The best and quickest hope we have for Illinois to come back to basketball greatness is for Tilmon and Goodwin to commit and join the 2017 class.
IMO, whitmans VOC of Groce hinges entirely on the program trending upward with these types of recruits (Tim Finke too, but that's the next year). By all accounts the recent arrests are not helping these guys decide to come here.
It must be addressed, and Whitman is going to help coach Groce get these guys on board.
For Illinois to be great we have to get guys like Goodwin, Tilmon, Finke, etc. we can't afford to lose them because of current players making bad decisions and a season of unbelievable injuries.
You may not believe the injuries are an excuse and/or you may believe that the arrests are somehow Coach Groces fault, but that can not be the narrative the athletic department allows to persist.