size (two) of NCAA tournaments at Ohio.

The injuries this year have been a string of bad luck, but we have nearly four years of data now in B1G play with Groce at the helm. The evidence is stacking up against his long-term success here, IMO.

As I posted a while back (post #1690), I hope he is successful and is our coach for a long time, I'm just not sure that is what the future holds based on eight years of conference records at two schools where he has never cracked the top third of the conference/division.
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Coaches tend to get hired and fired based on their postseason results. You may not agree with it, but that's just the way it usually goes down.
 
#1,782      

Shuttlesworth

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Shuttlesworth
Drew is the very rare candidate who I believe would be both a top notch hire AND easy to recruit to Illinois. They don't come along often. Only problem is I do believe we have to act this offseason.
 
#1,783      

BananaShampoo

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Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
BananaShampoo
Second and Chalmers said:
I think 34-30 in the MAC speaks to coaching frailties more than mere inexperience speaks to recruiting frailties.

Drew didn't just fall off the turnip truck. He was born into college basketball, was a big-time recruit himself, played in the NBA, has a brother who is one of the best recruiters in the nation, has a staff deep with Illinois connections and profiles as the kind of guy who can attract talent. I share your feeling that there is uncertainty there, but there's no lack of potential.
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Based off this it seems he has a lot in common with our new AD.
 
#1,784      

Deleted member 10676

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Deleted member 10676
#1,787      

Newman

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Newman
I would be shocked if Groce was let go after Whitman's comments today.
 
#1,791      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
[YOUTUBE]qKpjhYT5YtE[/YOUTUBE]
 
#1,794      

Ill in Cols

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Ill in Cols
Shuttlesworth said:
Drew may have his faults, no doubt. We're Illinois though and we're at one of the lowest points in our history. We're going to have to hire someone with a flaw or 2 on their resume

That said, no would can reasonably say Groce's mid-major resume was better than Drews.

Drew is 115-46, good for a .701 winning percentage. .772 winning percentage in conference.

John Groce 's winning percentage was a full 100 points lower (!!!) At 85-56. His conference winning percentage was a bad .531.

Groce never finished higher than 3rd in the MAC East division. Bryce Drew is about to win his 4th conference title in 5 years.

John Groce over a program that had won 20 games the year before him. 39 total the previous two. Drew took over a program from his father that had won 23, and 38 total the two years prior.

John Groce won 3 tournament games. Drew hasn't won any yet, but is about to be in his 3rd in 5 years. Impressive none the less.

Drew's Valpo teams have had an average kenpom rating of 91, including a terrific 26 this year. The 4 years prior to Drew getting there, valpo averaged a 157 rating. Groce's Ohio teams were averaged 115. This rating is actually worse than Ohio had the 4 years prior to Groce getting there (107). Ouch.

So yeah, Drews resume is on a whole other level compared to when we recruited Groce.

He's just one guy though. I was really just using him an example.
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It's nice to look at Drew's gaudy conference record and be hugely impressed, but it is the Horizon with the likes of UIC, CSU, N Kentucky, and Youngstown State. He's done great and I think he'll be terrific coach somewhere if he decides to leave, but he doesn't face a murderers row twice a week.
 
#1,795      

UrbanaIsTheShiz

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UrbanaIsTheShiz
We are the 11th worst power 5 conference team on Ken Pom, ahead of:

Wake 132
PSU 133
TCU 146
Mizzou 168
Depaul 179
Minn 180
Auburn 182
St Johns
BC 247
Rutgers 284
 
#1,796      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
VA Illini Chief said:
Add Scott Nagy...

Illini grad here, son attending South Dakota State. They have consistently been an impressive program under Scott Nagy. I would keep him on our radar in the next five years...Illinois ties as well. Of course I still hope for Groce to pull this thing out and improve!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Nagy
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I understand your personal connection with your son attending the school, but his name should not even in the ballpark of the very loooooong list of possible candidates, let alone get the Illini job.
 
#1,797      

Vermilion Slim

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Vermilion Slim
VA Illini Chief said:
Add Scott Nagy...

Illini grad here, son attending South Dakota State. They have consistently been an impressive program under Scott Nagy. I would keep him on our radar in the next five years...Illinois ties as well. Of course I still hope for Groce to pull this thing out and improve!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Nagy
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Yeah, I didn't put Nagy (SDSU) or Byrd (Belmont) on my list because they have been at the same school for 20+ years and I assume they either don't want to leave or we wouldn't be that interested in them.

I can't believe I missed putting Underwood from SFA on my list (thanks homesickalien) as he would certainly fit the mold of those that I mentioned.
 
#1,798      

VA Illini Chief

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VA Illini Chief
I have been of fan of Nagy before my son went there. Not saying we should jump on him now, but the Jackrabbits are becoming a better tourney candidate then we are every year. They make the tourney the next 3-5 years in a row don't be surprised if bigger programs come calling. And their talent is nowhere close to ours. He can coach, no doubt about that.
 
#1,799      

VA Illini Chief

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VA Illini Chief
I agree with you Vermilion, people like Nagy & Byrd actually probably wouldn't leave and i do appreciate their longevity and loyalty to their schools.
 
#1,800      

Newman

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Newman
VA Illini Chief said:
I agree with you Vermilion, people like Nagy & Byrd actually probably wouldn't leave and i do appreciate their longevity and loyalty to their schools.
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Lol, he would leave if he was offered 7 figures a year. He just won't be offered anywhere near that unless he makes the tourney a few more times.
 
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