Kinda surprising to me they didn't watch his weight gain more while he was down. I'm sure conditioning w/h/b difficult with the knee recovery so I'm talking caloric intake. Maybe the diabetes had an effect, with his being in his best-ever shape and then having to shut down altogether. It's always a delicate balance. Of all our injuries and plagues, losing Thorne is the worst IMO. I was really looking forward to what a solid 5 could bring out in our offense, and I think it was starting to click when he went down.
John Groce at Illinois
- Status
Kinda surprising to me they didn't watch his weight gain more while he was down. I'm sure conditioning w/h/b difficult with the knee recovery so I'm talking caloric intake. Maybe the diabetes had an effect, with his being in his best-ever shape and then having to shut down altogether. It's always a delicate balance. Of all our injuries and plagues, losing Thorne is the worst IMO. I was really looking forward to what a solid 5 could bring out in our offense, and I think it was starting to click when he went down.
Sal Iacuzzo
- Yonkers, NY
The injuries this season have hurt a lot, but I don't think it absolves Groce. He failed to bring in a quality PG and he gambled and lost with Paul giving us zero front court depth. I also don't think his offense is any good, we get very few high percentage shots and never get to the line, that's been a constant since he has been here. I've seen enough, I think giving him another year is just kicking the can down the road.
Paul wasn't the lone plug for front court depth. Thorne and black were supposed to help. He also has a pg coming in that's having a great year.
Sal Iacuzzo
- Yonkers, NY
If we had another big man the impact of those losses would be mitigated. Groce threw away three years of scholarships on Paul. Other than this first season I haven't seen anything that makes me confident he will turn the program around.
The environment at Illinois right now would chase any sane prospective coach away. We need to stick with what we have until the brass gets their crap together and we have an AD, for starters.
sacraig
- The desert
So much this. Groce will get at least one more season solely on account of having to get the rest of the house in order before going on a coach hunt that has any hope of success.
Sal Iacuzzo
- Yonkers, NY
If we don't have an AD by March than our incompetence has reached new heights.
If PSU can attract Bill O'Brien to their football program in the wake of the Sandusky scandal I'm sure we can bring in an adequate basketball coach after firing an AD for something unrelated to basketball. I think at minimum we could bring in Bryce Drew who would be an upgrade over Groce.
Yes, because we had so many hot names beating down our door during the last coaching search under a much more stable administrative atmosphere...
Sal Iacuzzo
- Yonkers, NY
The longer we go being irrelevant the harder it will be to turn around. There were good coaches out there then we just didn't identify them.
False. Look at Alabama right now. When was the last time they were relevant? bottom line is Groce will get another year, and honestly he probably should. If there isn't any success then he'll be gone. If there is it will probably be the start of a good run for the school and team.
Either way this whole thing will be settled.
The Warriors would almost certainly miss the playoffs if Curry, Thompson, Green, and Bogut all couldn’t play. In fact, they would probably be one of the worst teams in the league. Please have some perspective.
I’m looking forward to seeing what a lineup of Abrams, Nunn, Hill, Finke, and Thorne can do next year. Our second string lineup next year should be Lucas, JCL, Jordan, Black, and Morgan. Not to mention DJW and Nichols behind them. That’s a really deep team! We should make the tournament even if everyone doesn’t come back or we have some injuries.
If Thorne comes back this season instead and Black does too, then who knows maybe we make a late run and make the tournament this year. Maybe it takes winning the Big Ten tournament to do it, but we still have a chance; I’m not giving up on this team.
In the long run, I think things look good. This is our team in 2017-2018:
• JCL as a 1/2
• AJ as a 2/3
• DJW as a 1/3
• Black as a 4/5
• Finke as a 4/5
• TJL as are backup 1 (just playing it safe since we haven’t seen him at the college level yet)
• Kipper Nichols as the backup 3/4 (same as TJL)
I don’t about you, but to me that looks like a great foundation and we have the opportunity to add some great players in the 2017 class plus whoever else we may add in the 2016 class.
TL;DR Don’t fire Groce. Give him one more year and I think we’ll finally see the results we all want to see.
I’m looking forward to seeing what a lineup of Abrams, Nunn, Hill, Finke, and Thorne can do next year. Our second string lineup next year should be Lucas, JCL, Jordan, Black, and Morgan. Not to mention DJW and Nichols behind them. That’s a really deep team! We should make the tournament even if everyone doesn’t come back or we have some injuries.
If Thorne comes back this season instead and Black does too, then who knows maybe we make a late run and make the tournament this year. Maybe it takes winning the Big Ten tournament to do it, but we still have a chance; I’m not giving up on this team.
In the long run, I think things look good. This is our team in 2017-2018:
• JCL as a 1/2
• AJ as a 2/3
• DJW as a 1/3
• Black as a 4/5
• Finke as a 4/5
• TJL as are backup 1 (just playing it safe since we haven’t seen him at the college level yet)
• Kipper Nichols as the backup 3/4 (same as TJL)
I don’t about you, but to me that looks like a great foundation and we have the opportunity to add some great players in the 2017 class plus whoever else we may add in the 2016 class.
TL;DR Don’t fire Groce. Give him one more year and I think we’ll finally see the results we all want to see.
<---- sums up my feelings about our coach
sdfidaho
- Boise, Idaho
I agree with this. Hoping for the best and JG success, but one way or another, I believe next year will be the deciding factor
I see your point, but I also think to myself "The environment at Illinois right now would chase any sane prospective recruit away." Who would want to come play for a coach when that coach is in a do-or-die situation. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that we are going to miss out on a talented 17 class regardless.
Sal Iacuzzo
- Yonkers, NY
I really don't understand that Alabama example at all. Are they some sort of powerhouse in basketball now?
I believe Drew is a great candidate who would be willing to come here. Illinois gave extra years to Turner, Zook, and Weber when most programs would have cut ties, that type of approach hasn't paid off in the past.
UIUC1867
- Christian County, IL
Totally agree. Good post.
How many big men do you want? And he didn't waste three years of scholarship on Paul. I'm done with this conversation.
I'm interested in this. Do we know he will? I think it could depend on if things get REALLY ugly (say 4 or 5 wins in the conf). There's certainly a chance a new AD will want his own guy after that, even understanding the injury woes.
There is always that possibility but I think the general consensus is that this year is a mulligan.
If this team quits on him like they seemed to do last year the new AD could pull the plug
Well, without a crystal ball I suppose you're right, I don't know how the rest of the conference season will play out. If your example were to happen I don't think his departure is inconceivable at all, but I also don't see the season slipping away like that.
I'm certainly not saying it will, and we all sure hope it won't. Just think it's a possibility that might come into play down the road. It's not likely that we'll be favored in many more games this season. Taking a rough look at the schedule, I would guess the Illini will be favored 4 more times, unfortunately.
v. Nebraska
@ Rutgers
v. Rutgers
v. Minnesota
Maybe 5 or 6 if we are favored at Minnesota or Penn State. Might need some upsets.
IlliniRon
Illini Basketball Fan Forever
- Ft Worth, Texas
This year's team reminds me a little of Lon Kruger's 1998-1999 Illini team, which had some talented freshmen, but not a very good team on the floor, finishing 10th in the conference. I remember Sergio McClain playing some point guard that year, which was amazing with his body and size. Made a run in the conference tourney, but fell short at the end. Won 3 conference games, but that team could play defense.
Yeah, they could play defense but the subsequent turnaround also involved getting 3 McD AAs on the team (Frankie, Cook, Griff), which unfortunately is not the state of the program right now.
- Status