I'm not trying to anger anyone so this is my last thought. Five years ago Smart and Stevens turned down $2.5 milllion a year to leave VCU and Butler and those weren't power 5 conference schools. Is Illinois any more appealing after Groce? So why would someone leave the ACC?
You aren't angering anyone, shoot, keep posting. It's a discussion forum.
You stated the B1G was not that appealing, which is what I took exception to. It's a power conference with great schools, great tradition, and great coaches (except ours). Is it more/less appealing than the ACC, Big12,etc? That's depending on the person making the decision.
Buzz Williams would not be likely to leave VT for IL. If both jobs were open at the same time most candidates would take IL if all other criteria were equal. But if a guy likes it where he's at and his wife/family like it the chance of poaching him is not good.
Getting a guy to move laterally or semi laterally requires certain conditions to be in place.
The guy's wife hates it there.
The guy hates his wife and wants to leave her there.
The guy hates the AD. The AD hates the guy.
You get the idea. That is why feelers are put out there, you never know when or why a guy is ready to move on.
Most likely if we move on from JG we will end up with someone working their way up from a mid major. That's how most power conference jobs get filled. It doesn't mean we can't pull a guy away from another higher profile job.