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Reports: Illini hire John Groce


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QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 10, 2012 -> 03:06 AM)
This is basketball. Talent will almost always win out. Get me the guy who can recruit the best players and I'll take my chances.

 

That's funny, because a large part of the reason Weber got fired is because they said he couldn't coach the talent that he recruited.

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QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 10, 2012 -> 08:21 AM)
That's funny, because a large part of the reason Weber got fired is because they said he couldn't coach the talent that he recruited.

He never brought in elite talent. I'm talking top guys, who now-days, are one-and-done guys.

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QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Mar 10, 2012 -> 01:18 PM)
Because he's being a moron about this.

Izzo? I agree.

 

Sure, he's your "friend" and he's a great guy and he's a "soldier" but his teams were chronic underperformers. It was time.

 

Basically, Izzo said "Well, I'm the best in the Big Ten. And he's my friend. And they beat us a lot, so he must be a good coach."

 

Shut up, Izzo.

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QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 03:56 AM)
Izzo? I agree.

 

Sure, he's your "friend" and he's a great guy and he's a "soldier" but his teams were chronic underperformers. It was time.

 

Basically, Izzo said "Well, I'm the best in the Big Ten. And he's my friend. And they beat us a lot, so he must be a good coach."

 

Shut up, Izzo.

Yeah, although I was more pissed at him for taking direct shots at the administration. Just say he's your friend, a good coach, and it was all unfortunate. Don't go on a long rant about it.

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QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 08:43 AM)
Is Illinois really looking at Scott Drew? I had a heard a few rumors about that?? If so, that's another Kelvin Sampson waiting to happen, only potentially worse.

I would be okay with that. I also heard Shaka is definitely interested in the Illinois job, but it will come down to cash.

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QUOTE (nitetrain8601 @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 09:30 AM)
I would be okay with that. I also heard Shaka is definitely interested in the Illinois job, but it will come down to cash.

 

They better not be cheap about it. Offer 2 per for 6 years with incentives for titles and deep tourney runs

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QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 10:37 AM)
Just curious, do Illinois fans feel that Shaka is looking at Illinois as a stepping stone? If he is, does that change your feelings about him getting the job?

 

What is the guys background? Where did he play, where was he an assistant?

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QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 10:37 AM)
Just curious, do Illinois fans feel that Shaka is looking at Illinois as a stepping stone? If he is, does that change your feelings about him getting the job?

 

Well there are only a handful of jobs worth leaving Illini for and those jobs aren't open a lot so I wouldn't be worried about it.

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QUOTE (Heads22 @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 12:42 PM)
Ahahaha Scott Drew.

 

I'd be happy with him out of the Big 12 because he gets talent, but the guy can't coach whatsoever and is a disgruntled recruit away from violations.

 

Those are my thoughts. He'll go down one day, and take the whole program with him.

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QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Mar 10, 2012 -> 10:56 PM)
Izzo? I agree.

 

Sure, he's your "friend" and he's a great guy and he's a "soldier" but his teams were chronic underperformers. It was time.

 

Basically, Izzo said "Well, I'm the best in the Big Ten. And he's my friend. And they beat us a lot, so he must be a good coach."

 

Shut up, Izzo.

You missed Izzo's point, whether you agree with it or not. It wasn't as much that he was fired, it was what happened earlier in the season with Thomas.

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Because of Chicago and the B10, many still consider Illinois a top 10 job.

 

Of course, for examples like Bill Self and Roy Williams, it was/can be seen as a stepping stone, but Kansas to UNC is such a rare thing, and Williams and Shaka Smart don't belong in the same conversation.

 

 

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QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 11, 2012 -> 03:00 PM)
Because of Chicago and the B10, many still consider Illinois a top 10 job.

 

Of course, for examples like Bill Self and Roy Williams, it was/can be seen as a stepping stone, but Kansas to UNC is such a rare thing, and Williams and Shaka Smart don't belong in the same conversation.

 

If it wasn't for the fact he'd never leave Iowa State, I'd expect them to come after a guy like Hoiberg.

 

Either way, you guys have to get someone that successfully recruits Chicago, IMO.

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QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 9, 2012 -> 07:26 PM)
There are a lot of analogies with Weber and Tom Davis, although Davis had a track record with Stanford and BC previously.

 

Davis did very well with George Raveling's recruits (almost made the Final 4 and had a #1 ranking in the mid-80's) and then from that point on, the best he could do was usually getting to the NCAA's and losing in the 2nd round to an ACC superpower.

 

Ultimately, it always comes down to recruiting, and when you have Chicago at your doorstep, you have to lock down those recruits.

 

Ultimately, Tom Davis lost his job at Iowa because he couldn't keep Raef LaFrentz, Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison in-state.

