John Groce at Illinois
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We'd name Dustin Ford the interim coach, and then extend him two years at the end of the season.
"Not a dagger"
There's nothing good that comes out of firing a coach in the middle of the season IMO.
I don't disagree, but the new AD should evaluate options at the end of the season, hopefully they have enough time to know what those options are by then and go from there.
I agree in principle with this...but what does "show hope that this team can be good next year" even mean for a team this lost? Maybe recovering to make the NIT?
I agree with this, I think they are scorers. What I doubt is the ability of our present staff to put them in position to take advantage of those skills. Even good scorers need an offensive plan.
This is where I am right now. I really thought that there was nothing that would make me say the Groce needs to go at the end of this year. That mess of a basketball game last night has got me to thinking otherwise. I sincerely hope that this is the low point of this season. No excuses about injuries can explain away how this team is playing.
The players need to get together and start playing team ball. I know that Groce did not coach them to play as they did last night. His frustration with execution shows it. Ultimately, it is his fault but the guys really need to step up and play as they have shown they are capable of doing. Abandoning game plans and playing hero ball are not going to get it done.
I have questions about certain aspects of Groce's defensive philosophy and maybe something needs to change there. I know that something needs to change with this team. More games like last night are not going to sit well with anyone. This could be a turning point for this team or part of an inevitable downward spiral. The latter will force some hard choices and the implications for Illinois basketball are not good.
It would be pretty subjective. Showing that we can beat another top 100 team would be an example. Beating teams that we should beat, like Minny, close losses against teams that were expected to beat us, and even just looking at the body language they display the rest of the year. If they're consistently getting destroyed, barely beating teams that we're expected to beat, and displaying poor body language in the last few games that would tell me that the staff has lost control of the situation to the point that it would be difficult for them to mentally recover even in the offseason.
No, they just extended our interim coach for another year. Let's not tempt them to do further damage.
PaytonHighstep
- Downers Grove, IL
Oh, I know...
I was just, you know, making conversation.
My poor attempt at basically saying, I wouldn't put anything past the clown show leading this university at the moment.
Been saying it since November --I simply don't think Groce's coaching passes the eye test regardless of the awful spate of injuries.
Bring back Lon
Not losing control is an incredibly low bar to set.
Soxfreak64
- Bloomington
Assuming Groce is fired (seems more likely by the game), it won't be until the end of the season.
This board has spent thousands of posts lamenting how disappointing Groce's staff is...you really want one of those guys to be the interim HC to finish out the season? Groce may not be a good coach for Illinois or for anywhere, but I PROMISE you he's far and away the best coach on the current Illinois staff.
This board has spent thousands of posts lamenting how disappointing Groce's staff is...you really want one of those guys to be the interim HC to finish out the season? Groce may not be a good coach for Illinois or for anywhere, but I PROMISE you he's far and away the best coach on the current Illinois staff.
Tevo
- Wilmette, IL
Craig Tiley, we have your first assignment...
Things to see by the end of the year-
1. See if last night was the "bottom"
2. See if the freshman continue to improve or hit the wall
3. See if the Leron Black comes back or redshirts
4. See if we use that atrocious zone that we used last night ever again.
5. See if somehow we determine to play Finke at the 4 with Thorne at the 5 and not rotate them.
6. See if we end the season on the uptick
7. See if we adjust the staff afterward
8. See us name Dee Brown an assistant after we adjust the staff
9. See if we get the 2017 family
10. See them start to work on finishing the SFC.
1. See if last night was the "bottom"
2. See if the freshman continue to improve or hit the wall
3. See if the Leron Black comes back or redshirts
4. See if we use that atrocious zone that we used last night ever again.
5. See if somehow we determine to play Finke at the 4 with Thorne at the 5 and not rotate them.
6. See if we end the season on the uptick
7. See if we adjust the staff afterward
8. See us name Dee Brown an assistant after we adjust the staff
9. See if we get the 2017 family
10. See them start to work on finishing the SFC.
Things to see by the end of the year-
1. See if last night was the "bottom"
2. See if the freshman continue to improve or hit the wall
3. See if the Leron Black comes back or redshirts
4. See if we use that atrocious zone that we used last night ever again.
5. See if somehow we determine to play Finke at the 4 with Thorne at the 5 and not rotate them.
6. See if we end the season on the uptick
7. See if we adjust the staff afterward
8. See us name Dee Brown an assistant after we adjust the staff
9. See if we get the 2017 family
10. See them start to work on finishing the SFC.
1. I really hope last night was the "bottom". Unfortunately, there are a few opportunities to sink lower, i.e - A loss to minny, a substantial loss to NW, a similar beat-down at Maryland and a loss at Penn State could potentially be worse than last night.,
Unfortunately, we were probably the only school to have repeated that same move within the last 30 years, when John Mackovic left for Texas and he was also the AD (another UI brilliant decision) - we were unable to conduct a search and named Lou Tepper the head football coach.
