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NCAA basketball 2014-15 thread


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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 05:08 PM)
I'm starting the exploratory committee for Groce's replacement. 2.5 seasons now of complete choke jobs in big games. It's not like 2 minutes with a bucket, it's 6, 7, 8. It's pathetic.

 

Yep. He is recruiting well but not well enough to justify keeping him if the results on the court don't improve drastically. There is no excuse for this team not to be playing better basketball.

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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:08 PM)
I'm starting the exploratory committee for Groce's replacement. 2.5 seasons now of complete choke jobs in big games. It's not like 2 minutes with a bucket, it's 6, 7, 8. It's pathetic.

It seems like he needs guys with high basketball IQ because he gives his players too much freedom. Egwu, Rice, Cosby, and Starks all seem to make really, really stupid decisions. The recruits he has brought in seem much smarter (Hill, Nunn-although not today, Black, Morgan, Tate).

 

Groce has made a lot of in-roads, especially at Simeon. Coleman-Lands, Jordan, and DJW all seem pretty basketball savvy. I'm giving him a bit more time, but it's clear he's having trouble with this group. He did a terrible job today.

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QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:12 PM)
I'm all for firing him if we don't make the tournament. I doubt we will at this point.

 

I think you have to seriously consider it. See what names are out there. Frankly his in-game coaching sucks. He can call a decent play now and again, and he makes decent adjustments, but his rotations and substitution patterns flat out suck. His players aren't very confident in late game situations either.

 

And you just have to win games you should win. You have to. This is a terrible loss. The Oregon game was a terrible loss. Miami is looking like a terrible loss. All games with big leads that are choked away.

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QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:17 PM)
Barring a complete collapse and last place finish, Groce easily gets another year.

 

I'm sure this is true. But he'll start next year on the hot seat. Significant run in the NCAA tourney or he's gone has to be the expectation next year. No more of this bulls***, give guys 5 years and hurt the program stuff. Get a new guy in here with some talent left on the roster so that when the new guy recruits he's not starting a rebuild, he's adding on.

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QUOTE (gatnom @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:17 PM)
Barring a complete collapse and last place finish, Groce easily gets another year.

Yeah, it looks dim now, but the cupboard was left almost completely bare when he took over. He would have had to hit like crazy on recruits to turn the Illini around by year 3. Our backcourt was lined up to be two guys that currently play in conferences I don't know (NIU is MAC?). Mike Shaw is terrible at Bradley. Langford and Ibby I'm not sure of. Henry is doing solid on a terrible Depaul team. Groce had to completely clean house. His in game coaching has left a lot to be desired, but the program is headed in the right direction (the Abrams injury killed).

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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:18 PM)
I think you have to seriously consider it. See what names are out there. Frankly his in-game coaching sucks. He can call a decent play now and again, and he makes decent adjustments, but his rotations and substitution patterns flat out suck. His players aren't very confident in late game situations either.

 

And you just have to win games you should win. You have to. This is a terrible loss. The Oregon game was a terrible loss. Miami is looking like a terrible loss. All games with big leads that are choked away.

Or too confident in late game situations in Rice's case...

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QUOTE (Boogua @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:21 PM)
Yeah, it looks dim now, but the cupboard was left almost completely bare when he took over. He would have had to hit like crazy on recruits to turn the Illini around by year 3. Our backcourt was lined up to be two guys that currently play in conferences I don't know (NIU is MAC?). Mike Shaw is terrible at Bradley. Langford and Ibby I'm not sure of. Henry is doing solid on a terrible Depaul team. Groce had to completely clean house. His in game coaching has left a lot to be desired, but the program is headed in the right direction (the Abrams injury killed).

 

Talent isn't the problem. Illinois has more talent than the majority of the conference, and that's been the case for all 3 seasons. He loses winnable games. It's an epidemic. Purdue, Northwestern and Iowa his first year. Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Purdue, Clemson (NIT, but still) last year. Now Miami, Oregon and Michigan this year. All terrible, season-ruining losses.

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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:26 PM)
Talent isn't the problem. Illinois has more talent than the majority of the conference, and that's been the case for all 3 seasons. He loses winnable games. It's an epidemic. Purdue, Northwestern and Iowa his first year. Georgia Tech, Northwestern, Purdue, Clemson (NIT, but still) last year. Now Miami, Oregon and Michigan this year. All terrible, season-ruining losses.

It's not all about talent. Roster construction means a ton and the fact is that Groce had a major overhaul. Sure, the Illini were more talented than teams last year, but had 5 true freshmen? You can't just totally dismiss things by saying the Illini had more talent. Depth, experience, and overall roster construction means a ton.

 

I don't see how one can look at the dumpster fire he inherited and then want him out as his first recruiting class just finishes their first semester of their sophomore year.

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QUOTE (Boogua @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:47 PM)
It's not all about talent. Roster construction means a ton and the fact is that Groce had a major overhaul. Sure, the Illini were more talented than teams last year, but had 5 true freshmen? You can't just totally dismiss things by saying the Illini had more talent. Depth, experience, and overall roster construction means a ton.

 

I don't see how one can look at the dumpster fire he inherited and then want him out as his first recruiting class just finishes their first semester of their sophomore year.

 

I don't think the program was THAT bad. It wasn't a good program. It wasn't really trending upwards. But it wasn't at the bottom either. The team tanked, they knew Weber was gone, so it was a lost season. You still had 5-6 starters that Groce used heavily/uses heavily in Paul, Richardson, Griffey, Egwu and Abrams.

 

Edit: and you know his two biggest f***-ups? Not making a damn phone call. To Levert and Brunson. Sure would be nice to have both in the mix this year and next.

Edited by Jenksismybitch
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QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:57 PM)
I don't think the program was THAT bad. It wasn't a good program. It wasn't really trending upwards. But it wasn't at the bottom either. The team tanked, they knew Weber was gone, so it was a lost season. You still had 5-6 starters that Groce used heavily/uses heavily in Paul, Richardson, Griffey, Egwu and Abrams.

So you named 5 players, 3 of which were seniors. The team made the tourney and actually won a game that year.

 

How did the roster look behind that?

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QUOTE (Boogua @ Dec 30, 2014 -> 04:59 PM)
So you named 5 players, 3 of which were seniors. The team made the tourney and actually won a game that year.

 

How did the roster look behind that?

 

3 of your current top 6 players? That's not enough? I'm not saying he didn't have a difficult task, but you're making it sound like he brought a program back from the death penalty. That's far from the case.

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And really, how's it Webers fault that Groce's guys can't finish games and play well? Crosby and Starks, Groce guys, are busts. Rice has been great, and god only knows where the program would be without him. Hill looks fantastic at times, and average at times. None of his big guys are worth anything. Nunn is having a typical up and down year. Egwu hasn't progressed at all in 4 seasons. We'll see about Abrams.

 

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