John Groce to Illinois

This makes the Miles hire look better because it puts to bed any speculation that we had a shot at Groce.

 
Lil said:
This makes the Miles hire look better because it puts to bed any speculation that we had a shot at Groce.
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It also puts into perspective that Groce wasn't Illinois' first choice. They were turned down by Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens before Groce entered the race.

 
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Makes sense. Shaka will either do the same as the Gonzaga coach and stay his career at VCU or wait for a major big time school to come calling. Good luck JG.

T_O_B

G>B>R

 
Nexus said:
Lil said:
This makes the Miles hire look better because it puts to bed any speculation that we had a shot at Groce.
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It also puts into perspective that Groce wasn't Illinois' first choice. They were turned down by Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens before Groce entered the race.
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It further puts into perspective that WE weren't Groce's first choice. Probably turned out well for all parties.

 
What would make this "underwhelming" hire even better is if Coach Miles can get a couple wins vs. the Illini

 
Lil said:
This makes the Miles hire look better because it puts to bed any speculation that we had a shot at Groce.
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He wasn't interested, he would only talk to us if we started at 2.5M and was looking at the job as a stepping stone. So it wouldn't be very smart if we hired a guy like that unless he had an assistant that was guaranteed to say like Huggins at KSUck. That is until Martin left yesterday..lol.

 
The Tribune is reporting that while negotiations with Groce are still on-going, it's also possible that the deal might fall through. This is a telling quote:

One sticking point in negotiations could be whether assistant coach Jerrance Howard would remain on staff, a source said. He is the interim coach and several freshmen tweeted Tuesday their desire for him to become the head coach.
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If Howard is let go, I wouldn't mind if Coach Miles offered him an Assistant's job since he's already familiar with the B1G as a player & coach.

Jerrance Howard Bio

 
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After reading the article below, T.O. handled the Nebraska coaching search quite well by comparison. While Nebraska isn't on Illinois level, basketball-wise, this article gives a sobering reality check to Illinois basketball fans. As a Nebraska fan, I'm glad T.O. played the search close to the vest the way he did, even at the expense of annoying the local scribes.

When hotshot mid-major coaches Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens turned down Illinois, it provided a stark reminder of how good the job in Champaign is — or isn't — in today's college basketball world.
But perhaps the most sobering measure of the position's diminished stature came in the last 48 hours as Ohio coach John Groce exercised every ounce of leverage Illinois delivered at his doorstep.

When a 40-year-old Mid-American Conference coach making $307,985 hedges at taking over a once-proud Big Ten program and won't agree to do so until his considerable demands are met, it hardly labels Illinois an elite job.

If people still were wondering if Illinois was a destination job, now they know. Coaches don't tiptoe to destination jobs. They run. Their hearts set the pace for their heads. They make plans, not conditions.

Continue Reading
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