Promoting Tepper was at least somewhat justified, he was one of the better defensive coordinators at the time.
And unfortunately his W/L record is still the best since Mac left.
For me, I don't think it ties in directly with the results on the court in terms of an NIT bid or lack thereof. What this team needs to do for Groce to deserve another year, IMO, is to start playing like a good team that just doesn't have the horses to be successful. The injuries have made sure that the results would be less than ideal, but the injury excuse doesn't apply to the players on the court. There should at least be some flashes here and there each game of the team that could have been, and they just aren't there most nights.
Specifically, I want to see the movement and shot selection on offense and the intensity on defense that we saw in the Purdue game. It's not always going to be pretty: this team has taken a lot of hits from injuries. However, it shouldn't be jacking up long contested jumpers 5 seconds into the shot clock. If we shoot a long contested jumper because we weren't able to find a better shot with our better players out, so be it. Similarly on defense, we should be able to play with intensity and focus no matter who's on the floor.
Find a way to fix these issues and specific wins and losses don't really matter to me.
Part of my decision to attend U of I, other than the high academic rankings and being in-state, was to have a lifelong team to be a fan of. One that I would be proud of. This has gotten embarrassing. I realize there's certain uncontrollable variables (i.e. injuries, poor shooting for a game, etc.), but we're at a point where we can't even compete.
There's no offensive rebounding. Not even an attempt, especially with Finke playing on the perimeter. You'd think we never give up any fast breaks, but that's not the case either. It seems like all of our shots are contested when the other team's are wide open. We get a few "easy" baskets a game when the other team gets one every other possession. The freshman have not developed, at all. I blame that on coaching. They look timid, afraid to make a move to the basket. You got to give these guys confidence.
I keep reading about injuries, missed recruiting opportunities, defense... When does the time come when we realize it's not bad luck, but the norm. Black being injured a second time...Abrams being injured a second time...Are we attempting to bring these guys back too quick? Missed recruits happens all too often and it's not a coincidence anymore. It's bad recruiting. Defense? Ha.
A few years ago, I read Illinois was the best team to never win a NCAA basketball championship. It's not something to be incredibly proud of, but it's some kind of recognition at least. Things have to change. And it starts at the top. Like with any other failing company.
There's no offensive rebounding. Not even an attempt, especially with Finke playing on the perimeter. You'd think we never give up any fast breaks, but that's not the case either. It seems like all of our shots are contested when the other team's are wide open. We get a few "easy" baskets a game when the other team gets one every other possession. The freshman have not developed, at all. I blame that on coaching. They look timid, afraid to make a move to the basket. You got to give these guys confidence.
I keep reading about injuries, missed recruiting opportunities, defense... When does the time come when we realize it's not bad luck, but the norm. Black being injured a second time...Abrams being injured a second time...Are we attempting to bring these guys back too quick? Missed recruits happens all too often and it's not a coincidence anymore. It's bad recruiting. Defense? Ha.
A few years ago, I read Illinois was the best team to never win a NCAA basketball championship. It's not something to be incredibly proud of, but it's some kind of recognition at least. Things have to change. And it starts at the top. Like with any other failing company.
I agree with everyone that says it needs to be done under these circumstances:
1) Once we have an AD
2) At the end of the season.
He deserves the full season, as do the players.
1) Once we have an AD
2) At the end of the season.
He deserves the full season, as do the players.
To put things in perspective, Illinois is outspending the field on developing their Computer Science program. So, ya know, where it matters...Illinois is doing well.
Deleted member 8405
D
Guest
Different things matter to different people. I'm a die hard fan, but I went to a d3 school for sports. The academic side of things means very little to me because I have no connection to it. Football and basketball mean a whole lot to me because I enjoy watching them. So for me where it matters...Illinois is quite an embarrassment.
UncleBob
- San Clemente, CA
This is the only option that makes sense to me. The current assistants are part of the problem too imo. No I don't want to see any of them as interim coach. A clean break in March then hire the replacement....either Bryce Drew or Archie Miller would be good if we could get them and probably the best way to salvage recruiting for the 2017 class.
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