Just curious.. Do people really believe that Groce won't be coach next year?
Certainty in either direction is unfounded at this point IMO. I'm guessing he'll be back.
Just curious.. Do people really believe that Groce won't be coach next year?
Ugh. Stop letting kids who aren't even committed to the program hold it hostage. Unless they committ between now and March ~15 they should have 0 bearing on any decision made. Groce is not nearly a good enough recruiter to give him any benefit of the doubt.
This is how I would like Whitman to handle the basketball side. No decision of course initially on Groce. Sit down with him, mention that he is not happy with the state of Illinois basketball, tell Groce he has not decided yet whether to retain him as he needs more info. I would also let Groce know that part of the info process would gathering info on the coaching and recruiting side. This could consist of sending back channel feelers out to gauge the interest from coaches and/or agents that Whitman likes to see how responsive coaches would be to taking over Illinois bball. I think he needs to find out the perception of coaches on this job. I would want Whitman to stress to Groce that the 2017 class is an integral part of the evaluation process. I think it is important to evaluate if after this season or waiting to after next season's results would hurt/hamper acquiring a coach that he likes.
So you're telling me Bryce Drew is going to turn down 8 times what he's making now (!!!!) because he didn't feel Groce got a good shake?It boggles my mind that you guys are still debating whether or not Groce should be fired after this year. New athletic director or not, it simply isn't going to happen for a host of reasons. Perhaps the most significant of these reasons is the fact that no "hot" coach will come to a school who fired a coach in the immediate aftermath of an injury plagued season like this one. Coaches want money and security. We don't overpay any of our coaches, so whatever we offer to that "hot" coach is unlikely to whelm him. And, what kind of security can we offer when we will have just fired a coach who, apart from the normally expected few game injuries, effectively lost 4 of his top 8 kids before the season even began. It just isn't going to happen.
So you're telling me Bryce Drew is going to turn down 8 times what he's making now (!!!!) because he didn't feel Groce got a good shake?
Sorry man, no coach is going to care whatsoever why Groce was fired after 4 years by a guy who didnt even hire him. They'll care about 2 things, what good of shape the program is in (ewwww) relative to where they are and how much money they're getting.
Per Groce's contract he is due a $500,000 bonus if he is still coach after 2016-2017 season.
If he is really so good that he warrants that much of a raise, he will probably have other options and won't settle for a job where he won't get a fair shake.
Is not whether he deserves it, it's just that is the going rate for a coach in the B1G. Perhaps a more valid argument on why we can't fire Groce/hire someone else is because we simply can't afford it. I'm not sure we can, either.
OK, so why would we hire him if he's not that good?
Who? Bryce Drew? He's a great coach. I'm saying it doesn't matter who we hire, we're going to give them 2 million or a little shy of that.
. . . but I wonder what the effects on recruiting in 2017, a very crucial year, would be if we have an on-the-chopping-block coach next year?
Look, no top recruit is going to sign an NLI for a coach who's on a hot seat and might not even be there in 2017.
If Groce is retained and he bombs, we fire him in March 2017 and are in exactly the same position competitively, and almost certainly a stronger position institutionally as we are right now. SFC is done. Whitman's staff is fleshed out. A permanent Chancellor is in place. A long-term search and study of coaching candidates has had time to take place behind the scenes. Fundraising has been established and a budget for the hire will be iron-clad, not to mention the buyout being lower.
If we go into the market now, whiff on the most publicly ballyhooed candidates, and then the coach we hired sees Frank Williams' kid go somewhere else and then struggles on the court next year? The Whitman era is over before it starts and we are YEARS away from even beginning to start building again at square one.
The downside is just too big to make the move now. Get your ducks in a row. That's my take on it anyway.
Which means we aren't paying a "Shaka" rate....which is closer to 4m.Who? Bryce Drew? He's a great coach. I'm saying it doesn't matter who we hire, we're going to give them 2 million or a little shy of that.
Who? Bryce Drew? He's a great coach. I'm saying it doesn't matter who we hire, we're going to give them 2 million or a little shy of that.
He's a coach that's done a good job at a program that he inherited from his dad and that was already historically one of the best in the conference. He may be a good coach elsewhere, but is all but guaranteed. There will be better candidates out there if Groce is let go. Bryce isn't the next Shaka Smart. Believe it or not, Groce had a better overall resume heading into the Illinois job.
He's a coach that's done a good job at a program that he inherited from his dad and that was already historically one of the best in the conference. He may be a good coach elsewhere, but is all but guaranteed. There will be better candidates out there if Groce is let go. Bryce isn't the next Shaka Smart. Believe it or not, Groce had a better overall resume heading into the Illinois job.
He did? Groce has made a sweet 16, that is the only thing better. Drew has a better overall record and record in conference. Drew will have won the Horizon 4/5 times. Groce never won a division in the MAC. Not sure one run in the tournament makes it a better resume.
He did? Groce has made a sweet 16, that is the only thing better. Drew has a better overall record and record in conference. Drew will have won the Horizon 4/5 times. Groce never won a division in the MAC. Not sure one run in the tournament makes it a better resume.
He's a coach that's done a good job at a program that he inherited from his dad and that was already historically one of the best in the conference. He may be a good coach elsewhere, but is all but guaranteed. There will be better candidates out there if Groce is let go. Bryce isn't the next Shaka Smart. Believe it or not, Groce had a better overall resume heading into the Illinois job.
I'd personally put more weight on march madness success than low midmajor conference success, but hey that's just me. But that's not all of his resume. He had experience as an assistant coach and recruiting success at the high major level. Drew does not. There's more to a resume than conference record, especially when it's at a much lower level. If that were the case, you'd see guys giving multimillion offers to Brad Underwood..
There's recruiting for a Horizon League team and then there's recruiting for a B1G team. Do we really know if Drew can recruit well on the P5 level? That's really my only question mark about Bryce Drew.