 

In retrospect, be careful what you wish for...after Davis led them to the Sweet 16 his final year, there's been a grand total of one NCAA tourney win in the past 10+ years, over Creighton. Then following year, when some were picking them #1 in the country preseason, they totally collapsed with a 5-11 BIG 10 record.

 

In their other two appearances, first round losses to Cincinnati and the devastating loss to Northwestern (LA) State in 2006 when they were up by 17 in the second half as the #3 seed.

 

They hired too "glamour" choices in Steve Alford and Todd Lickliter had the former NCAA Coach of the Year record on his resume, but winning at Iowa is always going to be about recruiting, plain and simple.

 

And they can't hire JUST a recruiter or they'll end up with another version of Ron Zook.

Please don't ever compare Tom Davis and Bruce Weber. Dr. Tom was the man at Iowa and did an excellent job there. Yes, he lost some key players to other schools but he was always a very good coach, including his last year with Iowa. People had delusions of grandeur at Iowa than just like a lot of Illinois fans seem to have now.

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Alright, I've had enough with the Illinois isn't a top/elite/very good/whatever the hell you want to call it program. BTW Jason don't ever put Iowa basketball and Illinois basketball, historically, in the same sentence again. You're better than that.

 

From http://alioneye.com/

 

- #13 all time in the NCAA in wins (#12 in winning percentage).

- #11 (tied) all time in NCAA Tourney appearances (2nd in the Big Ten).

- #18 in NCAA Tournament wins (famously most wins for a team without a title)

- #14 (tied) all time in Final Four appearances (tied for the 8th highest total number of appearances)

- #9 all time in collective AP poll appearances (including: #13 in weeks in the top 5, #9 in weeks in the top 10, #8 in seasons in the top 5, #9 in seasons in the top 10, #8 in seasons in the top 25)

- 1st all-time in Big Ten conference wins (3rd in winning percentage)

- 4th highest number of Big Ten titles in the conference

- 6 more Big Ten Tournament wins than any other school, highest number (tied) of championship game appearances, 2nd in Tourney titles

- We own winning records against every Big Ten program except two. Indiana has us beat by 1 game. Purdue is up by 11 games.

- Tied for #18 all-time in number of McDonald’s All-Americans (I only mention this as a point that it’s also folly to suggest it’s unreasonable to expect consistent high-level recruiting, either).

- Sagarin/ESPN has us at #6 all time.

- NBC Sports puts us at #14.

- Basketball Reference has us as the 5th best program in the last 30 years.

- Forbes has us as the 5th most valuable program.

 

Just take the first five. 13th in all-time wins, 11th in all-time tournament appearances, 18th in all-time tournament wins (with the top-17 all owning at least one NCAA title), 14th in all-time Final Four appearances, and 9th in all-time AP Poll appearances. Add that all together, and you get “at worst 14th, and possibly 12th best college basketball program.”

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QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 12, 2012 -> 10:54 PM)
Agreed, of course we're not a UNC or Duke, but this program is right up there in the top 10-15 in the nation.

Well yeah but the point is they should expect to be on the level where they are at historically, and expect a coach of that caliber. People saying "well that's what Illinois is now" have it wrong. There is no reason to say they can't be/shouldn't be that caliber. A few years of a different level doesn't change that.

 

Did people say the same thing about IU when they were down, or did they say well IU should be back, this isn't who they are?

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Um what?

 

Forbes has Illinois as 13, behind Wisconsin, OSU and Indiana, somehow ahead of MSU. That being said Illinois has a very good history. The problem is that I dont believe anyone can say Illinois is in the top 5 in the last 10 years and that would be when the current class was 6 on.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/201...valuable-teams/

 

 

13. Illinois Fighting Illini

 

Current Value: $15.8 million

Two-Year Change in Value: -24%

Basketball Profit: $9.8 million

Conference: Big Ten

Head Coach: Bruce Weber

 

Illinois failed to qualify for a tournament berth this year, and the team hasn't had much luck in March since losing the NCAA Championship Game to North Carolina in 2005. That year's success will no longer count towards future conference payouts, which means that the Fighting Illini may slide in value again next year.

 

(edit)

 

Just to be clear I think that Forbes methodology is terrible and it really doesnt show the value of the team, more shows profitability in a given season.

Edited by Soxbadger
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I think the point is that Illinois is at best top tier in the Big 10. Any coach that comes into Illinois is going to have a challenge because right now the Big 10 is one of the deepest leagues with some of the best coaches. If you want to believe Illinois is a top 5 program nationally, that really is your choice. But those type of expectations are why the next coach will fail in Illini fans eyes just like Weber.

 

 

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