They got pummeled by a bad Oklahoma team on the road in much the same way Nebraska did to us in his last year here.
He may not make it another year
2017 Coaching Carousel
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They got pummeled by a bad Oklahoma team on the road in much the same way Nebraska did to us in his last year here.
He may not make it another year
Deleted member 4723
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Any thoughts on Mick Cronin? $1MM buyout after Mar 1. He is a Cincinnati native but could we at least pretend the Illini job > UC?
at his alma mater, recent health issues related to stress
Not everyone has the same ceiling. He wasn't highly rated for a reason. He just never learned to shoot. It happens. Player's development , or lack there of, isn't always on the coach.
BirdDog9048
The Chief Lives
- Chicago, IL
If we win the BTT, Groce is 100% our coach next season.
Unless, they did develop him, and the talent just wasn't there to show marked improvement.... just a thought
OK with me. Believe it is possible- no great team. Not betting on it though, wonder what the odds would be.
Kramer116
- Chicago
I don't think Groce has done well at all here, but need to give him credit for Mav Morgan.
Remember how bad he was his first O&B scrimmage? Remember how people were laughing at Dakich raving about his potential?
Still wish we would have just redshirted him his first season (common big man theme). Really glad we did redshirt Finke.
His improvement has been night and day or maybe he just developed confidence as he grew into his body.
Honestly, I was disappointed to see him left remain for this year, and I'll be even more disappointed if he's here at the end of this season. My case is simple:
What has John Groce done to make you think we'll be a consistent top-25 team, in the hunt for BIG championships in the stretch run of the season, and occasionally being a dark horse or better for a Final Four run?
Because I think that's a good goal for our program, and not unreasonable. I would argue the evidence against it is far, far in excess of the evidence for it. Furthermore, I think the talent he's recruited is better than what we're seeing on the court. I.e., we're LESS than the sum of the parts, not MORE. I feel like I've seen enough bad basketball in the last few years to last a lifetime. And the lone bright spot at PG, it concerns me greatly that Groce only gave him more minutes when had no other choice. It pains me to see players get tighter and dumber, basketball-wise in his system.
Anyway, I really hope they pull off the miracle and get into the dance, but it won't change my perception of Groce's skill as a coach much.
Lou Henson from 1983-1989
Egwu's defensive development should absolutely be a credit to this staff. Look at how much worse our defense has been the past 2 seasons since his graduation. Nnanna masked a lot of other players deficiencies with his help in the paint. It was unfortunate he had hands of stone, but he was the anchor of a very good defensive squad for 3 years.
Of course you can count starks and Cosby, no one said you couldn't. MT is a shell of himself, though. I don't think you can hold that against the staff. Getting in shape with his diabetes is difficult enough, but then throwing in a meniscus tear to a guy who was already 23 years old, and then blaming the staff for lack of development? Come on man. I want a new coach as much as everyone else, but let's not make up ridiculous things to blame on this staff.
He coached from 75 to 96. Took 8 years to get to what people here expect?
Harry Combs 1947-1967
He coached from 75 to 96. Took 8 years to get to what people here expect?
I wouldn't confuse goals and expectations. Studies show that the best goals should be achievable, but also challenging, somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% is often cited. Too low, and there's not that sense of challenge and excitement and motivation. Too high, and it's too easy to give up. There's no doubt you can come up with very high goals or lame ones, depending on the timeline and how you attribute causality to Illinois's success. Whitman has been careful (as far as I know) to talk in very general terms about Illinois basketball but it's hard to believe the off-court problems and on-court lack of success is acceptable. Here's a discussion from a year ago that I think is worth a re-read:
http://www.thechampaignroom.com/201...ois-basketball-josh-whitman-coaching-decision
If that analysis has any weight, it seems to me that Whitman wouldn't be much of an AD to let this go yet another year. The fanbase has been neglected for a while now, and they're harder to bring back than maintain. I just don't see how anyone can justify the continuing decline in attendance, enthusiasm, and overall revenue that we've been running on through the Groce years. He's got to turn it around, or his seat is going to get hot as well. I think he's smart to not get too far ahead of the fanbase, and that may have been the case last year. This year, I have a really hard time believing Groce can hold on to any of the goodwill he's frittered away. My guess is that he's in overdrive right now, and we will see quick action once the timing is right. But that's pure speculation on my part.
I am not advocating for Groce to be retained. That decision rests with JW and I expect him to do what is best for the school and the program. But I believe Groce deserves respect. Interpreting every fact to put him in a bad light and blaming everything possible on him is disrespectful and just plain wrong.
With respect to Cosby, I have often wondered whether his shooting problems weren't related to his detached retina. He was a 40% plus shooter and by all accounts was excellent in his redshirt year here. Just thinking that this problem could have started before it was diagnosed and treated - it would explain a lot. Coaching usually doesn't result in a player becoming a far worse 3pt shooter.
Great point.
As painful as it will be to see, it is very likely that Groce will go back to being an assistant and dynamite recruiter just like he was at tOSU, then he will eventually work his way back to a P5 job, having learned from his mistakes here, and go on to a successful career.
And to those saying Weber is so much better than Groce, sure Weber may be a better coach than Groce now, but it is very clear that Groce has a much higher ceiling as a coach than Weber ever had.
Agreed with the first paragraph.
Wrt cosby, he shot pretty poorly his entire season here, but it was halfway through the season or so before he got poked and tore his retina IIRC
Do do remember Weber coached the '05 team, right?
With a team full of guys he didn't recruit, and then failed to capitalize on it in regards to recruiting. He is successfully trashing KState too
Sadly, not unlike Groce's tenure here. There are more complete coaches out there than both Groce and Weber.
Combes.
Good catch:thumb:
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